Nairobi, May 5 -- The Daily Nation recently carried a troubling story: many learners under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system are not mastering foundational skills.

The reaction has been swift and familiar. Questions about whether CBE was rolled out too quickly. Concerns about teacher preparedness. Debate over assessments and curriculum design. Thoughts about tanking the programme.

These are valid reactions, but they may be missing something more fundamental. CBE does not begin when a child enters Grade 1, or even pre-primary at age four. By then, differences in early development are already shaping how children learn. CBE is built on a simple but powerful premise: children learn best when they are actively engaged. When they c...