Only six per cent of schools fully staffed for Grade 10, survey finds

A rapid survey by the Elimu Bora Working Group has found that only 6.3 per cent of schools are fully staffed to handle Grade 10 under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system, exposing major gaps in preparedness as the transition to senior school gathers pace.

The study, titled Rapid Survey on the Level of Preparedness by Schools and the Ministry of Education for Grade 10, highlights systemic strain across the education sector, with staffing identified as one of the most acute pressure points across school categories.

“Digital resources were identified as the most critical learning resource gap by the largest share of respondents across all school categories, followed by specialised equipment and textbooks. Only 6.3 per cent of schools are fully staffed for Grade 10,” the report said.

Nearly a third of schools—29.7 per cent—rated staffing as inadequate with a high level of severity, with Arts and Sports pathway teachers cited as the most critically under-prepared.

This is reinforced by broader findings on teacher readiness, where only 5.7 per cent of schools reported having fully CBE-trained teachers for Grade 10. A further 64.5 per cent indicated that Arts and Sports teachers were either slightly prepared or not prepared at all.

“While most schools have begun training, full preparation is rare and critical shortages exist in specialised and arts-oriented subjects,” the report says.

The data further shows uneven progress in teacher retooling, with 66.9 per cent of schools reporting that between 51 and 99 per cent of their staff had undergone training, while 27.3 per cent said fewer than half their teachers had been trained.

“This indicates that in more than 1 in 4 schools, the majority of teachers delivering Grade 10 have not completed the relevant CBE retooling,” the report said.

The findings come even as the Ministry of Education recently confirmed that 1,500 teachers have been retooled for senior school under CBE, despite the government having hired 100,000 teachers since 2022.

The staffing strain is further compounded by an ongoing dispute involving the Teachers Service Commission and 44,000 intern teachers, whose future remains uncertain after the Court of Appeal declared the internship programme unconstitutional, illegal and discriminatory.

Beyond staffing, the survey highlights significant infrastructure and resource constraints. While 56.2 per cent of schools reported having adequate classrooms, other key facilities remain inadequate.

Only 33.9 per cent rated science laboratories as adequate, 16.2 per cent reported adequate workshops and technical rooms, 17.1 per cent cited adequate ICT laboratories, and 17.3 per cent said they had sufficient sports facilities.

Some schools reported a complete absence of these facilities. The report notes that infrastructure disparities follow school categorisation, with C1 (former national schools) and C2 (former extra-county schools) consistently outperforming C4 (day schools) across all five indicators, despite C4 institutions serving the majority of learners.

“Despite government efforts, there are concerns about widening inequalities caused by inadequate preparation for the transition, including insufficient classrooms, qualified teachers, learning materials and alignment between junior school and senior school curricula,” the report says.

Funding constraints also feature prominently. Although the government recently released Sh23.4 billion in capitation for Term Two, following Sh44.2 billion disbursed in Term One, schools remain dissatisfied with the adequacy of funding.

Among schools that confirmed receiving capitation, 36 per cent rated it inadequate, while 17.4 per cent described it as minimal or insufficient. “Only 2.9 per cent rated capitation received as being adequate,” the report noted.

The survey further shows that STEM infrastructure remains largely underdeveloped. A majority of schools, 66.5 per cent, reported their STEM laboratories as only partially equipped and functional, while 9.5 per cent said laboratories were available but not functional. Four per cent reported having no STEM laboratories at all, while only 20 per cent said their labs were fully equipped and functional.

Availability of Grade 10 learning materials reflects a similar pattern. While 70.5 per cent of schools reported partial availability, only 9.5 per cent said materials were fully available, and 19.2 per cent described them as severely inadequate.

Printed textbooks and teacher guides were the most commonly available resources, while digital resources and specialised equipment were the least accessible.

Disparities were also observed across school categories, with C1 schools reporting the highest access to materials at 23.9 per cent. This compares to 9.1 per cent in C3 schools, 7.6 per cent in C2 schools, and 7.4 per cent in C4 schools, reflecting weaker institutional capacity in lower-tier schools.

The survey was conducted across 17 counties, with 14 completing data collection. A total of 475 responses were obtained against a target of 594, representing an 80 per cent success rate.

The study targeted senior school heads, boards of management, Ministry of Education officials and Grade 10 parents, with responses drawn from a maximum of three respondents per school across 11 schools per county.

"The survey upheld professionalism and factored in appropriate measures to avoid deception and bias. Multiple responses by different stakeholders of a school enabled the enumerators to move as close to the true position as possible," the report said.

"In addition, the county coordinators did spot checks on the materials collected; for instance, the photos were corroborated."

Counties that completed the exercise include Baringo, Bungoma, Kajiado, Kakamega, Kiambu, Uasin Gishu, Vihiga, Makueni, Nairobi, Nakuru, Siaya, Kisumu, Kitui and Kilifi, while Homa Bay and Isiolo did not complete the process.

Data collection, carried out between February and March 2026, combined primary questionnaire responses with secondary sources including journals, newspaper reports, electronic data sources and media reports.

The sample comprised 46 respondents from C1 schools, 92 from C2, 121 from C3 and 216 from C4 institutions.

The study recommends the establishment of a National Senior School Infrastructure Framework to prioritise CBE-critical facilities such as STEM laboratories, ICT labs and technical workshops, with a focus on C3 and C4 schools to address entrenched inequalities.