Kenya has recorded significant progress in implementing the 100% School Transition Policy, with the vast majority of learners who completed Grade 6 in 2025 moving on to Junior Secondary School.
In a statement on Sunday, January 18, the Ministry of Interior said the progress demonstrates near-universal compliance with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
"The Government and Parents of Kenya have recorded significant national progress in implementing the 100% School Transition Policy, with 97% of learners who completed Grade 6 in 2025 successfully transitioning to Junior Secondary School (JSS) — a major milestone that demonstrates near-universal compliance with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) progression framework," the statement read.
According to the ministry, this progress is backed by coordinated monitoring and reporting at both national and county levels.
"A report compiled by the National Government Administrative Officers (NGAOs), in collaboration with County Directors of Education, confirms that Kenya is sustaining strong momentum in learner access, retention, and progression," the statement added.
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The ministry noted that full school transition is not optional but a constitutional obligation, calling on all stakeholders to prevent avoidable dropouts linked to cost, placement delays, or social risks.
"We reaffirm the Government’s commitment to full transition as a national imperative: every child has a human and constitutional right to education, and all stakeholders must work together to avoid preventable dropouts driven by cost barriers, delayed placement, or social vulnerabilities," the statement continued.
Beyond Junior Secondary School, the ministry said more than half of eligible learners have already joined Senior Secondary School.
"The report further indicates that 61% of eligible learners have joined Senior Secondary School, noting that enrollment is ongoing," the statement further read.
To accommodate families facing challenges, authorities have adjusted reporting deadlines and rolled out measures aimed at capturing learners who are yet to complete placement.
"Reporting timelines have been extended in response to concerns raised by stakeholders, while addressing challenges individual families may be facing. This is an inclusive measure aimed at reaching learners who are yet to report or complete placement processes, with coordinated community-level actions continuing across counties," the statement added.
The ministry also acknowledged the role of communities in supporting school transition, noting that grassroots action remain central to reaching every learner.
"We appreciate all Kenyans who are part of community-led interventions anchored in local accountability. Targeted interventions are being intensified to ensure every eligible learner transitions smoothly across all pathways," the statement noted.
According to the ministry, among the key strategies being implemented are direct learner tracing, community mobilization, and financial support mechanisms aimed at reducing exclusion.
"Key measures underway include door-to-door tracing and household mapping to identify and re-engage learners who have not reported; community sensitization forums through barazas, religious institutions, and local platforms to mobilize families and guardians; and bursaries and scholarships for vulnerable learners, coordinated through County Governments, NG-CDF, and NGAOs to minimize financial exclusion," the statement read.
Despite the strong overall performance, the report identified factors that are slowing down Senior Secondary School transition for a segment of learners.
In response to these challenges, the government says it is working closely with parents and local leaders to accelerate solutions and support affected learners.
"While progress is significantly strong, the report notes specific barriers that are pragmatically delaying Senior Secondary School transition, including financial constraints, isolated cases of early pregnancies, learner absenteeism or reluctance, and placement delays linked to families seeking alternative schools.
"In response, both Government actors and parents are strengthening bursary mobilization, counseling and re-entry support, community engagement through local leadership structures, and faster placement guidance," the statement concluded.
Elsewhere, this comes months after Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba revealed that some schools across the country could be merged or deregistered following an ongoing verification exercise that has exposed institutions operating far below optimal capacity.
Speaking in Senate, Ogamba disclosed that the government is collecting comprehensive data on student enrollment and the operational status of all institutions to inform a new policy on school rationalization.
"This is the information that now will be able to give us data to enable the government make a policy on whether some of those schools have got any basis to remain registered, whether we'll move some of those students from one school to another so that we can have institutions that are optimal in terms of having the right number of teachers and the right number of students," he explained.
Ogamba painted a concerning picture of the current state of affairs, revealing that some registered schools have shockingly low enrollment numbers that make them economically unviable.
"Some of the schools that we have have less than 10 students. You have a school with less than 10 students, maybe with five teachers, so it is not optimal," he added.
Ogamba explained that the ministry previously registered schools based solely on whether applicants met basic criteria, without conducting regular audits to assess their continued viability.
"Applications used to come to the ministry because there is a school that needs to be registered. And if it met the criteria, then the registration was done. But over time, we've noticed that some of those institutions and the statistics we're getting are that some of our schools have less than 10 students," he further said.
