Legal action looms for parents who fail to enrol children in Grade 10

Parents watch as their children go through the Grade 10 admission process at Moi Girls High School, Nairobi, January 13, 2026. ENOS TECHE

Parents have been warned of possible legal action if they fail to present their children for admission into Grade 10, as the government moves to enforce 100 per cent transition to senior school.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba issued the warning on Thursday, citing provisions of Section 34(5) and Section 31 of the Basic Education Act, 2013.

The warning came a day after the extended admission deadline lapsed on January 21.

The initial deadline of January 16 had already left more than 400,000 learners out of the 1.13 million required to join Grade 10 without reporting to school.

“In line with Section 34(5) of the Basic Education Act, 2013, no child shall be denied admission to a public school. Parents are also reminded that it is an offence, punishable by law under Section 31 of the Basic Education Act, 2013, to fail to present their children for admission,” Ogamba said in a statement.

With more than 400,000 learners initially failing to report by the first deadline, the government is now turning to the law to enforce full transition to senior school.

Section 34(5) of the Basic Education Act, 2013 explicitly mandates that no child shall be denied admission to a public school.

This provision supports the right to free and compulsory basic education and ensures schools cannot reject learners seeking admission on any grounds, including ethnicity, gender, religion, race, colour, social origin, age, disability, language, or culture.

The law also states that any parent whose child is denied admission to a public school should report the matter to the County Education Board, which will take appropriate action after reviewing the case.

Section 31 of the Act states that it is the responsibility of every parent or guardian to present their child for admission to a basic education institution.

“Where a parent or guardian defaults in the discharge of his or her responsibility, such a parent or guardian shall be deemed to have committed an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding Sh100,000 or to a period not exceeding two years, or to both,” the Act says.

To facilitate enforcement of the law, Ogamba directed senior school and junior school heads to immediately share details of learners who were not admitted by the January 21 deadline.

He further instructed them to work with Subcounty Directors of Education and National Government Administration Officers (NGAO) to trace such learners for prompt admission to senior school.

“Any report of non-compliance with the foregoing directives shall be made to the nearest Education Office or National Government Administration Office for appropriate action in accordance with the applicable law,” Ogamba said.

To ease the transition to senior school, the government has removed obstacles that could prevent parents from enrolling their children in Grade 10.

Acting on the President’s directive, Ogamba ordered senior school principals to admit Grade 10 learners even without fees or official school uniform.

Speaking at the English Press in Nairobi after flagging off the distribution of 11,867,325 textbooks to schools nationwide, Ogamba said learners should be allowed to join their senior schools in their junior school uniforms.

“Senior school principals shall optimise the use of the capitation funds that were disbursed to schools on January 2, 2026, while permitting parents and guardians the necessary flexibility in paying their household contributions,” he said.

The government disbursed Sh4.4 billion for capitation at the start of the term.

Ogamba directed Subcounty Directors of Education to collect data on all learners admitted to senior school in junior school uniforms or without payment of fees and submit the information to the ministry headquarters.

A total of 1,130,459 candidates sat the inaugural Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) in November last year, comprising 578,630 male candidates (51.19 per cent) and 551,829 female candidates (48.81 per cent).

Speaking on Thursday during the Elimu Mashinani forum, Nairobi edition, Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the latest data—based on reporting status submitted by school principals—showed that 935,000 students, about 85 per cent, had been admitted to Grade 10.

This followed efforts by chiefs and NGAO officers, who have been conducting a door-to-door mop-up exercise for learners who had not yet reported to their respective schools.

Bitok praised the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system, saying it is comparable to the 8-4-4 system, which has two years left before being fully phased out.

“After your Grade 12, we are confident that you will have the right skills to pursue whatever you want and be much more prepared in terms of skills and competence than when you were going through the 8-4-4 system,” he said.

To support this goal, Ogamba assured parents, Grade 10 students and schools that the distribution of textbooks—already at 50 per cent—would be completed by the end of the month to ensure timely support for learning and teaching.

He said the books will be distributed at a ratio of 1:1, meaning every Grade 10 learner will receive one textbook for each of the 12 subjects, except the four core subjects, which will have two books per learner.