Top schools face overcrowding as Grade 10 admission is extended

A Grade 10 student prepares for admission at Moi Girls High School in Kakamega on  January 14,2026. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

National schools have recorded cases of over-enrolment, even as some institutions have admitted very few students, with a few taking in as few as three pupils during the first week of admission.

This comes as the Ministry of Education announced that the admission window for Grade 10 students entering senior secondary school has been extended to January 21.

The exercise was initially scheduled to end on January 16, but a significant number of students are yet to report to school.

At Pangani Girls, the school has admitted 980 students against a capacity of 700. Similarly, Nairobi School has enrolled 920 students, Lenana School 700, and Murang’a High School has surpassed 1,000 Grade 10 admissions.

The surge in enrolment at national schools is raising concerns over the strain on facilities, teaching staff, and learning resources as the senior secondary system takes shape.

School administrators warn that overcrowded classrooms, congested dormitories, and stretched sanitation facilities could undermine learning if the imbalance is not addressed promptly.

“We had two empty classes, which necessitated the large enrolment; however, the number of teachers, non-teaching staff, and learning materials remains the same, posing a major challenge as teaching and learning commence,” Willy Kuria, chairman of the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association, told the Standard.

Kuria added that the enrolment patterns highlight the need to strengthen less popular schools to distribute the admission burden. 

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba yesterday said that the Ministry has observed a major disparity in enrolment, with some institutions receiving a large number of requests while others remain unpopular among learners.

The low turnout now threatens the viability of these institutions, with the Ministry indicating potential closures. He added that national schools are recording over 100 per cent turnout, while sub-county and county schools continue to struggle with low enrolment. 

“We will use the data we are receiving from the placement to understand what needs to be done and the decisions that need to be made, because only a few schools are sought after. We can use the sought-after schools to make a case study and replicate that in each ward so that we have 1,450 sought-after schools in the country,” the CS said.

The announcement coincides with plans to upgrade over 1,000 institutions to national school status.

The initiative aims to ensure that every administrative ward has at least one senior secondary school of national status, addressing low interest in certain institutions, particularly day senior secondary schools classified as C4.

With a total of 1,450 wards, the upgrade would increase the number of C1 (national) senior secondary schools from 103. 

“If we have a school with the same status as the schools facing cutthroat competition for admission, then we will be able to ease the pressure on the top schools and eventually, this will enable a critical mass of well resourced model schools, which is what we need,” Ogamba said.

He confirmed that the admission deadline for Grade 10 learners has been extended to January 21, to achieve a 100 per cent transition rate.

This follows a statement by Basic Education PS Julius Bitok last week, suggesting that delays had prompted the Ministry to consider extending the admission period to allow more students to report.

Preliminary data, Ogamba said on Saturday, indicate that the current admission rate stands at 75 per cent.

“We hope that students yet to report will do so in the next three days, allowing for ongoing placement reviews and delayed reporting in some regions,” he told The Standard.

Ogamba added that school heads will be allowed to progressively admit students into available slots.