Secondary school principals converge in Mombasa this week for the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) Annual Conference, have collectively sounded a warning regarding the nation’s preparedness for the transition of 1.2 million Grade 9 learners to senior school in January 2026.
Speaking to press, KESSHA Chairperson Willy Kuria, also the Chief Principal of Muranga High School, highlighted the critical need for accelerated teacher retooling as the senior school transition nears.
This comes in the wake of last week’s statement from Principal Secretary for Higher Education Beatrice Inyangala, who noted lack of competency among secondary school teachers in the three senior school pathways: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Social Sciences, and Arts and Sports.
While the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has retooled over 7,000 school principals, and since the introduction of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) seven years ago, 229,292 primary school teachers and 75,000 junior school teachers have undergone retooling.
“If we all want this new system of education to be successful, we must ensure teachers are retooled.” Kuria stressed.
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The Ministry of Education is set to launch in-service training from July 2025 for over 154,200 secondary school teachers, with TSC allocating Ksh600 million for this retooling, spearheaded by public universities.
Kuria pointed out the unsustainability of current school fees, which were fixed a decade ago, stating that financing is another major point of contention.
“The school fees being paid by parents currently is Ksh40,000 for extra-county and Ksh53,000 for national schools was fixed in 2015, 10 years ago. It is unsustainable,” he stated in an exclusive interview, adding that inflation has surged by 46 percent over the same period. He further revealed discrepancies in government capitation.
“This second term, we were given around Ksh3,000 (per learner) yet we were supposed to get Ksh6,600 (per learner)… In the first term, we were supposed to get Ksh11,100 (per learner) but we got around Ksh8,000,” He stated.
The KESSHA chairman also appealed to teacher unions, the TSC, and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to address teacher remuneration.
“The new collective bargaining agreement should be signed this year following the expiry of the previous one which was non-monetary. We must motivate teachers. As managers of schools we are having a hard time dealing with demotivated teachers arising from the issues of remunerations and promotions,” Kuria disclosed, terming the recent promotion of 25,000 teachers a mere ‘drop in the ocean.’
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The Chairman also stated that the inaugural Kenya Junior School Education Assessment will be undertaken by the pioneer CBC cohort in November, with placement in senior schools based on pathway choice, learners’ abilities, interests, and career choices.
The principals are also deeply concerned about a directive to mix day scholars and boarders in national schools, which Kuria believes could lead to significant discipline issues and congestion. He warned that day scholars might be used to traffic unsuitable items into schools and urged the government to reconsider the decision.
“Day scholars do not pay tuition fees. How then will you mix them with boarders? We may not afford to have day scholars learn without paying school fees because in boarding schools, we have morning breakfast, 10 o’clock tea, lunch and four o’clock tea, among others. How are we going to manage them? Feed them without imposing any fees?” he questioned.
On healthcare, Kuria confirmed that the health system in schools, including challenges with the transition from EduAfya to the new Taifa Care program, would be a key discussion point. The government’s ambitious Taifa Care program aims to enrol 15 million learners across all education levels into a health insurance scheme, differing from the previous Ksh 4 billion EduAfya program which only covered public secondary school students.
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Among the top government officials scheduled to address the principals at the conference are Deputy President Prof. Kithure Kindiki, National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, and Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, who is slated to speak on financing senior schools.
The conference will also delve into the implementation of competency-based education and governance in schools.
“We have lined up several topics, and we are sure the government officials will address them holistically and give us solutions, especially on sustainable financing of education because CBE will come with its financial challenges. For it to succeed, we need a discourse on financing of education,” Kuria concluded.
While progress is being made, principals insist more must be done to ensure schools are fully equipped; physically and professionally for the CBC’s senior school phase.
held at Sheikh Zayed Hall under the theme ‘Embracing Pathways in Senior School Education’. The principals have collectively sounded a warning regarding the nation’s preparedness for the transition of 1.2 million Grade 9 learners to senior school in January 2026.
By Cornelius korir and Collins Akong’o
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