Parents allege Sh150,000 bribe demands for senior school slots

Kakamega Primary KJSEA candidates during rehearsals on October 24, 2025. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

Parents seeking senior school admission slots continue to face frustration amid allegations that some principals are demanding bribes of up to Sh150,000 to secure placement.

Interviews with several parents reveal what they describe as blatant abuse of  the window opened by the Ministry of Education, which allows school heads to receive direct applications from learners seeking transfer to their preferred schools.

The complaints come with just four days left before the second admission revision window closes on January 9.

Many parents say they have been left desperate and disillusioned after being turned away from schools of their choice. Some are asked to leave copies of documents at school gates, clinging to vague promises of call-backs that may never come.

“I was given a number to call, and they asked me for Sh150,000 to secure an admission,” said one parent.

Other parents told The Standard that some principals are demanding “commitment fees” of up to Sh10,000 before confirming whether a slot is available.

This is happening even as many schools report they are already operating at full capacity.

The Kenya Secondary School Heads Association chairperson said school heads have received hundreds of applications, many of which were submitted before the second revision window was opened.

The Ministry of Education reopened the placement portal  for a second revision, allowing learners to seek transfers from the schools they were initially placed in to institutions of their choice.

The move was welcomed as a reprieve after the ministry allowed parents to approach secondary schools directly, reversing an earlier system that had effectively locked out school heads from the process.

Four-day window

The four-day window, running from January 6 to January 9, restores the role of principals in handling direct applications from learners transitioning to senior school under the Competency-Based Education.

Education CS Julius Ogamba said the changes were intended to introduce flexibility after weeks of public outcry over a rigid placement system that parents said was detached from local realities.

However, parents say the reality on the ground tells a different story.

A spot check by The Standard at Nairobi School found long queues of parents hoping to secure slots for their children, many of whom said they had made multiple applications without receiving any response.

“My son scored 69 points but was placed at Nyamache Secondary School in Kisii, a mixed day and boarding school. I am very frustrated. I have submitted two applications to Nairobi School, but I have not received any response,” one parent said.

Another parent said the placement process was disregarding learners’ career aspirations.

“We came to Nairobi School because it offers one of the best aeronautical programmes and my son is passionate about aeronautics. Instead, he was placed at Hospital Hill High School,” she said.

A spot check at the Ministry of Education help desk, set up to assist parents experiencing challenges with Grade 10 placement, found it crowded with walk-in parents seeking clarity over what they termed placement errors.

During the first revision exercise, the Ministry of Education said it received 355,457 applications for review. According to the CS, applications for 211,636 learners were approved, meaning 143,821 students who appealed for new senior school placements were unsuccessful.

Placement data released by the ministry shows that the majority of learners were placed in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) pathway.