The Ministry of Education has warned politicians against politicising national school admissions, saying careless remarks on locality-based placement risk causing anxiety among learners and parents.
Speaking in Muranga on Tuesday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba insisted that the placement of students must remain fair and merit-based, stressing that national schools should not be treated as tools for political gain.
“We are sending a very strong warning to our leaders, who are saying national schools should only admit students from the locality where they come from. We must differentiate between the national school status of a school and issues relating to the development of the infrastructure of those schools using the CDF,” he said.
“Some of the institutions we are talking about were not built by CDF. They’ve been there for a very, very long time. CDF just came the other year, several years ago. So let us differentiate that, because it could send the wrong signal.”
Ogamba’s remarks come amid comments by Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua, who has called for merit-based admission while also raising concerns over locality considerations in national school placement.
Gachagua said all learners who excel academically must be admitted on merit, while criticising the quota system introduced under devolution.
“All children in Kenya deserve equal treatment. National schools are very critical because they have a very developed infrastructure, and they attract the best among children. There must be fairness in the placement of children in national schools,” he said.
He insisted that he was not advocating for ethnic or geographic exclusion but for fairness in placement.
“I have not insisted that children of a certain area must go to schools where those children are domiciled, no. Where the schools are domiciled, children from that area who qualify must be given an opportunity,” he added.
Citing a specific case, Gachagua said, “There is a child in Thogoto who scored 71 out of 72 marks; Alliance is just a few metres, and the child had asked to be placed in Alliance, and the cluster was right, but the child was denied while students from other regions got an opportunity. These placements must be based on merit, and I am saying it is unfair to deny a child an opportunity to go to the school of their choice.”
However, CS Ogamba condemned the remarks, insisting that learners are largely detached from political affiliations and urged leaders to avoid making statements that could negatively affect students or parents.
“Let us desist from making statements that might have a very negative impact on our institutions, because our institutions are there to shape these learners, who are almost 11 million in the whole country,” he said.
“When you look at these learners, they are not interested in our political alignments; they do not belong to political parties. They don’t belong to any particular places or spaces. They come to learn.”
He further warned that politically charged statements could have serious psychological consequences for students during the placement exercise.
“We want to encourage leaders, even as you try to get political mileage in your statements, try and do it elsewhere, not in the education sector, because the anxiety you create, which is unnecessary, affects not just the parents, but a lot of the students as well, and might even have serious implications for those. That’s why we are saying, even as we are doing this placement exercise, we are alive to the fact that some students sometimes can even go into depression if they do not get the schools they want,” he said.
Gachagua’s remarks have drawn both criticism and support, with several leaders backing his views, while others have voiced opposition.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale supported Gachagua, saying the debate should focus on accountability.
“Listening to Gachagua with sobriety, he actually raised a valid and not tribal point. I strongly believe national schools should reserve 30 per cent of admission slots for students from local communities,” Khalwale said on X.
“As for the use of NG-CDF by MPs, and by extension, devolved funds by some governors from the former Northern Frontier Districts, let us not sugar-coat anything. Leadership choices matter. Period.”
City lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi also weighed in, saying, “Rigathi Gachagua is right when he raises questions about how public funds allocated to Northern Kenya have been utilised since devolution started in 2013. Gachagua is playing politics, but when he talks about leadership responsibility and outcomes, he is raising issues worth examining, and I support that.”
United Opposition co-principal and Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka urged Kenyans to demand better leadership at the ballot.
“Our country needs leaders who serve the people, not politicians who prioritise personal wealth, build roads to their homes, and leave citizens to suffer,” he said during a burial in Machakos.
In response to parental complaints over placements, the Ministry of Education has extended the Grade 10 transfer deadline to January 16. CS Ogamba said the process is being managed through the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), an automated platform monitored by ICT officials.
“The admissions are linked to the headquarters, with approvals being made across the board to ensure the process is seamless,” Ogamba said.
The extension follows complaints that some learners were placed in senior schools far from home, including day schools in distant counties, or in schools perceived to be below their academic qualifications.
“Those students who may want to transfer from one school to another are being allowed, and the necessary approvals are being made to facilitate that,” he said.
“We have given them until Friday to make the placement process as seamless as possible and ensure every learner is in their school of choice so learning can progress in two weeks.”
Ogamba said ministry officials worked over December to allow learners to transfer, in line with the government’s 100 per cent transition policy.
Grade 10 learners form the pioneer Competency-Based Education cohort, with 1,130,459 students nationwide. Kenya has 9,500 senior schools, categorised by academic pathways, accommodation, gender and special needs.
Ogamba also revealed the government is constructing 1,600 laboratories nationally to support science learning under CBC.