Senior schools that failed to attract sufficient number of Grade 10 learners face an uncertain future as senior government officials question optimal utilisation of resources.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba on Wednesday told the Senate that the Ministry of Education (MoE) will establish a technical team to advise the government on policy decisions to manage Grade 10 placement challenges going forward.
The CS revealed that 2,400 senior schools admitted fewer than 20 learners in the recent placement exercise. Most of these are day schools that were shunned by both parents and learners.
However, some stakeholders have already dismissed formation of the proposed committee. And that the government already possesses the data required to make informed policy decisions.
“The task force is a waste of time, diversionary and is equal to treating symptoms instead of addressing foundational issues,” said Elimu Bora Working Group (EBWG) Policy and Strategy Advisor Boaz Waruku.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos (right) with Principal Secretary Julius Bitok during the release of the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment results in Nairobi on December 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
Mr Ogamba in his presentation before Senate on Wednesday revealed the MoE had just received the exit report on placement of Grade 10 learners, with data showing 330 senior schools received no learner while another 2,400 schools got less than 20 students. Last week, he had informed a vice chancellors forum in Mombasa that 1,000 senior schools had not admitted a single learner for Grade 10.
However, he said that so far, no decision has been made regarding the fate of the affected senior schools, painting an uncertain future for the majority of them, which are C4 day schools.
“We have not made a decision on what we are going to do with these schools, because we want to make a policy decision that is based on data and on evidence,” he said.
Usawa Agenda executive director Emmanuel Manyasa, while maintaining the formation of the technical committee is unnecessary, noted their prior advise to MoE on averting the current crisis had been ignored.
He said the crisis was compounded by release of the 2025 Kenya Secondary School Examination (KCSE) results in January, which coincided with the placement of Grade 10 learners, sparking a rush for C1 schools (former national schools) owing to their commendable results.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba when he appeared before lawmakers during the 2026 Legislative Retreat for Members of the National Assembly at Lake Naivasha Resort in Naivasha, Nakuru County on January 28, 2026.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
The most sought-after schools were Alliance Girls, Alliance Boys, Mang’u High, Pangani Girls, Maryhill Girls High, Lenana School, Precious Blood Girls Riruta, Kenya High and Kapsabet Boys.
“The Ministry of Education needs to invest and have a plan for the upgrade of C4 senior schools so the quality gap is narrowed so that people do not have to scramble for big schools,” Dr Manyasa said.
He said that the MoE has all the facts to make the right decisions and should not hide behind ‘formation of a technical committee’ to avert attention from the root cause of the challenge.
Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu said it defied logic that some of the bigger schools were allowed to admit learners beyond their capacity, forcing some students to sleep in dining halls.
“We either close all schools that have small student numbers and decide that in this country we just want to operate big schools. Or, have the big schools operate within their capacity that allow small schools to admit students,” he said.
President William Ruto briefed by the Ministry of Education officials, CS Migos Ogamba and PS Julius Bitok, on the release of the 2025 KCSE exams on January 9, 2025.
Photo credit: PCS
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Nairobi branch Executive Secretary Mugwe Macharia reckons the challenge of over-admission of Grade 10 learners set in when senior school principals were allowed to have a say in the placement.
“What the government should do is to uplift the C4 schools so that they can attract learners and avoid a repeat of the current crisis,” he said.
Mounting complaints by parents on Grade 10 placements has prompted the Ministry of Education to allow senior school principals to have a say when the second window of reviews was opened.
This marked a departure from the previous process, where senior school heads were barred from participating in placement reviews, and requests had to be routed through the learner’s junior school.
