By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya, 9 January 2026 - The annual release of secondary school placement results has once again pushed Kenya’s education system into the centre of a wider political contest, with Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba issuing a sharp warning to opposition leaders he accused of turning school selection into a political tool.
Speaking after the announcement of placements, Ogamba made it clear that the Ministry of Education would not retreat in the face of pressure aimed at reshaping or regionalising the selection process.
“We will not sit back and watch as the current school selection system is undermined,” he said, signalling that the government sees the growing controversy not as a mere policy debate but as a threat to the integrity of a system that has governed learner mobility for decades.
At the heart of the dispute is a familiar Kenyan anxiety: who goes where. Every year, when thousands of candidates are assigned to schools across the country, the question of regional balance resurfaces.
This time, opposition voices have framed the process as unfair, suggesting that learners should be prioritised within their home regions or counties.
Ogamba dismissed that line of thinking in unusually blunt terms.
He described sentiments against students learning in other regions as “unfounded and nonsensical,” arguing that they strike at the very principle of equal opportunity.
His warning was not merely rhetorical.
“Decisive action will be taken against anyone attempting to interfere with or destroy the school system,” he said, a statement that underscores how seriously the ministry is taking the political heat around education. In a country where education is often seen as the main ladder out of poverty, any suggestion that the system is being manipulated for political ends carries enormous weight.
Ogamba anchored his defence of the current model in Kenya’s own history. For decades, students have moved across regions to attend national and extra-county schools, creating networks that have quietly contributed to social cohesion. In his view, this mobility has never been an anomaly but a defining feature of the Kenyan education experience. “Many students have historically attended schools outside their home regions,” he reminded critics, pushing back against the idea that such placements are a new or unfair phenomenon.
Beyond the technicalities of placement, the dispute exposes a deeper fault line in Kenyan politics: the tension between national integration and regional politics. Education, especially access to prestigious schools, has always mirrored the country’s struggles over inclusion, fairness and identity. By warning against the politicisation of school selection, Ogamba was also warning against the re-emergence of a zero-sum mindset that treats opportunities as something to be hoarded within ethnic or regional boundaries.
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The Cabinet Secretary went further, arguing that turning school placement into a political football risks more than just administrative confusion.
“Politicising the school selection process risks destroying students’ livelihoods and compromising their future,” he said.
That framing elevates the debate from one about policy to one about the life chances of young Kenyans. In a system where a single school placement can shape a student’s access to quality teaching, networks and future opportunities, the stakes are undeniably high.
For the opposition, the pushback reflects a broader strategy of challenging government systems that are seen as unresponsive or biased.
Education, because it touches almost every household, offers a powerful platform for political mobilisation.
But Ogamba’s response suggests the ministry is determined to draw a line between legitimate critique and what it views as reckless agitation.
As the dust settles on this year’s placements, the episode leaves behind an uncomfortable question: can Kenya debate education policy without sliding into political tribalism?
Ogamba’s message is that it must. In defending a system that allows students to cross regional lines, the government is also defending an idea of Kenya in which opportunity is not confined by geography.
Whether that message resonates will depend on how convincingly the ministry can show that the process is fair, transparent and merit-based. But for now, Ogamba has thrown down a gauntlet, making it clear that, in the battle over school selection, the government sees itself not just as an administrator, but as the guardian of students’ futures.
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