The Ministry of Education has announced plans to open a second phase of the Grade 10 placement revision exercise in early January after many transfer requests were declined during the initial seven-day window, which closes on Monday, December 29.
Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the ministry received an overwhelming number of applications, most of them targeting a small group of highly sought-after national schools with limited capacity.
Out of the 1.13 million learners who sat the first Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), more than 343,000 applied for placement revision. By December 27, about 183,000 applications had been processed, with nearly 68,000 rejected.
According to Bitok, congestion in Category 1 (C1) schools—formerly national schools—was the main reason for the high rejection rate.
“More than 50,000 learners are competing for just 20 schools, each with a capacity of about 500 students. It is simply not possible to place all of them in these institutions,” he said.
Senior schools are currently classified into four categories: Category 1 (C1), former national schools; Category 2 (C2), former extra-county schools; Category 3 (C3), county schools; and Category 4 (C4), sub-county schools. While the revision exercise allowed learners to change both pathways and schools, most applications focused on moving to C1 institutions.
Nationally, there are 266 C1 schools, which Bitok said cannot absorb the tens of thousands of learners competing for placement in a few popular schools.
To improve their chances during the second revision window, Bitok advised learners to consider less popular C1 schools, particularly those in remote areas that are struggling to attract enough students.
“We have several C1 schools in far-flung regions that are not receiving adequate numbers. Learners who are flexible in their choices are likely to have better chances,” he said.
The ministry plans to reopen the revision portal between January 6 and 9 to allow unsuccessful applicants another opportunity to apply.
A total of 1,130,459 candidates—578,630 boys (51.19 per cent) and 551,829 girls (48.81 per cent)—sat the KJSEA. Learners selected their preferred Grade 10 senior schools in May, but some expressed dissatisfaction when placement results were released.
Placements are conducted automatically, based on KJSEA performance and the choices made during the selection process.
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