“I went to Alliance” is a common phrase (and banter) among the alumni of one of Kenya’s oldest schools that has produced many influential Kenyans.
The ‘Busherians’, as they refer to themselves, wear it on their sleeves as a badge of honour and privilege that sets them apart from those who attended less prestigious schools.
The century-old school has a rich history of excellence in academics and explains why thousands of students dream of walking through its gates to quench their academic thirst.
It was among the most sought-after schools during the recent placement of learners to senior schools. Alliance High School and Alliance Girls High School (both famously known as Bush) and other national schools with a history of good academic performance attracted similar interest from both learners and parents.
Alliance Girls High School teachers and students celebrate after the school attained a mean grade of 10.065 in the 2025 KCSE examinations at the school on January 9, 2026.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
On Friday when the Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Ogamba announced the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results, it was hardly surprising that most of the best performers are from schools categorised as either national or extra-county.
“National schools produced the highest number of candidates with an overall mean grade of A (1,526) followed by extra-county schools (197) and private schools (185),” said Mr Ogamba.
At the other end, a worryingly 47,798 candidates scored a mean grade of E, the lowest possible by a candidate. 39,325 of these came from sub-county (day) schools. Students with this kind of performance cannot be admitted for certificate of diploma course training. They can only fit in artisan courses.
The CS applauded sub-county schools for outperforming county schools, which are boarding, in the KCSE examinations.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba (left) and Education Principal Secretary Prof Julius Bitok, during the release of the 2025 KCSE results at AIC Chebisaas Boys School in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County on January 09, 2026.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
Despite the poor resourcing, of the total candidature of 993,266, sub-county schools had 604,975 (70 per cent) candidates. Out of the 270,715 candidates who qualified for university admission the sub-county schools contributed 72,699 qualifiers (26.9 per cent).
“Sub-county schools produced more candidates in the category of C+ and above compared to County Schools, accounting for 72,699 and 36,600 respectively,” Mr Ogamba said.
The yawning gap in performance of students in the various categories of schools is a matter of equity in resource distribution. Sub-county schools have been struggling to remain afloat as government funding remains inadequate and usually arrives late in schools.
“Over the years we’ve built an unequal system of resourcing schools. Schools with the best infrastructure have also the best staffing norms. Even transferring a teacher from a national school to a sub-county school and vice versa is impossible,” said Akello Misori, the secretary-general of the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet).
“Government policy isn’t uniform and the resources are unequal to the extent that sub-county schools have poor staffing in very crucial subjects like the sciences and languages. Additionally, some schools are running nearly six schools in one because of over-enrolment while others are under-under enrolled,” Mr Misori said.
He warned that transition to senior school under the competency-based education (CBE) will suffer the same fate since many sub-county schools can only offer a few pathways while national schools offer all the three pathways.
“In terms of getting value for money invested in education, the government is getting it through the 100 transition but the student is getting a raw deal since they don’t get the quality education they desire,” he said.
The Executive Director of Usawa Agenda, Dr Emmanuel Manyasa told Nation that there are various factors that disadvantage students in sub-county schools and that their performance does not reflect their ability.
Charlotte Ivy who scored an A in the 2025 KCSE examinations is carried by students Alliance Girls High School at the school on January 9, 2026.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
“Most people attribute it (performance of national schools) to the fact that national schools admit the best students from primary school but that’s not true. National schools have the best facilities and the best and experienced teachers and a wide variety of subjects so offer students. They also have parents from the upper income levels of the society and so they contribute more," said Dr Emmanuel Manyasa, the Executive Director of Usawa Agenda
"The students are enabled to perform to the optimal levels. Learners in day schools have the least experienced principals and some posted there as demotion and they get there demotivated but the most debilitating factor among these students is that they spend time away from school because of school fees since they come from poor households,” Dr Manyasa further explained.
He added that due to poor staffing levels, sub -county schools depend on temporary teachers, which is detrimental to their performance since the teachers are inconsistent as they search for other jobs and other ways to survive.
“At times they are not paid or paid timely. That upsets the environment for learning. Students in sub-county schools don’t get those poor grades because they’re not able to perform. They’re also exposed to other vagaries including early pregnancies,” Dr Manyasa added.
“We need to invest more in the Cluster 4 schools because the Cluster 1 schools will never have enough space for all children. They educate a small percentage of the population yet score highest number of As,” he said.
Meanwhile former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has been criticised for comments he made recently regarding admission of students to schools.
“We will not sit back and allow politicians to bring political nonsense into the education sector,” Mr Ogamba declared. “Let them leave matters of education to the experts. I urge these politicians to go back to the dictionary and learn the meaning of the word ‘national,’” added the CS.
Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
“Since revenue is shared equitably, why would some regions have national schools that exist by name. Why would a certain member of Parliament or governor or community invest in the education sector and others don’t? All children in Kenya deserve equal treatment. Where the schools are domiciled, children from that area who qualify to go to those schools must be given an opportunity,” Mr Gachagua said.
He particularly accused leaders from some regions of “deliberately refusing to develop better institutions yet they want their children to enjoy the facilities of institutions that have been put by leaders in other counties”.
Some alumni associations have issued statements condemning Mr Gachagua’s stand on admission to national schools.
“Alliance High School is a national institution, founded on principles of academic excellence, discipline, character, and national unity. For generations, the school has admitted students from every part of Kenya purely on merit, without regard to ethnicity, religion, social status or place of origin. This diversity is not incidental, it is central to the Alliance identity and a source of immense pride for its alumni,” reads a statement by the Alliance High School Old Boys Club.
“Alliance High School does not belong to any one community, region, or political constituency,” they further stated.
“By design and by policy, national schools admit students from all parts of the country based on merit and clearly defined quotas that reflect Kenya’s diversity. The Alumni Group is concerned by calls suggesting that certain communities should be excluded from national schools or that elected leaders should ‘build their own schools’ to accommodate their regions,” the statement reads.
