The Ministry of Education is trapped in a policy tug-of-war as it mulls the closure of hundreds of under-enrolled public schools in the country, even as calls for the implementation of full free secondary education persist.
The development comes at a time when Members of Parliament continue to use billions from the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) to break ground on new institutions.
This school paradox arises at a critical time for Kenya’s education sector, which is currently managing the massive transition of 1.13 million Grade 10 students into senior school under the Competency-Based Education (CBE).
However, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba is banking on the placement to determine the survival of schools.
He pointed out that the exercise told a story of how some schools had over 50,000 applicants applying for vacancies of around 700.
“If the students did not choose your school, the system will not place them. This means no student wanted to go to those schools,” said CS Ogamba.
After the placement, the CS said his ministry will determine whether the schools that did not receive any numbers can survive.
He said his ministry must make a determination on whether the state should continue holding these schools or invest more in the schools that the students selected so that they can have all the required facilities.
The CS argued that it is ironic to have 10 schools in a place with just 1,000 students where each school has a population of 100 students.
“There will be no point to have a school with 10 students, where you have a headmaster, classroom, watchman, and a teacher. It doesn’t make sense. This is telling us that we need to face reality, we now need to change course and ensure we have schools that have all the facilities with the right number of students,” he said.
In 2025, the Ministry revealed that 2,700 public secondary schools, which is nearly 28 per cent of the total 9,605 senior schools under CBE, were operating with critically low enrolment, each with fewer than 150 learners.
Schools with low numbers struggle to cover utilities and non-teaching staff, as government capitation (funding) is tied directly to the number of students. This leaves parents paying the huge price by being tasked to pay salaries for the Board of Management staff.
Teachers Service Commission Director of Quality Assurance Dr Reuben Nthamburi, said once the teachers’ employer gets data on schools that are not having the correct admissions it will balance the teachers and redeploy them to institutions with the required numbers of learners so that they can continue teaching.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
However, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has called for the immediate implementation of fully free secondary education in Kenya, saying access to education must be guaranteed and insulated from political influence.
He proposed the establishment of a national secondary school education kitty to fund day secondary education across the country, including the provision of school meals.
To sustain the programme, the lawmaker suggested the pooling of Sh10 billion from NG-CDF and a similar amount from county governments through equitable share deductions, and additional funding from the National Government through the Ministry of Education.
According to the MP, Kenya requires approximately Sh15 billion annually to make secondary education fully free, an amount he said can be achieved through better prioritisation of existing public resources.
The legislator warned against constituency-based education programmes, arguing that they risk creating disparities among learners. Instead, he called for a uniform national framework that ensures equal access to education for all Kenyan children.
“This is about Kenya’s future. Education must be free, accessible, and protected from politics,” Mr Nyoro said.
Dilemma of new NG-CDF schools
While the Ministry talks of consolidation and mergers, the political landscape tells a different story. NG-CDF has facilitated the establishment of over 500 new schools since its inception.
For many MPs, building a school is a signature project that demonstrates development to voters. In many constituencies, new schools are still being commissioned within a few kilometers of existing, under-utilized institutions.
In Mombasa, Mvita MP Masoud Machele said he will no longer construct new schools but invest in the existing ones due to lack of land.
This has led to a fragmented infrastructure where resources like laboratories and ICT hubs are spread too thin to be effective.
However, his counterpart in Kisauni Rashid Bedzimba has been constructing new schools. A recent school launched by the CS himself is yet to start operations.
Mr Bedzimba said he will construct more schools due to overcrowding. Kisauni is the largest constituency in the port city. Schools are overcrowded with some having more than 2,000 learners.
