Kenya’s Ministry of Education, under the leadership of Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos, is poised to introduce fresh guidelines this week to streamline the transition of students from junior to senior school.
Kicking off next January, these guidelines are set to clarify the placement process for students entering senior schools.
This Friday, officials from the Ministry of Education, Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, and Teachers Service Commission will converge in Machakos.
They’re launching a week-long series of county-based dialogues centered on the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system.
The first group of students under the CBE, currently in Grade 9, is gearing up for their final junior school assessment, the Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA), later this year. Per the KNEC timetable, the KJSEA will occur from October 27 to November 6, 2025. Afterward, students will move on to senior school, which includes Grades 10, 11, and 12.
Assessment and Placement
Grade 9 students’ placement into senior schools will hinge on two main components: the KJSEA, contributing 60% of their total score, and the School-Based Assessment (SBA), making up the remaining 40%.
The SBA comprises practical projects and written assessments completed in Grades 7 and 8. These evaluations will guide students into one of three educational pathways: Arts and Sports Science, Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM), and Social Science.
Pathways and Tracks
Each career pathway offers specific tracks or subject combinations. For instance, Arts and Sports Science encompasses Performing Arts, Sports, and Visual Arts, while STEM covers Pure Science, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering, and Career Technology Studies (CTS).
The Social Science pathway includes Humanities, Business Studies, and Language and Literature.
Capacity and Infrastructure
Schools will accommodate Grade 9 graduates based on their facilities and staffing capacities.
National schools, with their advanced facilities, might offer all three pathways, whereas some extra county schools may be limited to two due to infrastructural constraints.
Questionnaires and Interests
KNEC will also distribute questionnaires to gauge students’ interests and personality traits, helping to pinpoint individual strengths. This ensures that students with talents in areas like sports or sciences find themselves in schools equipped with the necessary support systems.
Additional Considerations
Beyond assessments, school placement will also consider geographical factors. The new guidelines aim to place students in schools closer to their homes, reducing travel distances. Regions with more schools will naturally offer more slots.
Aiming for regional balance and equality, the placement process seeks to minimize the need for students to travel long distances, a common issue under the previous 8-4-4 system.
The Ministry plans to roll out county-based dialogues from March 9 to 15, 2025, with a national launch in Machakos on March 7. These discussions will tackle key issues in the education sector, focusing on the progress and opportunities within the Competency-Based Education system.
The dialogues aim to engage stakeholders in validating the new guidelines, updating them on teacher recruitment, and gathering feedback on CBE implementation.
These dialogues will involve teams from the Ministry of Education, KNEC, KICD, and the Teachers Service Commission, spanning all 47 counties.
Dialogue Objectives
The dialogues will focus on several objectives:
- Updating stakeholders on the current status of CBE implementation.
- Providing a platform for public participation in validating Senior School guidelines.
- Informing stakeholders about teacher recruitment and capacity-building efforts.
- Collecting feedback on CBE implementation.
Expected Outcomes
The anticipated outcomes include:
- Increased stakeholder awareness regarding CBE’s current status and future.
- Publicly validated Senior School guidelines.
- Comprehensive feedback on CBE implementation.
- Enhanced collaboration among educational stakeholders to ensure CBE success.