More than 211,000 learners have successfully secured revised placements to Grade 10 after the Ministry of Education concluded the review of Senior School placements, Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba has announced.
In a press statement released on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, the Ministry confirmed that the Grade 10 placement exercise, which began on December 14 and ended on December 19, attracted an overwhelming response from learners seeking reconsideration of their assigned schools and pathways.
“Following the initial placement, we received a total of 355,457 applications for review, with each learner allowed to lodge up to four applications,” Ogamba said.
According to the Ministry, 211,636 learners had their applications approved after the review process concluded on December 29, while the remaining requests were declined mainly due to limited capacity and unavailable subject combinations in preferred schools.
“The other applications have been declined largely due to the absence of the preferred subject combinations or the lack of capacity in the selected schools, and the learners have been advised accordingly,” the Cabinet Secretary explained
The Ministry disclosed that elite national schools continued to attract massive demand far beyond their capacity.
“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 500 slots,” Ogamba noted.
Despite the pressure on popular institutions, the Ministry reported that 88 per cent of all learners have now been placed either in their original choices or through successful review applications.
The placement data shows a strong tilt toward science-based learning under the new Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
“At present, 51 per cent of the learners have been placed to the STEM pathway, 38 per cent to the Social Sciences pathway, while 11 per cent have been placed to the Arts and Sports Science pathway,” the statement reads.
Learners who remain dissatisfied will get another chance to seek changes early next year.
“Interested learners will still have an opportunity to apply for further review from 6th January, 2026 to 9th January, 2026,” Ogamba announced.
The Ministry also confirmed that joining instructions are now available for download, effective December 30, through the placement portal.
As Kenya transitions fully into Senior School under the CBC system, the Ministry urged parents and learners to manage expectations, noting that school capacity and subject availability will remain key determinants in the placement process.
