Learning was disrupted at St Thomas Raganga Secondary School in Kisii County on Monday, January 12, after enraged parents descended on the institution to protest its poor performance in the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations. The angry crowd accused the school administration of gross failure, forcing teachers to flee the compound.
Witnesses said the parents, joined by some local residents, chased away teachers—including the principal—and locked the administration block as tensions boiled over. The protest followed the release of KCSE results that placed the school among the worst performers nationally.
Parents faulted the teaching staff for what they described as neglect and incompetence, arguing that despite making significant financial sacrifices, their children had little to show for four years of secondary education.
According to reports, the school’s top candidate scored a D plain, while the majority of learners recorded D minus grades, with a few receiving grade E. The results triggered fury among parents, some of whom were seen marching through the school compound while holding twigs in protest, as captured in footage circulated online.
“I brought my children here so they could get an education and support me in the future, but now they have failed completely,” lamented one parent. Another accused the school of failing to adequately cover the syllabus, claiming that a Form Four student was still struggling with content meant for Form One.
As the situation escalated, the staff room was abandoned, and the school remained under the control of parents and villagers for several hours. Parents who spoke to the media said the poor results had shattered their children’s future prospects, insisting the learners were capable of performing much better under proper guidance.
Founded in 1992, St Thomas Raganga Secondary School has struggled with KCSE performance for years, a reality that parents say sharply contradicts the school’s motto, “Education for Life.”
The unrest came just days after Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba released the 2025 KCSE results, which showed improved performance nationally. A total of 993,226 candidates sat the examinations, with female candidates slightly outnumbering males. Candidates attaining the minimum university entry grade of C+ and above rose to 270,715, up from 246,391 in 2024.
Despite the national improvement, parents at Raganga Secondary say the results highlight deep-rooted issues at the school that require urgent intervention by education authorities.