Turkana has the fewest number of students who have reported to Grade 10, even as the number of learners enrolled in senior school rose to 831,000, according to the Ministry of Education.
With the deadline for admission to schools lapsing on Wednesday, January 21, those who had reported by midday Tuesday, January 20, accounted for 77 percent of the 1.1 million junior school graduates.
This means about 280, 000 are still at home, but officials say the figure could be much lower since some students are already in schools even though their data has not been uploaded to the online system because of connectivity challenges.
Only 25 per cent of learners placed in schools in Turkana County have reported, the least number for the students transitioning to senior school under the Competency-Based Education (CBE).
By contrast, Mandera County is leading nationally, with about 95 per cent of learners already reporting to their new schools, highlighting wide regional disparities in the transition to senior school.
The ministry said that overall reporting across the country stood at about 76 to 77 per cent by midday, translating to approximately 851,000 learners.
However, officials noted that the figures were provisional and continue to change as more schools upload data into the system.
“Mandera is leading at 95 per cent. The lowest is Turkana, which is currently at about 25 per cent. The rest of the counties are ranging between 55 and 95 per cent, with the majority falling between 55 per cent and about 88 per cent, which we can round off to 90 per cent. As we speak, around noon, the overall reporting rate stands at about 76 per cent, translating to roughly 851,000 learners,” Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba told Daily Nation .
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
A total of 1.13 million candidates sat the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), whose results were released in December 2025.
The government subsequently opened a review window that attracted applications from more than 300,000 learners seeking reassessment of their scores and transfer to schools of their choice.
Mr Ogamba said the ministry is still interrogating the reasons behind the low turnout in Turkana and other underperforming regions.
Ministry officials are engaging local education officers to identify the challenges delaying reporting, assuring that targeted interventions will be rolled out to address area-specific barriers.
“Our teams are going to the ground to find out what is delaying some learners from reporting, whether it is uniforms or other issues, so that we can address them. Of course, there are exceptions, such as candidates in prison, those who have joined private schools, or cases where learners may have passed on. We will provide the exact numbers once the process closes,” said Mr Ogamba.
He noted that the reporting is almost 50-50 by gender and by school category, C4s- public sub-county day secondary schools- have the highest learners reporting.
“In terms of absolute numbers, C4 is actually leading. We will have a 100 per cent transition. Believe me, we are not going to leave any child behind. That is our target, and we are doing everything possible to ensure it works,” he added.
Mr Ogamba said that while the online portal shows some schools with low numbers, the actual number of students attending classes is significantly higher.
A man re-writes a school signpost in Elburgon town, Nakuru County on May 31, 2025.
Photo credit: John Njoroge | Nation Media Group
"Learners are still streaming in, we have quite a big number by yesterday night, it was 550, 000 learners whose data was keyed in the system, and we were waiting for two regions to key in their numbers. The physical admissions are much, much higher, than the numbers in the system,” said Mr Ogamba.
“In many instances, students have been admitted, undergone orientation, and started attending lessons, but their details have yet to be fully updated in the system due to connectivity challenges in some schools,” he explained.
The ministry also highlighted challenges with under-enrolled schools, noting that some institutions have very few students due to low demand.
“We need to face reality, some schools are not preferred by students. This will guide future decisions on consolidating resources to schools that are most sought after. A report will be prepared once the exercise is complete, detailing how many students each school has received and whether any adjustments, such as redistributing students, are necessary,” he said.
