The Nine Year Continuous Basic Education (NYCBE) reform has both quantitative and qualitative goals.

In the current system, some students drop out during the early years of secondary education, with typically an estimated 28 percent of pre-vocational students failing to make it to the end of that programme.

The quantitative goal therefore is to ensure that all children successfully complete the basic education cycle and then move on to upper secondary via different pathways– general, vocational, or technical. This would then open avenues leading to further and tertiary education.

The qualitative goal of NYCBE is to equip students with relevant skills and improve learning outcomes for all. This is, in fact, a more challenging goal than simply expanding coverage, especially in light of current low levels of achievement.

The overall goals of NYCBE reform can thus be summarized as ensuring that ALL of our children
1. complete 9 years of quality basic education and achieve relevant learning outcomes; and
2. successfully complete the secondary education cycle, whether General or Technical.