Grade 10 placement: Why principals have lost admission powers

A learner seeking admission at St Kizito Nyansiongo on Januaray 20, 2024. [Stanley Ongwae, Standard] Thousands of parents are stranded as they seek admission for their children to preferred senior secondary schools, following a Ministry of Education decision to strip principals of the power to approve placements. The Standard has established that secondary school heads are receiving thousands of requests from dissatisfied parents whose children sat the first-ever Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and are now seeking transfers from the schools they were placed in. However, under a new policy, principals no longer have the authority to approve or reject admission requests, with all placement and transfer decisions now centralised under the Ministry of Education. The changes take effect as the first cohort of Junior Secondary School learners prepares to transition to senior school under the new education system in January. Under the new rules, learners unhappy with their placement can no longer approach secondary school principals directly. Instead, they must return to their former junior secondary schools to initiate a transfer request, which is then forwarded to the Ministry of Education for approval. The move marks a major shift in how student placement and transfers will be managed, effectively ending the long-standing discretionary role of secondary school heads. The change comes amid complaints by parents who expressed frustration over the difficulties faced by parents whose children have been placed in schools they did not choose. Some parents complained that they were unable to seek transfers because school offices were closed, with headteachers reportedly asking them to wait until the following week, despite tight appeal timelines. Several parents expressed frustration that learners who performed well were placed in day schools far from their expectations, sending what they described as a discouraging message that hard work no longer guarantees better opportunities. The complaints have played out publicly on the Ministry of Education's social media platforms, with parents calling for clearer communication, extended timelines and a more responsive appeals system. But on Saturday, the Basic Education Principal Secretary, Julius Bitok, said approval of transfer requests will depend on the category of the school being sought. Bitoksaid students seeking transfers to National Schools, now classified as C1 schools, will have their applications approved at the Ministry of Education headquarters. Transfers to Extra-County schools, categorised as C2, will be handled by Regional Directors of Education. For County schools, now classified as C3, transfer requests will be processed and approved by County Directors of Education. Kakamega Hill school teachers download KJSEA results on National examination portal when results were released. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard] Meanwhile, transfers to Sub-County schools, classified as C4 and formerly day schools, will be handled by Sub-County Directors of Education. Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) chairman Willy Kuria said principals now have no role whatsoever in admission decisions, a departure from the previous system that allowed schools some flexibility. Another major change, Kuria noted, is that schools are receiving admission lists without candidates' academic performance details. The lists do not include marks or grades, making it difficult for school administrators to plan effectively. "The information we are receiving from the ministry does not include students' marks. We do not know the quality or performance level of the learners we are admitting," Kuria said. As a result, schools will only learn how learners performed once they physically report with their result slips. Kuria said the lack of performance data affects preparation, particularly for schools that group learners by academic ability or plan teaching resources based on expected student abilities. Previously, principals were allowed to admit a small percentage of students at the school level, a discretion Kuria said helped schools support local communities and key stakeholders. "When principals were allowed to admit a certain percentage, they could support the local community. Schools exist within communities, and when community members do not have children in those schools, support for the institution may decline," he said. He added that school-level admissions also allowed schools to accommodate children of teachers, staff, board of management members and alumni, groups he described as critical to school operations. With the removal of that discretion, Kuria warned that schools may struggle to maintain strong community ties and stakeholder support. "Without that allowance, we may not be able to assist stakeholders or members of the local community, which affects accessibility to the school," he said. Kuria revealed that schools are already receiving large volumes of requests from parents seeking assistance with admissions. "We are receiving requests in the hundreds," he said. However, principals are currently unable to act on the appeals and have instead opted to formally register the applications as they await further guidance from the Ministry of Education. "We are registering them as we wait to see whether the ministry will allow us to assist," Kuria said. He said KESSHA has raised concerns about the new system with leaders who have visited schools, particularly Members of Parliament. Kuria added that MPs, whom he described as key links between parents and government, have been petitioned to escalate the matter with the Ministry of Education. The changes come at a time when the Ministry of Education has reportedly received more than 343,000 appeals to switch the senior school placement, with the Ministry of Education confirming that 183,000 of the appeals have so far been processed. Out of the processed applications, 116,000 were approved while about 66,000 were rejected, according to Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok who appeared in an interview in a local TV on Saturday. Parents and students at Ng'iya Girls school wait for their turn during the admissions exercise at the school. [Michael Mute, Standard] The ministry said most of the rejected appeals came from learners seeking placement in Category One schools(formerly national schools) which remain heavily oversubscribed. Bitok noted that thousands of learners targeted only a small number of popular schools, despite their limited capacity. "In some cases, learners are competing for about 20 schools whose combined capacity is only around 500 students," he said. Learners who are satisfied with their current placement will begin accessing and downloading their senior school admission letters from December 28. Those dissatisfied with their placement will be allowed to revise their choices again in the first week of January, once the first phase of the review process ends. National Parents Association chairman Silas Obuhatsa said many parents are struggling to launch appeals. "Parents are confused and frustrated. They applied for specific schools based on their children's abilities and family circumstances, but the placements they are seeing do not reflect those choices," Obuhatsa said. He warned that the new system risks deepening anxiety among learners, especially as reporting dates draw closer without clear pathways for resolving placement disputes. Obuhatsa called on the Ministry of Education to provide clearer communication and faster resolution of appeals to avoid unnecessary distress for families. "The ministry must listen to parents and provide a transparent, timely process. Education decisions should not leave families feeling powerless," he said.

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