Foremost, Grade 9 students should report to Senior Schools in Grade on January 12, 2026. Based on communication made by the Ministry of Education (MoE) officials, about 1.13 million Grade 9 students who sat for the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) should know the Senior Schools they have been placed in today, Friday 19, December 2025. Ideally, MoE processed the results alongside the preferred pathway choices learners made earlier in the year: Ensuring alignment between performance, interests and available school capacities.
Advisedly, to know the Senior School the learner has been placed in, Grade 9 students or parents can send the Assessment Number via SMS to 22263 on any mobile network. Likewise, they can access the MoE portal (http://placement.education.go.ke/). Additionally, they can visit their former Junior Schools and confer with the Head of Institutions (HoI) about it. HoIs can assist. However, for students who will not be happy about their assigned pathway, they will be allowed to revise their choices during a 7-day window, which is from December 23rd to 30th. They can do that through the portal. Or seek assistance from the HoIs in Junior Schools using a secure web-based portal.
In retrospect, Grade 9 students selected their preferred 12 Senior Schools before they sat for the KJSEA assessment. In the selection, 9 of them were boarding schools (3 from the learner’s home county and 6 from outside their home county. The other 3 were day schools in their home sub-county of residence. On the contrary, some Senior Schools, such as Starehe Boys Centre, were allowed to do pre-selection because they do not conduct open placements.
Albeit, pertaining to this provision on revision, it is instructive to note that the first thing Grade 9 students and parents must understand is; placement in any Career Pathway is largely determined by the analysis at the bottom of their results slips. To arrive at the calculation, the Kenya Examination Council (KNEC) used the standard scores (z scores) of the subjects related to a particular Career Pathway to ascertain or assess the learner’s suitability for it.
ALSO READ:
Elgeyo Marakwet County flood victims in Ngorgoroi receive Red Cross aid
For instance, to qualify for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Career Pathway, learners will require a minimum score of 20. While the Social Sciences, Arts and Sports Science Career Pathway will require a minimum of 25. Above all, Grade 9 students will be placed in Senior Schools based on performance and selected Career Pathway.
Comparatively, in the 8-4-4 System of Education, which embraced a one-size-fits-all approach, STD 8 pupils were placed in Form 1 in Secondary Schools based on the marks they scored in the Kenya Certificate of Education (KCPE). The marks they scored in KCPE determined whether they joined national, extra-county, county or sub-county schools. Conversely, in the Competency-Based Education, Grade 9 students will be placed in Grade 10 in Senior Schools based on the career pathway and cluster of Senior Schools (C1-C4).
In 2026 onwards, secondary schools will evolve to Senior Schools (Grade 10-12). Currently, secondary schools are categorised as national, extra-county (1 and 2), county and sub-county. But in the new education dispensation (CBE), they will be categorised as C1, C2, C3 and C4. The current national schools will be C1, extra-county schools will be C2, county schools will be C3, and sub-county schools will be C4. The C1 and C2 will be Triple Pathway Schools offering all three 3 Career Pathways. The STEM Career Pathway, which will cater for 60% of learners, will be compulsory in all Senior Schools. The Social Sciences Career Pathway will cater for 25% of learners. Then, the Arts and Sports Science Pathway will cater for 15% of learners.
So, the distribution of learners in the Career Pathways in Senior Schools will follow the KJSEA results, which showed that the majority of Grade 9 students qualified for placements. More importantly, some KJSEA candidates qualified for all the Career Pathways. Meaning, other factors such as their choices and interests will be considered. Actually, about 59% of KJSEA candidates qualified for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Career Pathway. Whereas the other two Career Pathways – Social Sciences and Arts and Sports Science – had about 48% qualifying.
ALSO READ:
Teachers fault TSC over delayed implementation of Ruto’s September pledges
Somehow, somewhat: According to MoE, more than 600,000 learners chose the STEM Career Pathway. Whereas 437,000 students chose Social Sciences. Then, 124,000 students opted for Arts and Sports Science. All Grade 9 students who sat to write the KJSEA assessment will be placed in Senior Schools. So, there will be a 100% Transition from Junior to Senior School. Happily, as part of the factors known to us earlier, placements into Grade 10 in Senior Schools will be based on performance in KJSEA and choice of Career Pathways offered in Senior Schools.
For instance, the top-performing students in Grade 9 assessment will automatically secure the highly coveted chances in their schools of choice. By the same token, the best Grade 9 candidate in each sub-county will be admitted to a boarding school of choice. In the STEM Pathway, the top 2 candidates per gender in each sub-county will be admitted to boarding schools of their choice. Then, for Social Sciences, Arts and Sports Science: the top learner per gender in each sub-county will also secure boarding schools of their choice. Consequently, learners who scored Exceeding Expectation 1 and 2 (EE 1 and 2) – the peak performers in the KJSEA assessment – will qualify for boarding schools of their choice.
Finally, for purposes of fairness, equity and transparency in the placement process, information from credible sources posit that Grade 9 learners will be placed in Senior Schools in what is akin to County Revenue Allocation (CRA) formula; which is currently used to distribute funds to the 47 counties across the country. The plausible plan considers a raft of factors such as population, performance, poverty level, distance to school, school size, and infrastructure.
Meaning, larger and populated counties such as Nairobi, Kiambu, Nakuru, Kakamega and Bungoma are poised to receive more slots. Again, comparatively, under the 8-4-4 System of Education, which became moribund in 2027, STD 8 leavers were placed in Form 1 of secondary schools based on the marks they scored in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). Top-ranking schools had an upper hand, edging out learners from marginalised counties. Actually, placement favoured learners with higher scores. Or in close proximity to top schools.
Therefore, under the new placement formula, 42% of placement consideration is based on county population, which allows larger counties to receive a proportionate number of slots. Then, 22% will be determined by the learner’s academic performance or merit. Consequently, 14% will take into consideration the poverty levels, supporting learners from disadvantaged areas. Additionally, 13% will consider distance to school so as to reduce travel barriers. Moreover, 9% will focus on school size and infrastructure: this will help in matching students to institutions with sufficient facilities.
Victor Ochieng’ is a Career Educator in schools. For more guidance and advice on Grade 9 Placements in Senior Schools, you can call or WhatsApp: 0704420232
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
>>> Click here to read more informed opinions on the country’s education landscape
