Grade 9 learners left in limbo as school selection deadline missed

Over one million Grade 9 learners expected to join Senior Secondary School in January 2025 are facing uncertainty after delays in selecting their preferred schools and subjects—two weeks past the May 20 deadline.

The hold-up has left both learners and parents anxious, casting doubt on the Ministry of Education’s readiness to roll out this critical phase of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

As the clock ticks, parents are growing increasingly concerned about the lack of clear communication and the potential impact on learners’ future paths.

The Standard has established that the categorisation of schools is yet to be finalised, delaying the start of the selection exercise.

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In April, Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok assured stakeholders that learners would be able to begin selections by May 20, during the National Conversation on Competency-Based Education held earlier that month.

However, with the deadline now past and the Ministry remaining silent, questions are mounting over its preparedness and when the exercise will finally take place.

Teachers who spoke to the Standard said that no official explanation has been issued by the Ministry of Education.

“We are still waiting for the selection portal to go live. No communication has come from the ministry or KNEC, and time is running out,” said a teacher at a public junior secondary school in Nairobi, speaking on condition of anonymity.

According to the CBC roadmap, Grade 9 learners, who are the pioneer cohort under the new curriculum,  were supposed to begin selecting schools and preferred career pathways by May 20. 

Each learner is expected to list 12 schools: nine boarding and three day schools, chosen across pathways such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Humanities and Performing and Sports Arts.

On Friday, Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association(KEPSHA) chairman Fuad Ali, confirmed that they are yet to begin the selection exercise. However, he said that the ministry has assured schools the exercise will begin in the coming weeks.

“We have been in talks with the government and they have assured us that the selection exercise will start soon,” Fuad told the Standard in a phone interview.

The delay throws a wrench into the already delicate rollout plan, which is under immense pressure from a tight academic calendar and overlapping assessments.

Grade 9 students are also currently sitting practical exams for the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), ahead of the written assessments scheduled for October and November.

According to the examination timetable released by KNEC, the KJSEA theory test is scheduled from October 27 to November 5, 2025. 

With just seven months left before this cohort joins senior secondary school, time is moving fast — and with it, the ability of learners to make well-informed decisions about their academic future.

Under the selection, private schools will for the first time be included in the selection portal, allowing learners to opt for either public or private senior secondary institutions — a move likened to the university placement system. 

But it remains unclear whether those who select private schools will receive capitation funding from the government..