This archive report was first published on 2 December 2019.
On December 2, 2019, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) was set to host the announcement of the national schools that the more than 30,000 top performers would attend, following the release of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha would announce the schools that the top performers would attend, marking the culmination of the selection process that had relied on technology to place students in secondary schools.
The selection process, led by Director of Secondary Education Paul Kibet, considered merit, equity, choice, and affirmative action in placing the candidates.
According to a source privy to the process, the selection team had to adjust marks for those joining national schools after a decline in the number of candidates who scored 400 marks and above in this year's KCPE examinations.
With the number of candidates who scored 400 marks and above dropping to 9,770 (0.90 per cent) from 11,559 (1.10 per cent) last year, the Ministry of Education had allowed candidates to revise their choices based on their performance in internal examinations in July.
On Sunday, Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang confirmed that the selection was complete and students would know the schools they had been selected to join on the day of the announcement.
However, he declined to disclose more information on the selection, saying the results would be made public on the day of the announcement.
