The Ministry of Education has revised the criteria that will be used for Form One selection and placement for the KCPE class of 2018.
The new formula requires that all candidates who scored 400 marks and above be admitted to national schools and that all the candidates would secure spots in secondary schools.
Reporters in The Standard established that this year, the slots would be shared based on candidature strength across sub-counties.
This means that the more candidates that a sub-county has, the more slots it will be allocated and that the top performing candidates in each sub-county would be prioritised.
Data from the ministry shows that the available spaces in the 103 national schools stood at 29,712.
In 2018, 12,273 candidates scored 401 marks and above and therefore guaranteed slots at some of the prestigious schools.
The remaining 17,439 slots will be up for grabs by the 228,414 candidates who scored between 301 and 400 marks.
Last year, private schools raised concerns about the selection process claiming that their students were given the short end of the stick in the placements.
Parents have come out to fault Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed for stating that there shall be only one selection process.
They criticised the move claiming that it would deny deserving students a second chance at joining their dream schools.
Kenya National Parents Association Chairman Nicholas Maiyo explained that a second selection where schools declare those who have reported and the spaces that have not been taken up would allow the ministry to undertake fair allocation of the remaining slots.
“It will be difficult for principals to fairly give out that slot to a deserving child because it may be a case of the highest bidder,” he complained.
