Learners attending sub-county secondary schools face a tougher road to success compared to their counterparts in other categories of schools irrespective of their performance in primary school, a report launched on Wednesday shows.
The institutions, 72.6 per cent of which are day schools, are not only underfunded and understaffed, but also have the highest drop-out and absenteeism rate, and offer the narrowest range of examinable subjects. According to the study, on average, less than a quarter of sub-county schools are equipped with biology, physics and chemistry laboratories compared to 90 per cent of national schools, which are all boarding.
The sub-county schools also lack other resources such as libraries, clean drinking water and sanitation facilities.
The survey was conducted in 1,317 secondary schools out of a target of 1,342 in all the 47 counties.
The findings of the report are significant since secondary schools will assume a new role from 2026 when they will transform into senior schools under the competency-based curriculum. Learners in senior school are expected to pursue specific pathways depending on their interests, abilities and career aspirations.
The report titled Is our Secondary School System Unjust by Design? by Usawa Agenda places the performance of learners in day schools just above special needs education (SNE) schools.
“Developmentally, secondary school is critical in a child’s life. The category of secondary school a learner attends contributes more to their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination grade than their entry—Kenya Certificate of Primary Education marks,” said Dr Emmanuel Manyasa, the executive director of Usawa Agenda.
“National schools enjoy better subject-specific and multi-purpose laboratories with sub-county schools having to improvise to get anywhere close to an operational laboratory,” he said.
The survey found that sub-county schools had the highest teacher absenteeism rate at 14.5 per cent, followed by special schools at 14.2 per cent on the day that it was done.
The number of subjects taught and examined in secondary school ranges from seven to 23. However, the average maximum for SNE schools is 15, while the range for sub-county schools is eight to 17, eight to 18 among county schools, eight to 19 among extra-county schools and eight to 23 in national schools. Private secondary schools have an average range of eight to 16.
Dr Moses Kiarie, a director from the department of quality assurance and standards at the Ministry of Education said the findings of the survey are reliable.
“It’s a fair representation of what happens in our schools. It’s authentic and we don’t want to defend ourselves,” he said.
The survey found that part of the learners’ absenteeism (59 per cent) is related to being sent home for school fees. Learners in day schools do not pay tuition fees but there are other costs like meals.
“This is a parental responsibility and the ministry insists on learners getting a fresh hot meal,” Dr Kiarie said.
School uniforms also add to the cost of education. The average price of a set of school uniform in 43.6 per cent of the schools was found to be more than Sh5,000, making it a major financial burden for parents.
Dr Manyasa said that while congestion was reported in some schools, especially the in-demand extra-county and national schools, others are greatly underutilised.
Congestion was reported mostly in boarding schools, which he described as death traps. Only 40.5 per cent of the sampled schools responded that they adhere to the safety guidelines on spacing learners’ beds in the dormitories. The greatest non-compliance with safety guidelines was observed in mixed sub-county schools that have boarding wings.
The report further indicates that the amounts of bursaries and scholarships awarded to learners in secondary schools are extremely low. Nationally, 42 per cent of the students receive Sh3,001 and Sh5,000 from different arms of government while 38 per cent receive less than Sh3,000.
Despite challenges that face public secondary schools, the report observed that they offer better chances to excel academically compared to private ones. Additionally, learners attending single-gender schools have better chances of excelling than those in mixed schools.
