Africa-Press – Kenya. Placement under the new system is fully automated The government’s announcement on Friday that Grade 10 placement results were ready triggered a wave of excitement among parents and learners following a day-long anxious wait.
That anticipation, however, quickly gave way to panic and heightened anxiety after the SMS short code meant to deliver the results repeatedly returned error messages.
Some learners and parents attempting to access the placements received alerts stating: “Dear learner, the requested info is unavailable, or Assessment No. does not exist. Confirm that your Assessment Number is accurate.”
The Ministry of Education had directed candidates to send their Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC)-issued Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) Assessment Number to 22263 to receive their placement details.
Parents reported that the SMS prompt suggested the placement process was still ongoing and that they would be notified once the information became available.
Later in the night, the government confirmed that the results had been uploaded, advising parents and learners to send their registration numbers to the same short code to access the information.
The confirmation eased anxiety for some, although intermittent access issues persisted for others. The placements affect the first cohort under the Competency-Based Education system, comprising 1,130,459 learners, who are expected to report to Grade 10 on Monday, January 12, 2026.
The learners selected their preferred secondary schools and pathways in May ahead of their transition to senior school, which spans Grades 10 to 12. Placement under the new system is fully automated, with learners assigned to schools based on their chosen pathways, performance in the KJSEA, and the availability of vacancies in individual institutions.
Senior school offers three pathways: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); Social Sciences; and Arts and Sports. Core subjects such as English, Kiswahili and Mathematics remain compulsory across pathways.
Placement into the four categories of senior schools of C1 (National schools); C2 (Extra County); C3 (County) and C4 (Sub-County) is merit based. Even among parents who successfully accessed the results, concerns were raised over some of the placements.
One guardian questioned the decision to place a high-performing learner, who exceeded expectations across all nine assessed learning areas, in a county school, arguing that the outcome warranted reconsideration.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, speaking on December 11 at the KNEC headquarters in South C during the release of the inaugural KJSEA results, said there would be room for appeals.
He assured parents and learners who felt they had been placed in the wrong school or pathway that transfers or changes could be requested within a two-week window.
“Any parent or learner who might feel they were placed in the wrong pathway or in the wrong school and wish to transfer or change, that space is available for the next two weeks,” he said. Some parents, however, expressed concern that the appeal period was too short given the reporting timelines.
On social media, one parent lamented that learners with near-perfect scores had been placed in subcounty day schools, noting that the deadline for changes fell weeks before the January reporting date, compounding anxiety among families.
“Reporting date is 12th January, and parents have been told any changes need to take place two weeks before then i.e 29th December. Hapa ndio vumbi inaanzia,” one parent said on X.
