When Tabitha Onyinge Omenya’s firstborn son secured a place at Maranda High School, a prestigious Cluster 1 national school, it felt like a dream come true. But the excitement quickly turned into concern. During his first year, his moods began shifting with every school break.
“One term he would come home happy, the next he didn’t want to go back,” she recalls.
What emerged, after several conversations, was not an academic struggle but a deeper disconnect. Her son, once an energetic footballer and a creative child who loved music, was missing out on opportunities to express himself.
“He is an outgoing child, but there was no proper development of his talents. It affected him,” she says.
When the school year ended, and he remained uncertain about returning for Form Two, Tabitha and her husband made a difficult decision: to transfer him to a day school closer to home.
“I told my husband that I was not for the idea of transferring our son. I reminded him that he was going to handle the transfer process himself. He worked very hard, taking him for interviews and all.”
“As soon as he joined Aga Khan, a day school, he was made a prefect. He joined the football and swimming teams, and became active in music, drama and science clubs. It was great seeing him receive awards in different categories,” Tabitha says. “Back at home, we made him wash his uniform, make his bed, and help prepare meals over the weekend. His dad is excellent in science subjects, and he used the opportunity to mentor our son daily.”
“After school, the driver would drop him at home, where he would have a snack before beginning his evening preps until 8pm. My husband and I had a shared office, and that is where our son would do his studies.
As a rule, our children go to sleep at 9pm on weekdays, wake up at 6am, and by 6:30am, they leave for school.”
Tabitha’s son scored A in his KCSE exams and is now an architecture student. Her other son, who is currently in Year 9, has no intentions of going to boarding school.
“Unlike our firstborn, who used to use the office for his evening studies, the younger one just uses the computer in his room to do his homework since there is nobody to disturb him. His father comes home an hour earlier so that he can help him.”
According to Tabitha, who is a lecturer at Daystar University, day schooling has positively impacted her sons as they get attention from both parents in the evening.
“My lastborn has never been in a boarding school. I work from home nowadays, and when he arrives, he runs up the stairs to where I am, then bursts into the room and gives me a big hug. When I hear him dragging his feet up the stairs, I know that he has not had a good day. I am not worried about him getting influenced by bad company or being bullied.
Her son, Eike Omenya, 14, is happy going to a day school.
Faith Mutisya and her two children who have never been to boarding school. Her firstborn, Maxwell Maskuji, 14, prefers day school because of its flexibility.
Photo credit: Pool
Faith Mutisya, a clinical officer, also prefers day schooling for both emotional and practical reasons.
“I don’t believe learning should run from Monday to Monday. My children attend school from Monday to Friday, and on weekends, we do outdoor activities like going out for lunch, vacation, or just talking.”
The mother of two children, aged 15 and eight, says she cannot imagine living apart from her children.
“When your child is in boarding, you only see them during school breaks. A lot can happen between that period. Day schooling allows me to love, connect, care and interact with my children better,” she says. Two years ago, when her son was to join Grade 8, Faith asked him whether he was willing to go to boarding school, and the boy said no.
“I thought boarding school would make him be more responsible, but he asked me, ‘Why would you think that if I am home, I will not learn to be responsible?”
Faith has taught her son to always complete his school assignments on time and to go to bed and wake up on time without any reminders.
“I usually prepare him psychologically to get to school early and read before lessons start so that he can catch up because boarding students wake up very early in the morning to read first. At night, my children sleep at 10pm after we are done with our evening preps.”
The mother of two is also taking advantage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to cut down on the tuition fees.
“We use ChatGPT. I realised that hiring an extra tutor is not helpful because they end up teaching the same things children are taught in school.”
Faith believes that her 14-year-old son, Maxwell, will qualify to join a Cluster 1 school, but she is facing a dilemma.
“We do not have an option for day national schools. I feel that the government does not consider parents whose children attain good grades but do not want their children to go to boarding schools.”
The shift towards day schools is visible in enrollment trends. At Ruai Boys High School, a hybrid institution, the principal, Dr Charles Ng’ang’a, says demand for day schooling has steadily increased. Last year, the school had 330 students, and only 130 of them were boarding.
“Parents are increasingly requesting transfers from boarding to day school. This year, we have 204 students in Grade 10 class, but day scholars are 101. Previously, we had more boarders than day scholars, but we have now seen very enthusiastic Grade 10 parents who want their children to be in day schools,” he says.
