Central region: Central Region Director of Education Sabina Aroni has urged parents to be strategic when revising Grade 10 placement options for their children during the second phase of the review exercise. In an interview with Kenya News Agency (KNA) at her Nyeri office, Aroni encouraged parents and learners seeking transfers for senior school placement to first consult ministry officials at their respective county and sub-county levels regarding schools with available vacancies before making their applications.
According to Kenya News Agency, Aroni noted that while some applications for transfers were successful, others were declined due to lack of capacity at the targeted schools, as several premier institutions had already filled their available vacancies. She cautioned parents against focusing their applications on only a few popular schools, emphasizing that many other schools still have readily available vacancies.
"Our major concern is that parents and learners are concentrating on particular schools, even though we have existing vacancies in other schools. That's why I am appealing to the concerned parties to seek guidance from officials at the regional, county, and sub-county level before placing their applications," she said.
Aroni explained that if a school has a capacity of 150 Grade 10 learners, it cannot admit beyond that limit, and applications made to such schools would automatically be declined. This could delay the admission process for both parents and learners as they await placement in Grade 10.
The director's remarks coincided with the Ministry of Education's opening of the second Grade 10 placement revision window, which runs until January 9. Learners will only be allowed to lodge one application during this period. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba stated that learners seeking to revise their placement could submit applications through their junior schools or directly through senior schools of choice, adhering to existing placement protocols.
Ogamba mentioned that the second review phase allows parents, guardians, and learners to present legitimate and verifiable grounds for reconsideration of their initial or revised placements. Heads of institutions are required to submit all applications through the placement portal for processing in line with protocols issued by the Ministry.
This approach aims to address genuine placement gaps while ensuring fairness and transparency in the transition to senior school under the competency-based education (CBE) system. The initial placement exercise began on December 14, with results released on December 19, 2025. Learners could lodge up to four applications for placement review between December 23 and 29.
The Ministry received 355,457 review applications during the first phase of the revision window, approving only 211,636. Some 143,821 applications were declined due to the absence of preferred subject combinations or insufficient capacity in the selected schools.
Nonetheless, Aroni assured parents in the region that there were adequate vacancies to accommodate all learners who undertook their Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) in 2025. She noted that many learners were satisfied with their senior school placements and are expected to report to their respective schools starting January 12.
She also emphasized that preparations to welcome learners into the new level of education have been ongoing, with schools ready to receive Grade 10 learners and provide necessary orientation before learning commences.
"I want to report that most of the learners have been placed, and a good number of them have accepted their initial placement. But we shall continue offering guidance and support until the last learner is settled in senior school, as mandated by the law," she said.
Addressing concerns from parents whose children have been placed in Day Secondary Schools (classified as C4) far from their homes, Aroni advised visiting the nearest sub-county or county education offices to resolve such issues. She assured that education offices across the country are equipped to handle these cases promptly.
Source: Kenya News Agency