Ministry of Education Launches New Pathway System as Senior School Selection Kicks Off 

The Ministry of Education will begin the process of admitting 1.2 million Grade 9 learners into senior school in January next year, marking a significant step in the rollout of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

The selection process is scheduled to begin on May 26 and run through June 15, with each learner expected to choose 12 schools aligned with their preferred career pathways.

For the first time, learners will be admitted to senior schools based on specialized academic pathways, social sciences, arts and sports, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), which will be conducted in November, will guide placements, which will be made once results are released.

Dr William Sugut, head of the secondary directorate at the Ministry of Education, emphasized that selection will be guided by learners’ interests, teacher input, and academic performance.

“We are now done with the registration for assessment, what is remaining is the selection of pathways, tracks, and schools for purposes of ensuring that we tap into the talent of learners,” he said.

Parents will also play a key role in the process, joining learners and school heads to guide the choices.

“In terms of step-by-step procedure, the teacher who is guiding the selection will log into the school’s National Education Management Information System account, then the names and the assessment number of Grade 9 learners in that institution will pop up,” explained Dr Sugut. “The teacher will then take learners through the selection process, update and save their details, which include their home county and sub-county,” he added.

Learners will be guided to select a pathway of interest, followed by a specific track. They will then choose subject combinations and select four senior schools, a day school, a boarding school in their home county, and two boarding schools from outside the county.

This process will be repeated for the learner’s second and third subject combinations.

“The placement results will show where learners have been placed, then their admission letters, as has been the practice, will be accessed online using the learner’s assessment number,” said Dr Sugut.

The Ministry is expected to reclassify schools based on the pathways they will offer. While national schools will offer all three pathways due to better facilities, other schools will offer STEM and one other pathway. Schools will also be required to declare available vacancies and submit changes two weeks before the January reporting date.

Dr Sugut confirmed that top-performing learners will receive priority placement in boarding schools of their choice.

“To ensure equity, the ministry will place the top six learners per gender in each STEM track per sub-county in boarding schools of their choice. It will then place the top three learners per gender in each social science track, similar to arts and sports,” he said.

He also noted that the KJSEA score will be cumulative, incorporating assessments from Grades 6, 7, and 8, alongside the Grade 9 summative assessment.

“Given that the first cohort of CBE learners are in Grade 9, we need to firm up their transition to senior school,” Dr Sugut said, urging teachers to place learners appropriately.

“What is critical in all this is that we should be able to identify and nurture the talent of every child. Therefore, when they make choices… we bring in the aspect of interest; what is your choice?”

By Kimani Mwangi