Govt. to merge Senior schools with low enrolment

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba during launch of 2025 National Examinations and Assessments Seson on October 5, 2025  [Wilbrforce Okwiri,Standard]

The Ministry of Education has signalled a major policy shift that could see some secondary schools with persistently low enrolment merged.

This will ensure government improve access to quality education and ensure efficient use of resources.

Speaking during the ‘Global Partnership for Education-Education financing in Nairobi, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the ministry will begin auditing transition numbers in senior schools to determine institutions that may no longer be viable due to low student intake.

“Our work as a ministry is to sit down and make a determination and see, do we still need to keep holding these schools, or should we invest more in schools that we require and which already have the facilities. There will be no point to have a school with 10 students,” Ogamba said.

The remarks come amid growing concern over poor transition rates particularly in Cluster 4 senior schools in some parts of the country.

The former Sub-County schools which are normally day secondary schools have struggled to attract learners under the new placement system.

The issue has raised questions about the sustainability of some institutions and the quality of education they can realistically offer.

Kithiriti Senior School, Kirinyaga county, principal Newton Muchira said only two students out of 100 selected learners have reported so far, with three others who had initially registered yet to show up.

“We had hope of enrolling many learners when the process began. We have four empty classes after last year’s Form Two learners moved to the next class. But to our disappointment, students are not coming,” Muchira said.

Muchira dismissed claims that poor infrastructure was driving learners away, noting that the school is adequately staffed and equipped.

“We have enough teachers, classrooms and laboratories. We don’t have a problem with teaching but students. Nobody should have that as a scapegoat avenue,” he added.

A similar situation is at Salama Senior School in Makueni County, which had projected an intake of 228 learners.

However, only six students have been admitted so far, according to principal Abdi Mohammed.

“Actually, some students made a revision for admission here. The ones placed here have not shown any sign of reporting,” Mohammed said.

Education officials attribute the low enrolment to several factors, including inadequate facilities in some day schools and the option given to learners to change schools during the selection and placement process. These dynamics have left some institutions severely underutilised.

Ogamba said the government is keen to address the imbalance by rationalising schools and concentrating investments where they will have the greatest impact.

“Can we mop up or merge the schools so that those which are called schools have the facilities that they require?” he posed.

He also cited Raganga Secondary School in Kisii County, where all candidates scored grades D and E in the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, as an example of where earlier intervention may have changed outcomes.

“We are not going to be bullied to have what I call patriotic schools, where everybody says because I have the capacity to build a class, let this be a school under their names,” Ogamba said.

The Cabinet Secretary emphasized that the goal is not to shut down access to education, but to ensure learners are placed in schools that meet required standards.

“Schools are going to be equipped to meet the standards needed to support learners,” he said.