Ministry to open review window for senior school placements

By Newsflash Writer

The Ministry of Education will on Wednesday open a seven-day review window to give learners and parents an opportunity to reconsider and, where necessary, revise senior secondary school placements under the new education structure.

The review period is intended to address complaints from candidates placed in schools far from their homes or assigned to pathways that did not align with their preferences, while upholding fairness, transparency, and national placement regulations.

“Being a pioneering exercise, the government understands and empathises with parents, learners, and stakeholders regarding the anxieties and uncertainties surrounding the transition to Grade 10. We remain committed to a transparent, fair, and satisfactory placement process that balances learners’ choices with school capacity and available pathways. We urge all stakeholders to engage constructively as we continue strengthening Competency-Based Education (CBE) for the benefit of learners,” said Basic Education Principal Secretary Prof Julius Bitok in a statement.

Concerns over placement outcomes

Under the initial selection process, learners were allowed to choose up to 12 schools across categories C1 to C4, based on their competencies and interests, with guidance from parents and teachers. Assessment under CBE is based on a weighted model that combines continuous and summative evaluations.

The grading structure allocates 40 percent to formative assessment through the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) conducted in Grade 6, 20 percent to continuous assessment in Grades 7 and 8, and 60 percent to the Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA) administered in Grade 9.

The inaugural KJSEA examinations were held in November 2025, with results released on December 11.

Senior school placement was conducted through an automated system that factored in learner performance, school preferences, and available vacancies, with the aim of promoting merit, equity, and fairness.

“Although a majority of learners were placed in schools they selected, some parents and candidates raised concerns due to stiff competition for popular schools, limited vacancies, breakdowns in communication among parents, learners and school heads, or mismatches between selected pathways and assessment results,” Prof Bitok noted.

Seven-day revision process explained

During the seven-day window, candidates dissatisfied with their assigned schools or pathways will be allowed to submit fresh applications, subject to merit and available space. The revision process will be handled transparently and in line with national placement guidelines.

“The portal will remain open for one week, during which learners may review and revise their preferred pathways. The system will clearly indicate schools with available vacancies, and applications will be submitted through junior schools.

Eligible learners will also be allowed to change pathways, such as moving from STEM to Social Sciences,” Prof Bitok explained.

To guide parents and learners, the ministry will publish a list of senior secondary schools with available slots, categorised by pathway and cluster. Learners are expected to report to their allocated schools on Monday, January 12, 2026.

Universities urged to align with CBE

Separately, Education Cabinet Secretary Migosi Ogamba called on universities to accelerate the alignment of their academic programmes with the CBE framework ahead of the admission of the first senior secondary school cohort in 2029.

“We have already developed a draft national implementation roadmap for universities, aligned teacher education programmes with CBE, and will continue to build the capacity of university staff on the new framework,” Ogamba said.

Prof Bitok reiterated that placement into senior secondary schools follows a structured, merit-based system under CBE, guided by learners’ choices, KJSEA performance, and the availability of spaces in preferred schools and pathways.