Secondary schools in Thika are grappling with an unprecedented surge in applications for Grade 10 admission, beyond the official government placements, piling pressure on the already strained infrastructure and school administrators.
At Chania Boys High School, the situation has become particularly overwhelming. Although the Ministry of Education placed more than 500 Grade 10 learners at the school, over 3,000 additional applications have since been submitted by parents, hoping to secure places for their children.
The school principal, James Gitau, said the numbers are expected to rise further when learners officially report to the institution next week.
“We have already been allocated more than 500 students by the ministry, yet at our gate we are dealing with over 3,000 more applicants. Files keep piling up, but the reality is that we simply do not have the space to accommodate them,” Gitau said.
A similar scenario is unfolding at the neighbouring Thika High School, where parents have been flocking to the institution daily, with the hope of getting last-minute admission opportunities for their children.
The school principal, Julius Muraya said the pressure from parents has persisted for weeks, leaving school administrators with little respite.
“Parents whose children performed well in junior school examinations but were placed in schools they consider far or not commensurate with their scores have been crowding our offices. Unfortunately, we are unable to assist them due to capacity constraints,” Muraya explained.
The principals now warn that unless the placement challenge is addressed, anxiety among parents may continue to rise, even as schools prepare to receive learners already posted by the government.
“The belief that quality education can only be found in boarding schools must end. In many developed countries, boarding schools are not even popular. We need to equip our day schools and have confidence in them,” said Gitau.
The two principals affirmed that their schools are fully prepared to admit Grade 10 learners, noting that teachers have recently been retooled under the new curriculum and the requisite infrastructure is in place to support the three pathways approved by the government.
Meanwhile, the two extra-county schools, which have been allowed to offer the three career pathways of STEM, social sciences and arts and sports, recorded improved performances in the latest Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results.
Chania Boys posted a mean score of 7.6, with three A plains and 18 A minuses among other grades, while Thika High School registered a mean score of 8.1, producing six straight As and 31 A minuses among other grades, further fuelling demand for limited spaces.
By Muoki Charles
