Africa-Press – Kenya. The government has released more than Ksh 44 billion in capitation funds to public schools ahead of the Grade 10 transition in January 2026, as announced by President William Ruto.
Speaking on Sunday, December 28, during a church event in Narok county, President Ruto said the funds would reach schools before learners report, reaffirming the government’s preparations for what he described as the most consequential transition since the introduction of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
The Head of State also assured that no student would miss the Grade 10 transition, addressing concerns that some students were likely to be left behind.
He promised that the government would ensure that all the over 1.1 million students who sat the KJSEA exams transitioned to senior schools, warning politicians against politicising the process.
“We have ensured that Ksh 22,000 for every student has already been released. We have disbursed ksh 44 billion and the money will reach schools before they report,” Ruto noted
He noted that the government was fully prepared to accommodate more than 1.1 million learners, adding that adequate infrastructure, including classrooms and laboratories, had been put in place. Ruto also said that by January 2026, the government would have hired more than 100,000 teachers to support the transition.
“I want to assure parents and all stakeholders that we have made adequate arrangements. We have enough space. We are building over 1,600 laboratories and 23,000 classrooms,” he assured.
His assurance reaffirms government efforts to ensure smooth transitions and general running of schools, especially after the education sector has faced a number of crises that were largely brought about by a lack of funding.
The President’s remarks come amid growing tension among parents and students after the Ministry of Education revealed that it had rejected more than 60,000 requests for school transfers ahead of the January intake.
Students who requested a change of schools they were first placed in cited a number of reasons, among them being the long distances to the schools they were put in by the ministry. Due to their discontent, the ministry asked them to review, allowing every learner to choose a school of their choice.
The ministry, through its principal secretary, Julius Bitok, revealed why the applications were rejected. However, he assured that there will be a second window of review between January 6 and January 9, and urged the students to remain calm.
“The main reason that we are declining most of the requests is because of capacity. I have said more than 50,000 students are interested in 20 schools, which is impossible to deal with,” Bitok revealed in an interview on Saturday, December 27.
