- If passed into law, cluster one senior schools will be restricted to admit only 10 streams of 40 students each in grades 10, 11, and 12 starting from 2027
- One of the major aims of this Bill is to decongest the popular senior schools that have been forced to over-enrol students without commensurate infrastructural developments at the expense of less popular schools
- However, legalising this proposal serves to entrench stratification of schools into clusters that have previously existed through administrative rather than legal provisions.
The member of the National Assembly for Kitutu Masaba constituency, Hon Clive Ombane Gisairo, has drafted a laudable private members’ Bill to be tabled in the assembly that seeks to regulate the enrolment of students in senior schools.
If passed into law, cluster one senior schools will be restricted to admit only 10 streams of 40 students each in grades 10, 11, and 12 starting from 2027. Clusters 2, 3 and 4 will likewise be restricted to admitting only eight, five and three streams respectively, with enrolments limited to 40 students as well.
One of the major aims of this Bill is to decongest the popular senior schools that have been forced to over-enrol students without commensurate infrastructural developments at the expense of less popular schools that have received extremely low enrolments, especially in 2026, yet they have teachers and fairly well-established infrastructure.
Historically, the Ministry of Education and the respective Boards of Management have variously acted out of tune with each other in the manner in which students are admitted to schools. In many cases, Boards are directed to take up to 100 students beyond their capacity and without prior notice. This leads to shortages of space in dormitories, Laboratories, classrooms and washrooms, leading to stressful teaching, learning and living conditions in such schools.
If this Bill is enacted and enforced, it would decongest schools in a big way. My understanding is that the 204 cluster one schools will have a maximum of 30 streams of 1,200 students each, from the current state that they have an enrolment of up to 3000 students. The 692 cluster two schools will have a maximum of 960 students; 1,373 cluster 3 schools 600 and 7,234 cluster 4 schools 360 students each. Overall, the 9,503 senior schools will have a maximum capacity of 4,337,160 students even though the current enrolment in these schools is about 3.6 million. The objective of decongestion will have been achieved.
The likely benefits of this legislation would include, first, an average of 60, 48, 30 and 18 teachers only in cluster 1,2, 3 and 4 schools with slight variations depending on the curriculum offered in each school. Secondly, cluster 3 and 4, which were this year, 2026, starved of students, will have a sufficient number of students to run cost-effectively within three years. Thirdly, discipline may improve due to reduced stressors associated with congestion.
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However, there will be major challenges and resistance from the well-established cluster one and two schools that have as high as 3,000 students. A reduced enrolment down to 1,200 would mean low capitation and underutilization of some of their massive infrastructure. Furthermore, up to fifty per cent of their teachers may have to be redeployed to other schools, which by itself is a source of major conflicts.
Secondly legalizing this proposal serves to entrench stratification of schools into clusters that have previously existed through administrative rather than legal provisions. Thirdly, this law does not serve to control the establishment of new unviable cluster four schools. One would have thought that this proposal could have sought a provision for a minimum number of students below which schools would not be allowed to be established. Fourth, I would have been comfortable if Hon Gisairo proposed that the clustering of schools be abolished and schools be legally forced to take a minimum of three streams per grade and a maximum of 15 streams. The large schools would then have a maximum of 1,800 students in a strict regime of not more than 40 students per class and the small schools would have a minimum of 360 students with 40 students per class. In any case, what sound educational reason can be used to defend the clustering of public schools?
Lastly, the national government, in collaboration with the legislators that have a lot of control over the National Government Constituency Development Fund, should ensure the provision of adequate infrastructure, capitation, facilities and teachers to these newly restructured public senior schools for the sake of equitable distribution of educational opportunities. After all, education has been termed the distributor of life chances. The sponsor of this motion or any other member may need to infuse these and other proposals into this motion.
By Benjamin Sogomo
Education Expert /Former TSC Secretary
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