NAIROBI, Kenya — The Ministry of Education on Friday evening released Grade 10 senior school placements for learners who sat the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), bringing to an end days of anxiety among parents and students awaiting transition details under the competency-based education (CBE) system.
Learners can now access their placement results by sending their KNEC assessment number via SMS to the short code 22263 or by logging into the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) portal through the Ministry’s selection website. Individual KJSEA results also remain available on the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) portal.
The ministry confirmed that the automated placement system is now fully operational after earlier technical hitches that had delayed access and triggered widespread frustration among families. Since Monday, many parents attempting to check placements had received a holding message indicating that the process was still underway.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba said the placement exercise adheres strictly to a weighted assessment formula designed to reflect learners’ performance across multiple stages of junior schooling.
Under the framework, 20pc of a learner’s score is drawn from the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), another 20pc from school-based assessments conducted in Grades 7 and 8, and 60pc from the summative Grade 9 assessment.
“The placement of learners into senior secondary schools and pathways is guided by performance and the choices made by learners,” Ogamba said during the release of the 2025 KJSEA results last week, underscoring the government’s commitment to fairness under the CBE system.
The delay in releasing placements had sparked concern nationwide, with parents questioning the readiness of the automated system and the transparency of the process. The ministry had assured the public that placements would be concluded between December 15 and December 19, a timeline that has now been met.
Principal Secretary for Basic Education Julius Bitok sought to reassure parents and learners, noting that flexibility has been built into the system to address genuine concerns. He said students who believe they have been placed in the wrong school or learning pathway will be allowed to apply for a review within two weeks.
“There will be room for adjustments where necessary,” Bitok said, adding that the review mechanism is intended to ensure learners are placed in environments aligned with their abilities and career interests.
Under the CBE structure, senior secondary education is organised into distinct pathways, including Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Social Sciences, and Arts and Sports Science.
The pathway-based system marks a significant departure from the former 8-4-4 model, which relied heavily on final examination scores and letter grades.
The Ministry of Education maintained that the fully automated placement process enhances equity and efficiency, reducing human interference and potential bias. Learners are expected to report to their respective senior secondary schools in the second week of January.
As Kenya implements the final transition stages of the CBE system, education stakeholders continue to call for sustained public sensitisation to help parents and learners better understand assessment outcomes, placement criteria and the long-term implications of pathway-based education.
