On November 22, 2018, the Education ministry moved to calm the annual Form One admission rush by outlining a single selection exercise for national schools, even as 17,439 places remained available.
Ministry data showed that 103 national schools had 29,712 slots in total. Under the revised selection rule, every candidate who scored 400 marks and above in KCPE was to be admitted to a national school, leaving the remaining places to be contested by learners in the 301 to 400 bracket.
According to the figures released, 12,273 candidates scored 401 marks and above and were already guaranteed admission to the coveted schools. That left 17,439 slots for the 228,414 candidates who scored between 301 and 400 marks.
Private schools warned that the allocation formula could disadvantage some of their candidates. Kenya Private School Association chief executive officer Peter Ndoro said the remaining spaces should be shared on merit and regional balance, and cautioned that a candidate with 380 marks could miss out while another with 250 might get a place depending on the criteria used.
The ministry’s approach, as established at the time, tied the remaining national school places to candidature strength across sub-counties. In practical terms, the more candidates a sub-county produced, the more slots it would receive. Top performers in each sub-county were also to be prioritised, even if that meant some higher-scoring learners in a heavily represented area would lose out.
Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed said all one million candidates would be admitted to Form One and that admission letters would be issued before Christmas. She added: “The ministry’s relevant departments have put in place all mechanisms to ensure the selection exercise is completed as fast as possible,” and insisted: “I want to clearly state that there will be only one selection process. There will be no second selection.”
That position drew concern from parents, some of whom argued that a second round would help learners who missed their preferred schools. A Nairobi parent said one selection would give headteachers more room to frustrate parents and demand bribes when students failed to report. Kenya National Parents Association chairman Nicholas Maiyo also said a single process could leave parents exposed where they could not afford fees at the schools allocated to their children.
Mr Maiyo said a second selection, after schools reported unfilled spaces, would allow the ministry to redistribute vacancies more fairly. He warned that principals could end up with too much discretion and that some places might go to the highest bidder.
The ministry also set out how the remaining school categories would be handled. Extra-county schools were to use a 20:40:40 ratio shared between the host sub-county, the host county and other counties. County schools were to follow a 20:80 split between the host sub-county and the rest of the sub-counties. Sub-county schools were to admit learners from the host sub-county on merit and choice. The criteria would apply whether a candidate sat KCPE in a private or public school.
Official data placed the number of extra-county school vacancies at 123,400 across 531 schools, while 1,031 county schools had 142,358 places. Day schools, also called sub-county schools, had the largest capacity, with 685,590 slots in 7,325 institutions. Learners with special needs were to be placed in 32 special schools with 1,453 vacancies. Another 1,800 private schools were expected to offer 87,000 places.
Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang said the government would continue providing books and free education funding. He said parents would still meet costs for uniforms, lunch, boarding-related expenses under the approved fee structure, and any outstanding balances. He added that the State would continue sending Sh22,244 per child per year for education.
Dr Kipsang also said boarding school fees would be capped at Sh75,798, with parents paying a maximum of Sh53,554 and the government covering the rest. Kenya Secondary School Heads Association chairman Kahi Indimuli said schools were ready to receive the new intake, but asked for better facilities, more teachers and an expansion plan to support the 100 per cent transition policy.
A ministry circular dated October 25 said Sh6,000 per student per year would be sent to support a proper learning environment and school infrastructure.
