Gachagua Questions Placement of Top Students in Mt. Kenya Schools
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has stirred fresh debate over Kenya’s national school placement policy after questioning why top-performing learners from the Mt. Kenya region were admitted to schools outside the area despite recent investments in local institutions.
Speaking during a public event, Gachagua referenced the latest Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment results, noting that a significant number of bright students from Central Kenya were assigned to what he termed “distant and under-equipped” schools. This, he argued, came at a time when Members of Parliament from the region had channelled NG-CDF resources toward upgrading educational infrastructure in top-performing institutions such as Alliance High School and Mang’u High School.
Gachagua contrasted this with MPs in other regions, including Western, Nyanza, and North Eastern, whom he accused of diverting fund allocations toward “personal projects instead of education,” leaving schools in those regions less developed and yet still attracting top national placement candidates.
The comments have triggered mixed reactions across the political and education sectors.
Supporters of Gachagua’s position argue that the placement criteria should incorporate regional quotas to ensure local investment benefits local pupils and to motivate the continuous development of community-based education infrastructure. They also argue that requiring Mt. Kenya learners to travel far away for schooling imposes unnecessary financial and logistical burdens on families.
Critics, however, have dismissed Gachagua’s remarks as tribalist and regressive, warning that regional quotas would undermine decades of progress toward national cohesion. Alumni from elite national schools have also defended merit-based placements, insisting that diversity is a core part of Kenya’s education philosophy and nation-building agenda.
Education policymakers have yet to officially respond to the claims, though insiders note that any review of placement criteria would have far-reaching implications for equity, competition, and national integration.
The debate comes amid wider restructuring in the education sector following the rollout of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and the rebundling of junior and senior secondary pathways, which has heightened scrutiny over resource allocation, school capacity, and regional disparities.
With calls growing from both sides, the issue is expected to remain politically charged as the government readies the next phase of education reforms.
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