The government has finally blinked. After weeks of projecting confidence, the Ministry of Education has admitted that the transition to Grade 10—the pioneer class of Senior School under CBC—is facing "severe structural and logistical headwinds."

Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, in a candid address on Thursday, acknowledged what parents across the country have been screaming about: the system is straining under the weight of 1.2 million learners. From missing textbooks to a glaring shortage of teachers and infrastructure gaps, the rollout of the new curriculum’s most critical phase is teetering on the edge of a logistical nightmare.

"We Are Overstretched"

The admission comes amidst reports of low turnout in schools across the country. Parents, burdened by the high cost of new uniforms, learning materials, and increased fees, are holding back. "The pressure is real," PS Bitok conceded during a tour of schools in Nairobi. "We are seeing gaps in teacher deployment and the delivery of learning materials. We are racing against time."

• The Cost Factor: Critics, including digital strategist Pauline Njoroge, argue that the transition is becoming a preserve of the rich. "Only a small fraction of learners have reported," she noted. "The cost of learning materials alone is locking out the poor. This is no longer free education; it is expensive survival."
• Infrastructure Deficit: Many schools meant to host Grade 10 learners lack laboratories for the STEM pathway, forcing students to learn theory in place of practicals—a direct contradiction of the CBC’s competence-based promise.

A System on Trial

This transition was meant to be the crowning jewel of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). Instead, it is exposing the deep inequalities in Kenya’s education sector. While elite national schools are relatively prepared, sub-county schools—where the majority of students are placed—are struggling to find desks, let alone science equipment.

The Ministry has promised a "rapid response" initiative to disburse capitation funds by Friday, but for the student sitting on a stone in a classroom in Turkana, or the parent in Kayole unable to buy the mandatory textbooks, government assurances are starting to sound like broken records.