Rigathi Gachagua’s remarks questioning why students from outside Mt Kenya are admitted to Alliance and Mang’u High Schools are not just misguided — they are dangerous. They strike at the heart of what national schools represent and risk dragging Kenya’s education system into ethnic politics.
Alliance and Mang’u are not village schools. They are national institutions, deliberately designed to admit students from every corner of the country based on merit and established quotas that promote diversity. This is not an accident; it is policy. It is how Kenya has, for decades, used education to build national unity in a country of many communities.
Framing admissions as something Mt Kenya students should “own” because the schools are geographically located there is a slippery slope. If taken seriously, it would mean every region begins to “reclaim” schools within its borders. Rift Valley would do the same. Western would follow. Coast would not be left behind. The result would be the collapse of national schools into ethnic enclaves — exactly the opposite of what the founders of these institutions intended.
Yes, the current Grade 10 placement process under CBC has serious problems. Misplacements, long distances, confusion, and allegations of bribery are real issues that deserve urgent attention. But poor administration is not solved by tribal thinking. Turning a policy failure into an “us versus them” argument only distracts from accountability and fuels resentment among communities.
Education is one of the few spaces where Kenyan children still meet as Kenyans before they are taught to see tribe first. That is precious. Politicians who casually inject ethnic entitlement into school admissions are playing with fire — especially at a time when the country is already under economic and social strain.
The alumni of Alliance and Mang’u are right: these schools belong to Kenya, not to any politician, region, or ethnic group.
Leaders should be demanding efficiency, fairness, and transparency in placements — not rewriting national institutions into tribal trophies. Kenya has paid too high a price for ethnic politics to allow it to creep quietly into its classrooms.
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