The Ministry of Education has issued guidelines outlining how parents and learners can request school replacements for students joining Grade 10 in junior secondary schools next year.
According to the ministry, the junior schools will be required to declare vacancies through their respective county directors of education.
Parents who wish to change schools will be required to make requests through the heads of junior schools at least two weeks before the Grade 10 reporting date, according to the ministry. The reporting date is set for January 12, 2026.
The replacement process shall prioritise learners who have selected the schools they had requested earlier, and approvals shall be based on the senior schools' documented capacity.
Once the replacement request is approved, the ministry shall then issue the joining instruction to the learners online, cautioning that "at no time shall a school issue printed letters for replacement cases."
According to the ministry, the replacement process shall be done once, and when completed, the process is irreversible.
"The officers involved are required to cooperate and ensure a fair and credible selection and placement process for a smooth transition of students from Junior School to senior Schools," the ministry stated.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba released the results of the 2025 KJSEA examination on Thursday, December 11.
The exams, which were held between October 27 and November 3, were aimed at assessing the readiness of the pioneer cohort of the Competency-Based Education (CBE) who will transition into senior secondary school in January 2026.
According to the ministry, of the 1,130,459 learners who sat the 2025 KJSEA, 578,630 were male, while 551,829 were female.
The ministry noted that the placement of the Grade 10 learners will take place over the next two weeks, with students set to report to their assigned schools next month, on January 12.
Teachers and learners were encouraged to access the school selection through the KNEC portal kjsea.knec.ac.ke, which will show them which school a learner has been placed in.
According to the ministry, the admissions letter and school joining instructions shall be accessed online using the learner’s assessment number. The placement process shall be fully automated according to the ministry.
"All schools, both public and private, shall admit Grade 10 through KEMIS. No principal shall enter a learner into KEMIS before he/she reports to the school physically. Daily online reporting shall be monitored through KEMIS," the guidelines from the ministry stated.
