Schools Face Mass Closure

Hello and welcome to the Money Weekly Newsletter, where we are covering the looming closure and merger of over 6,000 school across the country

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6,000 Schools Face Closure Over Low Student Enrolment

6,000 public schools across the country risk being closed due to low student enrollment, with some having less than 45 learners.

According to Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, 2,145 public primary schools hosted less than 45 learners while 3,979 junior secondary schools had less than 90 students.

The discovery was made during the ongoing school verifications where headteachers and principals are required to verify the number of students they have in the schools.

As a result, Ogamba revealed that the government was also considering the merger of some of the schools ease funding burden the Ministry faces.

The CS also revealed that 10 schools were shut down for having zero students yet tutors had been deployed there.

Some of the schools that have been closed so far include Kiria Secondary (Nyandarua), Dr Machage Moheto (Migori), Ragia Forest High (Kiambu), Friends Bulovi (Kakamega), Ngamba Secondary (Murang’a), Sintakara Secondary (Narok), Maji Mazuri Mixed (Baringo), and Fr. Leo Staples Girls (West Pokot).

Ogamba noted that investigations were ongoing to establish whether the schools had been receiving capitations, adding that actions would be taken against those responsible for the loss of funds.

“These schools had teachers but no learners. We are investigating whether monies were released to these schools in the past to determine if there was fraud. Evidence from this exercise will be submitted for criminal investigations if necessary,” he stated.

The verification exercise commenced in September 2025 with some schools missing out of student capitation over unverified data.

Out of 23,889 primary schools in the country, only 16,788 schools were cleared to receive full capitation by the end of term three.

In Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), 934 schools did not receive funds for failing to submit correct data. In Secondary schools, out of the initial reported figure of 3.35 million learners, only 3.2 million students were approved to get capitation.

The audit exercise is aimed at eliminating ghost students, which sees the government lose billions per year.

Here is a quick recap of the top news stories on education for the week:

• Govt clarifies Ksh53,000 standard boarding school fees set for public Senior Secondary Schools.

• Universities announce learning resumption dates after lecturers strike deal with govt to end 48-day strike.

• 19 individuals arrested as police crack down on exam cheating during the ongoing KCSE.

• Kenyan teacher killed during post election chaos in Tanzania.

Catch Up on More News

WEEKLY MONEY TIPS

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That’s a wrap for this week’s Money Weekly!

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