How Grade 10 placement exposed sharp inequality among schools

Just days after the government released the placement of the first cohort of Grade 10 learners under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system, what was meant to mark a historic transition has ignited a nationwide debate that has laid bare the inequalities in Kenya’s education sector.

For some families, the placement brought relief and celebration while for many others, it delivered shock, disappointment and anxiety, as learners found themselves assigned to schools far from home, institutions they did not choose, or pathways they felt did not reflect their interests and abilities.

Like Alice Mutheu, a parent in Kitui, the outcome felt deeply personal and painfully unfair.

“Our children were placed in schools they did not choose. They are hurting, confused and anxious because they feel unheard. Parents are stressed and heartbroken, trying to reassure their children while dealing with a system that has not represented their voice,” Mutheu said.

James Maina, a parent from Murang'a, questioned whether the system could honestly assure families that children placed in different schools had equal chances of success.

Moses Moteti from Ikutha, Makueni, was even more blunt: “Throwing or mixing students in schools will not solve inequality. The reality in schools has not changed.”

However, Jacklyne Auma, a parent and educator in Kisumu, defended mixed-ability placement, saying this will bring equality in the country.

“The placement will bridge inequality in the sector. Mixed ability works. Teachers already know the ability of their pupils at the time of selection,” she said.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said under the new grading model, the focus is on individual progress rather than ranking learners against each other.

“All students passed these assessments and can pursue their pathway anywhere in the country. The focus is on measuring each learner’s progress. Competition is between the child and themselves, not among peers,” Ogamba said, adding that learners can now pursue pathways aligned to their strengths, including arts and social sciences, science and technology, or sports.

According to the government, the controversy is a system attempting to break away from decades of exam-centred placement under the defunct 8-4-4 model, while grappling with realities of unequal infrastructure, chronic underfunding, teacher shortages and entrenched perceptions about “good” and “bad” schools.

“In future, the issue of having big schools will not be there, students will be equally admitted to schools near them and get equal opportunities as those in the perceived big schools,” he said.

Unlike the old system, placement also relied heavily on the County Revenue Allocation (CRA) formula, currently used to distribute national resources among counties.

“To ensure fairness in placement across the country, we have adopted the CRA formula to distribute students from all counties fairly across the four categories of schools,” he stated.

Under the CRA-based placement model, 42 per cent of slots were allocated based on county population, meaning large counties such as Nairobi, Kakamega, Nakuru, Kiambu and Bungoma received more placements.

Academic performance accounted for 22 per cent, poverty levels 14 per cent, distance to school 13 per cent, and school size and infrastructure nine per cent.

The intention, according to the government, was to unlock opportunities in historically neglected and “remote” schools, distribute learners more equitably across the country, and gradually force a more balanced flow of resources.

“To ensure fairness in placement across the country, we adopted the CRA formula to distribute students from all counties fairly across the four school clusters,” said Ogamba.

This means the government is going to ensure resources follow students to schools they are going to undertake the pathways opening up the sub county schools.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Prof. Julius Bitok on Sunday said the government had engaged in extensive consultations and deliberately designed CBE to align learning with learners’ skills, interests and aspirations.

“A key feature of CBE is pathway selection in Grade 9. Learners choose pathways that match their competencies. Assessment is not a one-off exam but a combination of formative and summative evaluations—40 per cent from Grade 6, 20 percent from Grades 7 and 8, and 60 per cent from KJSEA,” Bitok said.

Under CBE, Grade 9 learners were required to select 12 preferred senior schools before sitting the Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA).

Of these, nine were boarding schools, three from the learner’s home county and six from outside while three were day schools within the learner’s home sub-county.

Placement was not based on raw scores alone but instead, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) analysed learners’ performance using standard scores in subjects aligned to specific career pathways.

These pathways of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); Social Sciences; and Arts and Sports Science are a defining feature of senior school under CBE.

STEM was allocated 60 per cent of available slots, Social Sciences 25 per cent, and Arts and Sports Science 15 per cent.

According to the Ministry of Education, about 600,000 learners preferred STEM, 437,000 opted for Social Sciences, and 124,000 chose Arts and Sports Science.

Nearly 59 per cent of learners qualified for STEM based on assessment outcomes, while others qualified for more than one pathway.

Top-performing learners were given priority with the best candidate nationally automatically secured a Cluster 1 (formerly national) school of choice. In STEM, the top two learners per gender in each sub-county were placed in boarding schools of their choice.

For Social Sciences and Arts and Sports Science, the top learner per gender per sub-county secured a boarding slot. Learners who attained the highest performance bands Exceeding Expectation (EE1 and EE2)—largely qualified for boarding schools they selected.

But for parents and learners shaped by decades of hierarchy and exam ranking, trust will take time.

“The change may be in our minds and ideas but not in schools. Not at the moment. If we truly want to address the issue of inequality we must face reality," said Moteti.

According to Education analyst Majani Baridi, the uproar has exposed a truth Kenya has long avoided: schools are not equal, and pretending they are does not make it so.

“The core problem is that we have promoted educational inequality under the guise of categorising schools and a test of whether the country is truly ready to build an education system where opportunity is not defined by postcode, pedigree or perception,” Baridi said.

He argues that the placement of Grade 10 learners has become a mirror reflecting Kenya’s unresolved struggle of ‘equality.’

“Institutions in higher categories enjoy superior resources and services, virtually guaranteeing better outcomes. Unless there is deliberate and targeted equalisation of schools, this problem will persist. If the new placement works, it is going to ensure Sub-County schools grow to the level of those in C1,” he said.

The government insists the placement was done according to the interests and performance of the learners. This will also open up the perceived small schools.

Ogamba added that senior schools have sufficient capacity. With only three classes instead of four at senior level, extra classrooms will absorb the Grade 10 cohort.

“All students will be in class by January 12. Under CBE, competition is between the child and themselves, not among peers,” Ogamba said.

The CS further said the new system promises equity, flexibility and recognition of diverse talents.

He said to address concerns from parents, the ministry will open a seven-day review window starting Tuesday, December 23, allowing learners to revise pathways or correct errors, including gender mismatches.

“Being a pioneer undertaking, we empathise with parents and learners’ anxieties,” Ogamba said.