NAIROBI, Kenya — Grade 10 learners have until January 16 to transfer to their preferred senior schools, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has announced, extending an earlier deadline amid complaints over placements.
Ogamba said the admissions and transfers are being handled through a newly introduced Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), an automated platform managed by ICT officials at the Ministry of Education.
“The admissions are linked to headquarters, with approvals being made across the board to ensure the process is seamless,” the CS said.
The extension comes after parents raised concerns that some learners had been placed in senior schools far from home, including day schools in distant counties, while others were admitted to institutions perceived to be below their academic qualifications.
Initially, parents had until January 9 to review placements and request transfers. However, Ogamba said the ministry opted to grant more time after continued complaints from affected families.
“Those students who may want to transfer from one school to another are being allowed, and the necessary approvals are being made to facilitate that,” he said.
Ogamba maintained that the system is fully automated and that the placement exercise has been smooth for the majority of learners, noting that the extension is meant to ensure no student is left out as schools prepare to begin learning in the next two weeks.
“We have given them until Friday to make the placement process as seamless as possible and ensure every learner is in their school of choice,” he added.
The CS spoke while monitoring Grade 10 admissions at Kamahuha Girls High School, recently upgraded to a national school.
He welcomed the institution’s first intake of students from outside the region, including a learner from Kilifi County, saying it demonstrated the school’s new national status.
“I’m glad to say the first student admitted here comes from Kilifi, which shows the school has taken its rightful place as a national institution,” Ogamba said.
The Grade 10 class is the pioneer cohort under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system, with a total of 1,130,459 learners nationwide.
Kenya has 9,500 senior schools, categorised by academic pathways, accommodation, gender and special needs to promote equity and learner choice.
Ogamba also revealed that the government is constructing 1,600 laboratories across schools nationally as part of ongoing investments in the education sector to support CBC implementation and science learning.
Area MP Mary Waithera, an alumna of Kamahuha Girls High School, praised the upgrade, saying the school was founded decades ago by local residents as a day school before transitioning into a boarding institution.
“I’m a proud alumnus. I graduated in 1987, and it is fulfilling to see the school attain national status,” she said.
While the national government plans to construct a library and four classrooms at the school, Waithera said the Maragua NG-CDF will fund a modern dining hall to ease congestion.
