By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya, January 18, 2026 - Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has issued firm instructions to the entire National Government Administration to ensure that all learners who are yet to transition to Grade 10 report to school without delay, signalling a tougher enforcement posture on compulsory education under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
In a directive sent to County Commissioners, Deputy County Commissioners, Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs, Murkomen tasked the administrative hierarchy with identifying children who have not reported to secondary school and working with parents, guardians and education officials to facilitate their immediate enrolment.
The move places the powerful national administration apparatus at the centre of enforcing school transition, traditionally led by the Ministry of Education.
The directive comes amid growing concern by the government over gaps in the transition from Junior Secondary School to Senior School (Grade 10), the first cohort under the CBC.
While the Ministry of Education has repeatedly announced high transition rates from Grade 9 to Grade 10, emerging reports from several counties indicate that a number of learners—particularly in marginalised, informal and rural areas—have failed to report to school due to poverty, teenage pregnancies, child labour, early marriages and long distances to designated senior schools.
Murkomen’s intervention reframes the transition challenge as not only an education issue but also an administrative and security concern.
In instructing chiefs and assistant chiefs—the lowest but most far-reaching level of state authority—to act, the government is signalling that non-attendance will no longer be treated as a private household matter but as a breach of national policy on compulsory basic education.
Under Kenyan law, basic education is mandatory and the state has powers to hold parents and guardians accountable for keeping children out of school without justifiable cause.
Murkomen’s directive implicitly revives these enforcement provisions, which in recent years have been applied sparingly, with the government preferring persuasion over coercion.
Analysts Victor Owino view the move as an acknowledgment that the CBC transition is encountering implementation stress.
Unlike the 8-4-4 system, the CBC requires learners to be placed in senior schools aligned to their career pathways, sometimes far from home, increasing costs for families already strained by the economy.
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The directive therefore places chiefs in the delicate position of enforcing compliance while also navigating the socioeconomic realities of the households they oversee.
The order also elevates the role of county commissioners, who have been instructed to coordinate with County Education Boards, school principals and children’s officers to compile accurate data on non-transitioning learners.
This inter-agency approach suggests the government is seeking to close data gaps and prevent learners from permanently dropping out at a critical stage of their education.
However, the directive is likely to spark debate on the balance between enforcement and support.
Education stakeholders have consistently argued that while administrative pressure can push enrolment numbers up, sustainable transition requires parallel investment in bursaries, school infrastructure, boarding facilities and psychosocial support—especially for vulnerable learners.
Murkomen’s instructions place the national administration squarely on the front line of delivering one of President William Ruto’s key education promises: 100 per cent transition.
Whether the strategy will translate into long-term retention, or merely a short-term reporting surge, will depend on how enforcement is matched with practical support at the community level.
