Following complaints from parents and candidates over senior school placements, the Ministry of Education has announced a seven-day review window to allow Grade 9 learners to revise their school choices, starting December 23.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the exercise would be conducted through an automated system to ensure merit, equity and fairness.
The Ministry acknowledged that while many learners had been placed in their schools of choice, it was aware that some parents and candidates were dissatisfied with the outcomes.
Mr Bitok attributed the concerns to intense competition and limited admission slots in popular schools, miscommunication between parents, learners and school heads during the selection process, and mismatches between selected pathways and learners’ assessment outcomes.
“To address such concerns, the ministry will open a seven-day review of senior school choices on Tuesday, December 23,” the statement reads.
Review process
Candidates have been advised to contact their Grade 9 schools or the Ministry of Education’s sub-county and county offices to access the review process through their respective heads of institutions.
According to the Ministry, the review will be guided by an automated system that matches learners’ preferences with performance and the availability of school slots. Mr Bitok said errors related to incorrect gender entries would also be corrected during the review period.
The placement exercise followed the release of the inaugural Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results, which were officially announced on December 11 after examinations were conducted nationwide in November. The Ministry reiterated that placement into senior schools (Grade 10) had been carried out using an automated system that considers learners’ choices, academic performance and other factors designed to promote merit, equity and fairness.
The placement process is anchored in the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system, which the Ministry said aims to align education with national development goals, global education trends and labour market demands. Under CBE, learners are prepared for careers that match their competencies and aspirations, while reducing overreliance on single high-stakes examinations.
Consultations with stakeholders
The ministry said the implementation of CBE has involved consultations with stakeholders and has been supported by curriculum development, recruitment and retraining of teachers, expansion and modernisation of school infrastructure, equipment upgrades and continuous reviews to address emerging challenges.
A core feature of CBE is pathway selection at Grade 9, where learners choose from three options: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); Social Sciences; and Arts and Sports.
Learners are allowed to select up to 12 preferred senior schools across clusters C1 to C4, based on competencies, interests and school capacities. The selection exercise was completed earlier in the year under the guidance of parents and teachers, with each learner choosing a pathway that includes a three-subject combination.
Assessment under CBE combines formative and summative approaches on a 20-20-60 basis. Forty per cent is drawn from formative assessment, including the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) in Grade 6 and continuous assessment by teachers in Grades 7 and 8. The remaining 60 per cent comes from the KJSEA administered in Grade 9, a structure the Ministry said provides a more comprehensive evaluation of learners’ abilities and readiness for specific pathways.
Confusion and frustration
Despite assurances from education officials, the senior school placements have sparked confusion and frustration, with many high-performing learners placed in unexpected schools or pathways. Parents and learners have questioned whether the outcomes adequately reflected performance, choice or proximity to home.
Ministry data shows that nearly half of the candidates who sat the KJSEA this year were placed in the STEM pathway. At least 49 per cent secured STEM placements, 40 per cent joined Social Sciences, while 11 per cent were admitted to Arts and Sports pathways.
Mr Bitok said 512,000 learners were placed in STEM schools, 420,000 in Social Sciences institutions and 115,000 in Arts and Sports pathways. An additional 83,000 learners with special needs were also placed in various institutions.
Senior school clusters
Placements varied across the four senior school clusters.
Cluster One schools, formerly national schools, admitted 105,000 learners.
Cluster Two schools, previously extra-county institutions, absorbed 254,000 learners.
Cluster Three schools, comprising former sub-county institutions, enrolled 288,000 learners.
Cluster Four schools, largely day institutions and the largest category, received 399,000 learners, accounting for the highest number of placements.
Acknowledging that the transition to Grade 10 is a pioneer exercise, the Ministry said it empathised with the anxieties and uncertainties being experienced by parents, learners and other stakeholders.
“We are dedicated to making the placement process as transparent, fair and satisfactory as possible while taking into account learners’ preferences and the capacities and available pathways in respective schools,” Mr Bitok said, urging all parties to engage constructively as the system continues to be refined.
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