Former IEBC commissioner Dr. Roselyn Akombe has drawn attention to serious challenges in Kenya's education sector, highlighting how thousands of 12- and 13-year-old students remain at home unable to join Junior Secondary School.
In a social media post on February 8, 2026, she expressed frustration over the failure to recognize the broader consequences of these issues, including negative effects on the economy and rising cases of teenage pregnancies.
Akombe explained that her foundation, the Akombe Foundation, has been flooded with requests for financial and material support to help affected children.
Despite efforts, the organization has reached its limit, capping intake at around 150 cases this year due to insufficient institutional capacity.
Turning away those in need has been one of the most difficult decisions the foundation has faced. Her comments align with recent reports from Citizen TV Kenya, which noted that President William Ruto's promise to ensure full access to education has encountered difficulties.
Many Grade 10 students in senior secondary schools have been turned away or locked out due to unpaid fees, despite earlier government directives ordering schools to admit learners regardless of payment status or uniforms.
The president had emphasized that capitation funds were released to prevent such barriers and achieve 100 percent transition under the Competency-Based Curriculum.
Akombe's intervention underscores ongoing structural problems in implementing free and compulsory education policies.
While government initiatives aim to remove financial obstacles, ground-level realities such as delayed disbursements, school-level resistance, and placement issues continue to leave vulnerable students behind.
Critics argue that these gaps risk derailing long-term national development by excluding a generation from proper schooling. As public pressure mounts, the spotlight remains on whether authorities can resolve these inconsistencies to fulfill commitments to universal education access.
0 Comments