MOMBASA, Kenya — Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has announced a second seven-day review window for Grade 9 learners to verify and adjust their senior school placements ahead of their transition to Grade 10.
Speaking on Tuesday during the commissioning of Shanzu Senior School in Mombasa, Ogamba said the additional review period is aimed at resolving outstanding challenges in the placement system.
He said this will also ensure that learners are admitted to schools that best suit their circumstances.
The second review window will run from Tuesday, January 6, to Friday, January 9, 2026.
The period is meant to allow parents and learners to apply for transfers to alternative senior schools, subject to the availability of space and subject combinations.
“I want to assure parents that learners who wish to change schools will be considered within the available capacity,” Ogamba said.
He added that ministry teams are actively working to address technical and logistical issues that emerged during the initial placement process.
The announcement comes amid mounting anxiety among parents across the country as the January 12 reporting date approaches.
Many families have raised concerns over learners being placed in day schools located far from their homes.
Several parents have already begun submitting requests for placement revisions, citing transport costs and safety concerns as key reasons for seeking transfers.
Ogamba urged parents to seek guidance from school heads and Ministry of Education support teams when submitting their applications, warning that delays could jeopardise learners’ chances of securing alternative placements.
“Parents should act quickly and work closely with school administrators and our officers to ensure applications are submitted correctly before the window closes,” he said.
The second review follows the conclusion of the first placement revision exercise, which attracted massive interest nationwide.
According to the ministry, a total of 355,457 applications were received during the initial review period.
Of these, 211,636 applications were approved, while the rest were declined.
Ogamba said most rejected requests failed to meet basic criteria, including the availability of preferred subject combinations or adequate capacity at the requested schools.
“Learners were allowed the opportunity to apply for review of the initial placement from December 23, 2025,” the CS said, noting that demand for certain schools far exceeded available spaces.
He revealed that some of the country’s most sought-after national schools received extraordinarily high numbers of transfer requests.
“There were, for example, up to 20,000 applications for schools like Alliance High School, Kenya High School and Mang’u High School, against an average capacity of about 500 slots,” Ogamba said.
Despite the challenges, the ministry said the placement exercise has largely been successful, with about 88 per cent of learners placed in line with their original or revised choices.
