Thousands of parents are seeking answers from the government over the placement of Grade 10 learners, citing last-minute transfers made without requests and admission to far-flung day schools that have disrupted preparations for reporting to senior school on January 12, 2026.
Sunday Nation spoke to the Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba. Below are excerpts from the interview.
There was no reassignment of learners who did not apply for review, except for Starehe Boys Centre and Starehe Girls Centre.
These two institutions formally requested placement lists from the Ministry of Education for verification, given their long-standing categorisation as post-select institutions.
A group of parents outside Starehe Boys Centre and School on January 2, 2025 where they had gone to seek clarity on the admission of their children for Grade 10.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
Upon comparison of the ministry’s placement lists and the schools’ internal selection formula, it was established that only 81 boys and 61 girls met institutional criteria and appeared on both lists.
Consequently, Starehe Boys returned 317 learners and Starehe Girls returned 315 to the ministry for alternative placement.
As mandated by policy, the ministry retains the prerogative to place learners.
The 632 children were, therefore, placed in Cluster 1 schools they had selected as alternative choices, in alignment with their preferences.
What is the recourse to parents who have been unable to download their children’s admission letters to senior school?
The calling-letter download link experienced challenges only on the first day of the release due to the unusually high traffic. This resulted in bandwidth overload, which was promptly addressed by increasing system capacity.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
The portal has stabilised and parents and learners are now able to download the letters without any difficulty.
What should parents whose children have mismatched placement information do? A case in point is when an admission letter differs from the initial placement and SMS notification.
Following multiple requests from parents, the ministry temporarily re-opened the system to allow affected learners to review and amend their school choices.
This review window ran from December 23 to 29, 2025, after which the ministry approved the revised choices.
As a result, some admission letters reflected the updated placements, which may have differed from the earlier SMS notifications or provisional placements.
What happened in cases learners were posted to distant day schools, and in some instances in different counties from their residence?
The ministry undertook nationwide sensitisation at the beginning of last year to guide education stakeholders on how the placement system would operate.
Learners were required to select 12 schools – nine boarding and three day – based on their career pathway, subject combination and personal preference.
The selection was conducted jointly by the child, parent or guardian, and head of institution and submitted on the portal.
Following widespread outrage where students were assigned to day schools hundreds of kilometres from home, the Ministry has launched a portal to allow parents to fix impractical placements.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation
The system places learners within their chosen schools across Clusters 1 to 4. The learners who were placed in distant Cluster 4 schools were given a chance to review their choices before placement. They were also reminded of their selected schools through SMS before the placement was finalised.
Children who were placed in distant schools following their initial choices, however, had the opportunity to apply for review after the placement results were released on December 19, 2025.
They will have another chance to apply for review of placement between January 6 and 9, 2026.
What caused the confusion over cluster placement? Why did high-performing students assigned to lower-tier schools?
The system places learners, based on a combination of factors such as career pathway, subject combination, cluster choice and availability of vacancies.
Variations in placement outcomes may, therefore, occur across pathways, even among what you refer to as high-performing candidates.
Will learners who were reassigned without requesting review be automatically restored to their original schools? If so, when can parents and the children confirm this?
All the learners have been granted an opportunity to apply for re-placement, based on their preferred schools.
This review window runs from January 6 to 9, 2026, in accordance with the communication the ministry issued on Friday January 2, 2026.
Why didn’t the ministry issue an explanation immediately? The delay led to many parents personally seeking answers from Jogoo House in Nairobi or the affected senior schools.
We have been updating parents and other stakeholders on the placement, including in respect of important steps such as the release of placement results on December 19, 2025; the first review period from December 23 to 29; and the availability of joining instructions from December 30.
In line with the guidelines of the ministry, our officers – including heads of junior schools across the country – have been available even during the holidays to support parents and guardians access placement information and apply for review.
Grade Nine candidates take KJSEA English language paper at Moi Nyeri Complex Primary School in Nyeri County on October 27, 2025.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Information about the further review window running from January 6 to 9, 2026 has been publicised, including the fact that the opportunity for initiating the review has been widened to include the learner’s junior school and the senior school of interest.
There are help desks at the offices of the regional directors of education, county directors of education and the sub-county education directors, specifically set up to guide parents and guardians on the placement.
The ministry has been consistently updating Kenyans and addressing concerns around the placement through regular public updates and guidance.
Given the many complaints, can the government rule out data manipulation?
There has been no technical failure, system compromise or data manipulation whatsoever.
The system undergoes routine upgrades and maintenance, particularly during periods of high traffic, to ensure stability and data integrity.
We confirm that placement was conducted in line with the approved policy frameworks, system guidelines and the available capacity in schools.
