Teaching the Kenyan CBE Curriculum as a Private or Online Provider: What KICD and KNEC Allow You to Teach, Assess and Certify

A private school or online provider in Kenya cannot choose its own curriculum or issue its own national certificates. Three statutes divide the work: the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development decides what may be taught, the Kenya National Examinations Council runs national assessment and certification, and the Basic Education Act, 2013 ties both to the school’s registration. This article explains who approves the CBE curriculum, and where a private or online provider has room to move, as at 24 October 2026.

Who approves the CBE curriculum

Section 74(1) of the Basic Education Act establishes the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development with a mandate that includes curriculum development for basic education. The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development Act gives the Institute, among other functions, the power to evaluate, vet and approve, for application in Kenya, any local and foreign curricula and curriculum support materials (section 4(b)). That wording matters to foreign and online providers. It means an overseas or international curriculum is not barred, but it must be vetted and approved before it is applied in Kenya.

The duty falls on the school. Section 52(1)(c) requires a private school to comply with and follow the approved curriculum, and regulation 54 of the Basic Education Regulations, 2015 requires the manager of a private institution to ensure that the curriculum and instructional materials in use have been developed or approved by the Institute. The practical test for an operator is simple: for every course, platform module and set of learning materials, can you produce the Institute’s approval?

Why you cannot grade yourself

Section 75 prohibits any person or institution from combining the functions of developing a curriculum, teaching it, examining or assessing it, and issuing a certificate in respect of it, unless accredited and approved under the Act. Read with the Kenya National Examinations Council Act, we read this as a structural separation. The Council’s functions include setting and maintaining examination standards, conducting national examinations at basic level, and awarding certificates (section 10(1)(a) and (b)). A private school may run internal tests and report cards, but it should not present its own awards as the national certificate or design a closed system in which it writes, teaches and certifies a programme without accreditation.

For an online provider this has a direct commercial consequence. If your business model is a self-designed programme with an in-house diploma, section 75 is the first provision to test. If your model is delivering the approved national curriculum and preparing learners for national assessment, you are inside the structure the Act expects.

What this means for different models

• A school teaching the Kenyan Competency Based Curriculum. This is the most straightforward case. Teach the approved curriculum with approved materials, register learners for national assessment through the registered school, and keep the approvals on file.
• A school adding an international curriculum. The Institute must vet and approve the foreign curriculum for application in Kenya (KICD Act, section 4(b)). Ask the Institute in writing what it requires before you advertise the programme. The Basic Education Bill, 2026 would add a Cabinet Secretary approval requirement for a person offering a foreign system of education (clause 24), so check its status.
• An online provider. The Act recognises distance and electronic learning (see our article on running a fully online school in Kenya), but the curriculum and assessment rules apply regardless of delivery mode. Supplementary tutoring that does not purport to be a school is a different regulatory question from running a registered school.

Do not assume that a school can enter learners for national assessments before it holds its registration. We could not verify a published rule on assessment centre registration, so confirm the current requirements with the Council before you promise parents a national assessment pathway.

Penalties and the registration link

These rules are enforced through registration. Section 78 makes it an offence, punishable by a fine of up to KES 20 million, imprisonment of up to three years, or both, to promote, manage or teach basic education unless accredited and registered, and section 52(1) makes use of the approved curriculum a continuing duty of a private school. A school that departs from the approved curriculum risks its quality assurance outcome. Our guide to provisional registration and penalties explains why that matters in the first two years.

The Basic Education Bill, 2026

The Basic Education Bill, 2026 (National Assembly Bill No. 50 of 2026) would repeal the current Act. Parliament’s tracker showed it at First Reading on 11 August 2026, so it is not law. In our reading, clause 67(2) says the basic education curriculum is to be developed in accordance with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development Act, and clause 68(2) says assessment is to be conducted as provided under the Kenya National Examinations Council Act. In other words, the Bill preserves the two-agency structure.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information on Kenyan law as at its publication date, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an advocate and client relationship.