Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos.
Public basic education institutions across Kenya will reopen for the 2026 academic year on Monday, January 5, marking a pivotal moment in the country’s education reforms as the first cohort of learners transitions into senior school under the Competency Based Education (CBE) system.
In a statement issued on January 2, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba directed all schools to strictly adhere to the national academic calendar, noting that Ministry of Education field officers have been deployed across all counties to monitor compliance.
However, beyond the routine reopening, the start of the 2026 academic year represents a historic milestone—the first full transition of learners into senior school under CBE—placing education financing, infrastructure preparedness, and policy coordination under intense public scrutiny.
The CBE system, which replaced the 8-4-4 structure, reorganised basic education into three tiers: early years education, middle school, and senior school. The movement of Grade 10 learners into senior school therefore serves as the first real test of whether Kenya’s education policies, institutional readiness, and public financing mechanisms can deliver equitable outcomes under the new framework.
The Ministry confirmed that the first revision of senior school placements was completed on December 29, 2025, with joining instructions uploaded to the national placement portal the following day.
To address concerns raised by parents and learners dissatisfied with initial placements, the Ministry has opened a second placement review window from January 6 to January 9, 2026. During this period, parents and learners may seek reconsideration of placements based on verifiable grounds, including subject pathway compatibility, geographical considerations, and institutional capacity.
Education officials said the review mechanism is designed to balance learner choice with available school capacity while preventing the concentration of learners in a few elite institutions and reducing regional disparities that characterised admissions under the previous system.
Additional review requests may be initiated through junior schools or directly at senior schools, but all applications must be processed through institutional heads and submitted via the official placement system.
To support the transition, the Government has released Sh44.25 billion in capitation funds for Term One, reinforcing its commitment to public financing as the backbone of CBE implementation.
According to the Ministry, the funds have been distributed as follows: Sh3.7 billion for Free Primary Education, Sh14.46 billion for Free Day Junior School Education, and Sh26.08 billion for Free Day Secondary Education.
Officials say the scale of funding reflects the increased cost pressures associated with CBE, particularly at junior and senior school levels, where specialised learning pathways, infrastructure upgrades, and additional teaching resources are required.
The Ministry emphasised that timely disbursement of capitation funds is critical to preventing schools from shifting operational costs to parents during the transition phase.
Grade 10 learners are scheduled to report to senior schools from January 12, 2026, allowing additional time to finalise placements and enable schools to complete institutional preparations. The staggered reporting date highlights the logistical complexity of managing the first CBE senior school cohort nationwide.
In the same circular, the Ministry reaffirmed that education financing remains anchored in Article 53 of the Constitution, which guarantees every child the right to free and compulsory basic education.
The Ministry also clarified that school fees in senior schools remain unchanged, with government capitation maintained at Sh22,244 per learner per year. School heads have been warned against introducing unauthorised levies, with the Ministry signalling tougher enforcement measures against misappropriation of public funds.
As Kenya enters the first senior school phase of the CBE system, education analysts argue that the long-term success of the reform will depend not only on curriculum design, but also on disciplined public financing, institutional transparency, and consistent policy execution across all levels of government.
