The transition to Senior School for the pioneer Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) cohort is facing a formidable economic barrier, with a new survey revealing that crippling school fees and inflated uniform costs are the top nightmares for Kenyan parents.

Data released by Infotrak Research & Consulting paints a grim picture of the Grade 10 transition, which sees over 1.1 million learners moving to the next level. The survey indicates that 39% of households identify the financial burden of fees and uniforms as their primary challenge, overshadowing infrastructure gaps or teacher shortages. It is a crisis of affordability that threatens to undermine the 100% transition policy.

The Cost of Learning

The survey, conducted between December 2025 and January 2026, highlights the agony of parents who feel besieged by what they term "extortionist" tendencies by some school heads. The cost of a simplified uniform kit has in some prestigious public schools hit upwards of KES 25,000, a figure out of reach for the average hustler.

"It is not that we don't want our children to learn," said one parent from Kiambu featured in the qualitative segment of the report. "It is that we are being asked to choose between buying a blazer and buying food."

Government Intervention vs. Reality

President William Ruto has responded with characteristic firmness, vowing a crackdown on schools colluding with suppliers to inflate uniform prices. "Education is a public good, not a business avenue for cartels," the President warned earlier this week. However, the survey suggests that policy directives from Nairobi are yet to fully alleviate the pain on the ground.

• The Information Gap: 19% of respondents cited a lack of clear information on the new system as a major hurdle, indicating a communication breakdown between the Ministry of Education and parents.
• Placement Anxiety: 4% of parents are still grappling with uncertainty regarding where their children will be placed, days into the term.
• Infrastructure: Surprisingly, only 2% listed inadequate facilities as their top concern, suggesting that physical readiness is less of a worry than the financial cost of access.

A Test for CBC

The Grade 10 transition is the acid test for the CBC system. If the financial barriers are not dismantled, the country risks creating a two-tier education system where quality senior schooling is the preserve of the wealthy. The Infotrak data serves as a wake-up call to the Ministry: the hardware of education (classrooms) is ready, but the software (affordability) is crashing.

As learners report to school, the hope is that the government's promise to harmonize fees and liberalize uniform sourcing will move from political rhetoric to palpable relief for the overburdened Kenyan parent.