Puzzle Over 123,000 Students Missing in Transition from Grade 6 to 9

More than 340,000 learners expected to progress through Kenya’s education system have not been accounted for, raising serious questions about the implementation of the government’s 100 per cent transition policy.

Data from the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) shows that 1,130,699 candidates are registered to sit the inaugural Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) next month. However, this is 122,908 fewer than the 1,253,577 learners who took the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) in 2022. 

The drop comes despite the government’s ongoing commitment to ensuring all learners move seamlessly through each education level under the competency-based education (CBE) system. Further analysis reveals a more significant decline over time. In 2019, when this same cohort was in Grade 3, 1,282,150 learners were assessed. 

This indicates a cumulative loss of more than 150,000 learners before the current junior school level. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has attributed the decline to several factors, including natural attrition, enrolment in vocational training centres (VTCs), transfers to international curricula, health-related delays, and early pregnancies. 

He emphasises that affected learners are allowed to return to school when ready.

Critics, however, argue that the government’s definition of “transition” is too broad and fails to reflect the number of learners who have left the formal education system entirely. The National Parents Association has called for a national audit and physical verification at the school level to establish the true status of all learners.

Chairperson Silas Obuhatsa questions the accuracy of centralised data and urged school heads and local administrators to take responsibility for tracking school-age children. Similar concerns have been raised regarding the secondary education level. 

According to KNEC, only 996,078 candidates are registered for this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination, compared to 1,214,031 who completed primary school in 2021. This indicates that 217,953 learners did not complete secondary education.

Kenya National Union of Teachers deputy secretary-general Hesbon Otieno describes the dropout numbers as alarming. He cites poverty, inadequate infrastructure, early pregnancies, and child labour as major contributing factors. He also criticises delays in the disbursement of capitation funds, warning that such financial gaps undermine the effectiveness of the transition policy.

Otieno stresses that the success of the 100 per cent transition policy depends on timely and sufficient funding. Without adequate resources, he says, the policy risks failing to deliver its intended outcomes.