This archive report was first published on 3 December 2019.
As Kenya strives to achieve universal basic education, a major milestone has been reached with the selection of all Standard Eight candidates, except a few, to join secondary school next year.
According to Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha, candidates will be placed in schools of their choice and based on performance, so long as available slots allow, ensuring fairness and equity in placement.
However, the expanded transition has created enormous challenges for secondary schools, including overcrowding, teacher shortages, and inadequate funding.
Classrooms, hostels, laboratories, and workshops are stretched beyond limit, with an average of 60 students in a class, instead of the recommended 45. Teacher shortage is biting, with a deficit of more than 60,000 teachers in post-primary institutions.
Independent statistics indicate that secondary schools employ up to 40% of their teaching staff, severely hitting their recurrent budgets.
The government has capped the fees at Sh53,000 a year and allocates Sh22,000 for every learner in subsidy, but the figures have been static for five years as inflation soars.
At any rate, the subsidy is never remitted in full and on time, leaving secondary schools struggling to meet their budgets.
