Stakeholders seek clarity after midnight results

The first-ever placement to senior school has sparked controversy after the Ministry of Education released the results at night, alongside sweeping changes to the placement system.

Just like the KJSEA results, the senior school placement surprised parents and learners, with the results released minutes after 10pm on Friday, a sharp break from tradition where such announcements were made during the day, accompanied by official briefings and detailed explanations.

The Sunday Standard has established that the placement was released before the exercise was fully completed. As a result, some students are yet to receive confirmation of the schools they will join, creating a new source of anxiety among parents and learners.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the government may have abandoned its initial plan to pre-select students for certain schools. Special category institutions, such as Moi Forces Academy and Utumishi Academy, were initially designated as pr-selection schools, expected to handpick learners for admission. However, with placements now underway, questions have arisen over whether the government has indeed abandoned this process.

Similarly, concerns have been raised regarding the ministry’s decision to apply the County Revenue Allocation formula in the placement exercise. Stakeholders argue that this approach disadvantages learners in urban areas and those attending private schools.

More than 1.13 million learners are affected by the placement, which marks a major shift from the familiar Form One placement under the now phased-out 8-4-4 system.

The government is yet to give a breakdown showing how many students were placed in different categories of schools, or the capacity of each category. In the past, the ministry would also reveal the most selected schools, a practice that helped parents understand placement trends and competition. 

The absence of such details has created confusion and uncertainty, with many parents questioning how the placement decisions were made.

Also, for the first time, learners are not just being placed into a school, but also into a career pathway they will follow throughout the three years of senior secondary school.

Under the 8-4-4 system, the last Form One placement was done in 2023. Students were only assigned to secondary schools. Once admitted, all learners studied up to 12 subjects in Form One and Form Two. 

It was only in Form Three that students narrowed their choices to about eight subjects based on interest and performance.

Under the new system, the choice comes much earlier. Learners joining senior school will begin their studies already focused on a specific pathway, a move that education officials say is meant to better prepare students for careers and further training.

Another major departure under the new system is the introduction of an appeals process. For the first time, learners will be allowed to formally apply for a change of senior school placement.

The process closely mirrors the university placement system, where students can request to switch courses after receiving an initial placement.

The appeal window runs from Tuesday to December 30.

But education stakeholders warn that unless the Ministry of Education provides clearer explanations and public guidance, mistrust around the placement system could deepen as more learners attempt to navigate the appeals process.

Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary General Collins Oyuu cautioned that the lack of clear communication around the senior school placement could trigger widespread opposition.“In a new system, parents and learners need to clearly understand what is happening and what changes to expect. Proper information helps prevent confusion and contain dissent,” Oyuu said.

In that system, parents would move learners from one school to another based on available slots left by students who had failed to report. The remaining vacancies were then filled at the discretion of secondary school principals.

Under the KJSEA placement, however, all appeals will be channeled through learners’ current Junior School heads, who will submit the applications via a Ministry of Education portal.. This means the senior secondary principals have been stripped power to choose students they will admit. The changes have introduced a level of opaqueness that has heightened anxiety among parents and learners, many of whom say the placement process feels rushed and poorly explained.

Parents said they were left confused by the criteria used to assign specific schools and pathways, questioning why some learners were placed in institutions far from home or in schools they did not select, despite posting exceptional performance in all subjects.

“I don’t understand how my child was sent to a school outside the county when we clearly selected nearer options. We were told choices would matter, but the outcome does not reflect what we submitted,” said a parent in Nairobi.