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Why Grade 10 students are not learning yet
Parents outside School Outfitters in Kisumu on January 12, 2026.
What you need to know:
- Some schools are finding it difficult to develop timetables for different pathways as some teachers say the senior school system was still a mystery.
Despite the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) expressing confidence in the readiness of teachers to handle Grade 10 learners, schools have revealed a myriad of challenges.
TSC acting CEO Eveleen Mitei previously said the commission has retooled 30,000 teachers to handle different pathways in senior school. However, several teachers who spoke to the Nation cited non-existent facilities and learning tools, and a lack of clarity coupled with delayed delivery of 10 text books as major challenges.
Some schools reported having difficulties in developing a timetable for different pathways. According to a principal of a school in Meru County, they are grappling with how to align the Grade 10 lessons to those of Form Three and Four learners.
Mr Martin Gitonga, a teacher at Materi Girls Centre and the school’s Competency Based Education (CBE) champion, said they had invested in internal trainings to fill the gaps.
“One of the biggest challenges facing schools is preparing timetables because it is a very complex process. As a school, we have CBE curriculum designer and timetabling expert. Many public schools are now relying on our time table expert,” he said.
Some teachers said the senior school system was still a mystery.
“As teachers, we are yet to know what to teach the Grade 10 learners. The entire system is shrouded in mystery because we have no guide or textbooks. Education officials have advised us to devise ways of keeping the learners busy such as giving them newspapers to read,” a principal said.
The Teachers Service Commission Acting CEO Eveleen Mitei.
At Laburra Secondary School, teachers said they had not been taught how to make the timetable for the senior school.
At Chinga Boys High School, the learners have been undergoing induction since Thursday to familiarise themselves with the institution. Only 27 of 46 teachers at the institution have been retooled on the curriculum.
The school has started downloading the curriculum designs from the internet, but a teacher said they could not do much without textbooks.
“If things don’t get better next week, we will start distributing novels that have been donated to us so that we can keep the students busy until the government releases the textbooks to be used,” she said.
