Gov't considers extending Grade 10 reporting deadline over low turnout

With less than 24 hours to the deadline for Grade 10 admission into senior secondary school, only about 400,000 of the 1.1 million learners placed have reported to school.

While national schools are recording over 90 per cent turnout, hundreds of thousands of learners—mainly those placed in sub-county and extra-county schools—remain at home as parents grapple with high costs, long distances and concerns over inadequate facilities.

The Ministry of Education is now considering extending the deadline even as it insists it will achieve 100 per cent transition.

On Thursday, Basic Education Principal Secretary Prof. Julius Bitok toured several schools to assess the transition of Grade 10 learners.

He visited Alliance Boys High School, a Category One institution, where the majority of learners have already reported.

However, the situation is markedly different in Category Two and sub-county schools, where more than 700,000 learners placed in these institutions were still at home just hours before the reporting deadline.

Ministry data shows a sharp divide in reporting rates across the country. National schools, classified as Cluster One, are recording the highest turnout at 91 per cent. Cluster Two extra-county schools stand at about 50 per cent, while sub-county schools, now known as Category Four, are lagging at less than 40 per cent.

For many parents whose children are yet to report, finances remain the biggest hurdle. Beyond official school fees, families say they are being asked to pay for uniforms, textbooks, bedding and equipment, pushing the cost of joining school by between Ksh.20,000 and Ksh.50,000.

For many struggling households, this has proved unaffordable, leaving thousands of learners at home despite having confirmed placements.

Other parents are demanding transfers, arguing that their children were placed in schools that are too far from home or in institutions they believe lack adequate teachers, laboratories and facilities required for their chosen pathways under the new curriculum.

With science, technical and vocational subjects now central to senior secondary education, there are growing fears that many sub-county and extra-county schools are not yet fully equipped to deliver.

However, Prof. Bitok expressed confidence that the transition will be smooth.

“We are confident that by the end of this process all the students will have been placed successfully. We shall have 100 per cent transition because we have enough spaces in Grade 10 senior schools to take all the learners. We expect more students to go to Category Four schools because they have more capacity, but so far 42 per cent of the students who have reported have reported in Category Four schools,” he said.

The ministry says more than 50,000 learners applied to just 20 popular schools, leaving thousands unable to secure placement in their preferred institutions. Parents are now being urged to accept placements in other schools, particularly those in Category Four, which still have available space.

“We are asking principals that if parents walk into your school, place your request in the portal and the approval will come if the capacity is there. But without capacity, it is hard because the system will not allow you to place a student in a school that is full. We encourage parents to take up the schools the students have been placed in. There is no confusion. We are very clear in our minds and we are sure all learners will be transitioned,” Prof. Bitok added.

The ministry also says it is working closely with the Teachers Service Commission to address shortages of instructors in specialised subjects.

“We are working very closely with TSC and we have had a few meetings to ensure we build capacity for those specialised areas which have fewer teachers. Over time, we want to build the capacity of some of our big schools to teach these technical areas which were not there in the previous curriculum,” he said.

With the low turnout persisting, the government says it is considering extending the reporting deadline to allow more learners time to join senior secondary school.