The government has unveiled plans to reorganise parts of the secondary school system by merging institutions that have very low student populations, a move officials say will allow education resources to be used more efficiently.
Speaking at a public event on Saturday, March 15, Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the Ministry of Education is reviewing schools with low enrollment and considering merging some of them.
According to Bitok, the plan will allow the government to repurpose underutilised institutions while expanding facilities in schools that are already experiencing high student numbers.
He explained that authorities will increase the capacity of larger schools by constructing additional dormitories and classrooms to accommodate learners who may be transferred from the affected institutions.
However, the PS did not provide a clear timeline for when the mergers will begin or specify what some of the under-enrolled schools could be converted into.
“Most of the small schools we have, we need to rethink what to do with them, and it may be converting them to other things, while ensuring we expand capacity and maintain very good schools across the country,” Bitok said.
He added that the government intends to invest more resources into the education sector to improve infrastructure and staffing.
“We will ensure that we pour more resources into the education system to ensure schools have better laboratories, dormitories, and enough teachers so that learners have an opportunity to experience great schools,” he said.
The proposed changes come after several schools earlier this year reported extremely low numbers of learners transitioning to Grade 10 under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
A number of institutions particularly category four schools, formerly known as sub-county schools reopened expecting new senior school students but found classrooms largely empty, with some reporting no admissions at all.
Headteachers in the affected schools attributed the low turnout to the new placement system, claiming many of the students assigned to their schools were from distant regions.
They also cited the government’s transfer window, which allowed students to request changes to their placements, saying the review and transfer process further complicated the situation.
At the same time, other schools across the country reportedly admitted students beyond their capacity. In some cases, parents were turned away despite presenting placement letters, as popular institutions had already filled all available slots.
Last October, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said merging schools with very low enrollment would also help address concerns about transparency in the distribution of government capitation funds.
“We are doing something about the number of ghost schools in the country. The statistics we are getting show that some of the schools we have are operating with fewer than 10 students,” Ogamba said.