Umaskini Ni Mbaya: Parents Emotionally Reveal Why They Have Not Taken Their Children to Grade 10

Poverty has left many parents struggling to send their children to Grade 10, with some emotionally revealing the difficult choices they have had to make.

More than 800,000 Grade 10 students across Kenya failed to report to the secondary schools they were assigned, with poverty emerging as the main barrier alongside the government’s school placement regulations.

In Murang’a County, Jacinta Njiru, a single mother and laundry worker in Maragua town, said even a decade of savings would not cover the Sh55,000 annual school fees for her son, who was placed at Njiiri High School.

Additional costs for uniforms and personal school items, exceeding Sh25,000, added to her financial burden.

“My son worked hard in the KJSEA exams at Kianjiru-ini Primary School, but I had to tell him he couldn’t join Njiiri.

We cried together realizing our poverty, and he understood that despite his abilities, quality education is beyond our reach,” Njiru said. She added that the Maragua Constituency bursary contributed only Sh5,000, far from enough.

Her story mirrors the struggles of many families in Central Kenya, where even banks like Family Bank, Equity, KCB, and Cooperative have remained silent on sponsoring needy students.

The situation has prompted calls from Rwathia Distributors, a Murang’a-owned company, urging the Mt Kenya community to treat this crisis as a regional issue.

Company director Kanene Kabiru said: “It’s time for us to act as a community. Let us seek out these children and assist them individually. This is now a social disaster.”

In Meru County, schools reported low turnout on the first two reporting days.

Joseph Maki, Meru County Director of Education, noted that even national schools expecting 100 students received about 10.

Mark Namaswa, Meru School academic director, attributed the low numbers to financial challenges arising from early reporting dates.

Across Kirinyaga, Embu, Kilifi, Lamu, Nyamira, Kisii, Homa Bay, and Kisumu, many children stayed home because parents could not afford high transport costs or school fees.

Some students are seeking transfers after being posted to distant schools or institutions that do not match their career goals.

School heads warn that low reporting numbers are delaying official learning, with some institutions receiving fewer than 50 students out of 500 expected.