Lawyer-cum-politician Willis Otieno has called out political leaders after thousands of grade 10 learners failed to transition to senior school even after the government extended the joining deadline.

Taking to his official X account on Monday, January 19, 2026, the Safina Party Deputy Party Leader expressed his disappointment that Grade 10 learners are sitting idle at home, yet public funds are being splashed by leaders in political events.

He questioned how extravagance among leaders and government officials has become a policy while classrooms wait.

“Grade 10 learners are sitting idle at home, yet public funds are being splashed around as if education were optional. Somehow, extravagance has become policy while classrooms wait,” Otieno stated.

He further clarified that speaking out against Members of Parliament (MPs) who treat public money like personal loot wasn’t theatrics or bitterness, but an outrage born of watching children pay the price for elite excess.

“So when we speak out against MPs who treat public money like personal loot, it isn’t theatrics or bitterness. It’s outrage born of watching children pay the price for elite excess,” he stated.

Thousands of Grade 10 learners have not yet transitioned to senior school due to their parents’ lack of school fees and other school requirements.

Grade 10 joining deadline extended

Students yet to report for Grade 10 now have until Wednesday, January 21, 2026, after the Ministry of Education extended the admission deadline amid a slow turnout.

The deadline had initially been set for January 16, but Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the extension was necessary to ensure no learner is left out of senior secondary education.

High cost of learning

The slow reporting has been attributed in part to rising costs of schooling, with parents in extra-county and county schools complaining that they are struggling to meet fees, uniforms, books, personal effects, and, in some cases, additional charges for specific subjects.

The extension comes as the government struggles to account for hundreds of thousands of learners who are yet to join senior secondary school under the 100 per cent transition policy.

By Friday night, only 550,000 out of 1.13 million learners had been recorded in the online admissions data portal. To trace the remaining 400,000 learners, the Ministry has tasked chiefs and local administrators to visit homes and determine why children are not attending school and the best ways to support them.