Recent figures show day scholars nearly matching, and in some cases surpassing boarders in certain classes.
The school has adapted by extending access to facilities beyond regular hours and even during holidays, ensuring day scholars have conducive learning environments.
“Parents who live around prefer day schools because we allow them to use the school facility even after the normal school hours and over the holidays.”
“Last year but one, a day scholar scored a B plus and is now at Maseno University studying computer engineering. That shows that even a day school student who wants and desires to perform can do so.”
Still, challenges remain, particularly in funding.
“Boarding schools attract more government capitation due to higher populations,” he explains. “Day schools need better support and infrastructure.” There are also social tensions.
“Children are very attached to the environment they have been brought up in and may not want to leave.”
To curb insecurity, the school has to do a lot of security checks, including checking the items that day school students carry from home.
“Sometimes the boarding students feel that the day scholars have better opportunities, like choosing their meals, how they spend their weekend, or watching football matches at night.”
In 2018, the government introduced “day wings” in 19 elite boarding schools. While initially promising, the programme has largely faded. The program came in handy for parents like Fanice Muhonja, a widow and a mother of four whose son scored 341 out of 500 marks in the 2017 KCPE exams.
“When the education CS announced that children would be joining these big schools as day scholars, that was an advantage for me. Somebody gifted my son a shirt, then we fixed the badge and joined as day scholars,” she recalls.
Fanice’s son was enrolled at Dagoretti High school, one of the 19 boarding schools that were selected to pilot the first phase of the day wing program. The proximity of the school and her home made it possible for her son to walk to and from the school daily. School fees for day scholars also favoured her and other vulnerable parents.
“To pay school fees, I used the bursaries from the county government and did laundry for pay.”
Despite the struggles, Fanice is happy that her son completed high school, although she still has arrears more than three years since he sat his KCSE exams.
“I was very happy because my son was admitted and offered an opportunity to study in the same classroom with other students who scored over 400 marks. He also got the opportunity to share other school facilities like the dining hall with children who come from very well-off families,” Fanice says.
But while a few parents like Fanice benefited from the program, some of the 19 schools are back to full boarding.“Day wings died and were absorbed into boarding sections,” one teacher says.
Experts cite structural challenges, including differing student routines and parental expectations, as reasons the model struggled to take root. Another teacher said the day wing program did not work for the top boarding schools in the country.
“That hybrid system cannot work because boarders and day scholars have different characters. If you mix the two, you will face challenges.”
While the day wing pilot program might have “died” in top government schools, leaving parents like Tabitha with no option but to take their children in private schools, a Kenyan parent in America says that most public schools in the US operate as day schools. The system is largely neighbourhood-based, students attend schools within their residential district, making it convenient for them to return home daily.
“In the US, quality is less about national ranking and more about district resources, teacher-student ratios, curriculum options, and extracurricular opportunities. Many public schools offer strong academics, arts, sports, and advanced learning opportunities without requiring students to board,” says Dr Terry Nzau, an Assistant Professor of Public Relations at Messiah University, Pennsylvania, in the US.
“Rather than investing in dormitories and extended school hours, resources go directly into classrooms, modern infrastructure, extracurricular programs, and college exposure. This approach allows students to learn in supportive environments, explore their interests early, and develop holistically,” she says.
Dr Nzau left Kenya in 2022 when her children were in Grade 3 and Grade 1, enrolling them in the American school system.
“One major difference is the support resources available to students, which make day schooling practical. Schools provide free transportation, and my children use a school bus every day. In addition, breakfast is provided for all students, and free or subsidised lunch is available for families that qualify, ensuring that no child is disadvantaged. This reduces the burden on parents and makes it easier for children to attend school while living at home.”
Back in Kenya, experts say the rise of day schools reflects broader societal changes.
Dr Francis Oremo of the Institute of Law and Environmental Governance notes that improved infrastructure, electricity access and the growth of private schools have made day schooling more viable.
“Some private day schools now offer what was once only possible in boarding schools — close monitoring, individual attention and quality training,” he says.
When it comes to shaping behaviour, however, he cautions against blanket conclusions.
“Both systems have their strengths and weaknesses,” he says. “But parents are increasingly choosing environments where they can stay actively involved.”
