The Ministry of Education has gazetted a new senior school fees structure, effective January 5, 2026, aimed at standardizing charges and eliminating extra levies. This applies to all public senior schools under both the Competency-Based Education (CBE) and 8-4-4 systems, as announced by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba.

• For Day Senior Schools, the government will fully cover all approved fees, totaling Ksh22,244 per learner, meaning parents pay Ksh0.
• In Boarding Senior Schools, parents will contribute towards boarding expenses; for schools previously charging up to KSh 53,554, the new total annual fee is KSh 75,798, with parents paying KSh 53,554 while the government covers KSh 22,244.
• For Special Needs Schools, the annual cost is Ksh70,764 per learner, with the government covering Ksh57,974 and parents contributing Ksh12,790.

An audit in Kenya has exposed 87,000 "ghost learners" in government systems, along with 26 non-operational schools, leading to an estimated Ksh 1.1 billion lost annually through siphoned capitation funds. This discovery has prompted a major cleanup by the Ministry of Education.

• The audit, conducted between September and October 2025, found the enrollment across public schools dropped from 11.6 million to just over 11 million learners.
• Education CS Julius Ogamba stated that funds were previously withheld from approximately 990 schools for failing to submit required data, clarifying that not all claims of "ghost schools" were due to non-existence.
• 10 secondary schools have been closed, and all schools were mandated to re-register under the new Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) by the end of 2025 to eliminate fraudulent entities.

Nakuru West MP Samuel Arama has accused the government of misusing Teachers Service Commission (TSC) employment letters, alleging they are being distributed as political rewards rather than through mandated channels. He claims that these letters are being issued at State House to politically aligned MPs, excluding those not openly supporting the government.

• Arama stated he is often excluded, with other MPs receiving 10 to 15 letters, leading to accusations of monopolized appointments.
• The TSC's independence has been questioned before, with former Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu previously distributing employment letters at political rallies.
• A 2023/2024 recruitment drive for 6,000 teachers was allegedly compromised, and a cartel in Bomet, Kericho, and Kisii was exposed for selling forged appointment letters for Ksh 400,000 each.