The Education Cabinet Secretary, Julius Ogamba, has extended the Grade 10 admission exercise to Wednesday, January 21 citing bid for 100% transition to senior school.
The CS extended the deadline warning parents who will fail to take their children for admission to senior schools will be arrested.
The extension comes after a revelation that 830,000 Grade 10 learners are yet to report to senior schools.
Parents have cited inability to raise full fees, delayed bursary and high transport costs even as other families position their children to take up slots left vacant by students who fail to report.
According to Ministry of Education data some 301,701 learners had reported to schools by Wednesday this week or just over a quarter of the 1,130,701 learners who sat the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA).
Of those who reported boys were 151,740 (50.3%) while girls were 149,961 (49.7%).
Most learners have joined C4 or sub county schools (41%) followed by C2 or extra county schools (25%) then C1 or national schools (18%) and finally C3 or county schools (15%).
Though reporting continued throughout the week, parents whose children have been admitted to schools far from their home counties say high transport costs compound the financial strain, raising fears that the final stretch of the Competency Based Education (CBE) rollout could be disrupted.
Basic Education Principal Secretary, Julius Bitok, said the low turnout is expected adding that this is the first Grade 10 class.
He said admissions would be strictly digital, using the same system employed during placement to enhance transparency.
Although the government released sh 44.2 billion in capitation last week, parents and teachers say the money has not eased pressure on households, with many citing the high cost of senior school uniforms, boarding requirements and many other essentials.
