Ruto Orders Students With Financial Challenges to Report to Senior Schools Without Uniforms

President William Ruto has directed that all students transitioning to grade 10 be allowed to report to their assigned schools even if they do not yet have the senior school uniforms and the required fees, which has seen a bigger chunk of them remain at home.

Speaking during the Nyota Capital Disbursement event in Meru County on Thursday January 22, Ruto instructed that children who parenrs parents have financial challenges should be permitted to join senior schools wearing their junior secondary school (JSS) uniforms.

"I am informed that many students have not reported to schools due to a lack of school fees and uniforms. I hereby direct parents and every chief to ensure that each child reports to school regardless of these requirements," Ruto said.

He underscored that no child should be denied access to school over unpaid fees or lack of a uniform, directing that learners be admitted in their current JSS attire as arrangements are made.

Ruto further directed education officials and school principals to comply with the directive immediately to ensure all eligible students can begin the academic year on time.

The Head of State added that the government has disbursed a total of Ksh43 billion capitation fees for the first term and therefore expected every learner to report to school, even as parents continue to raise diverse concerns on the grade 10 transition. 

"In any case, the chiefs and assistant chiefs must ensure that every child goes to school as early as tomorrow because we have provided all the money to teach our children."

Current data shows that about 85 per cent of eligible learners have reported to senior secondary schools, leaving roughly 15 per cent yet to enroll. Earlier updates had placed the transition rate as low as 75 per cent, prompting the government to intensify mop-up efforts across the country to track and enroll the remaining learners.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba explained the reasons behind the 15 per cent transition gap from Grade 9 to Grade 10, attributing the delay largely to parents seeking changes in school placements during the rollout of the Competency-Based Education.

Ogamba, while speaking during an interview on KTN, said the main challenge has been parents requesting transfers from the schools their children were initially allocated. 

“There are a few issues that led to the 15 per cent of learners who did not transition, such as parents wanting to move learners from the schools they were allocated to different schools,” he said.

He noted that although the requests were justified, they delayed the reporting process as families held out for approvals or alternative placements, a factor the CS said largely accounts for the shortfall seen in the initial phase of the transition.