The iron gates of St. Thomas Raganga Secondary School in Kisii County are currently welded shut—not by the administration, but by a furious mob of parents. In a scene emblematic of the frustration sweeping through Kenya’s "day school" sector, villagers stormed the institution yesterday to evict the principal following a disastrous showing in the 2025 KCSE exams.

The school, established in 1992 with the optimistic motto "Education for Life," has become a symbol of dashed dreams. Out of the entire 2025 cohort, not a single student achieved the university entry grade of C+ (Plus). The top student managed a D (Plain), while the vast majority scored D- (Minus) and E. For parents who sold livestock and land to pay fees, the results were the final straw.

"We Are Buying Failure"

"I sold my only cow to pay remedial fees," shouted Mary Nyaboke, a parent waving a twig at the locked administration block. "The teachers told us our children were improving. They lied." The principal, who fled through a back fence as the mob approached, is reportedly seeking refuge at the local police station.

• The Systemic Rot: While the parents blame the teachers, the teachers blame the system. "We have no laboratory chemicals, no library, and the government capitation has been delayed for six months," a trembling teacher told reporters. "How do you compete with Alliance High School with only chalk?"
• The National Picture: Raganga is not alone. Data shows that sub-county schools accounted for 80% of the D and E grades nationally. The gap between the "haves" in National Schools and the "have-nots" in village polytechnics is widening into a chasm.

A Community in Crisis

The closure of the school leaves hundreds of students in limbo just weeks before the new term begins. Education officials have called for calm, but for the parents of Raganga, patience has run out. They are demanding a total overhaul of the board and the teaching staff, refusing to reopen the gates until they see "new faces and new hope."