Government and Policy

Education Ministry Sets Dates For Grade 10 School Selection

BY Getrude Mathayo · July 31, 2026 02:07 pm

Grade 9 learners across the country will begin selecting their preferred senior schools, learning pathways and subject combinations starting August 24, the Ministry of Education has announced, as preparations for their move into Grade 10 gather pace.

According to a circular, the selection exercise will stretch over roughly three weeks, wrapping up on September 11.

Overseeing the rollout on the ground will fall to Regional, County and Sub-county Directors of Education, following directives issued by Basic Education Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa.

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“The Ministry of Education is rolling out the process of selection and placement of Grade 9 learners for the year 2026. This process ensures that all Grade 9 learners select Pathways, Subject Combinations and Schools and are effectively placed in senior schools in 2027. To ensure a smooth process, the Ministry will implement this important exercise following strict timelines as indicated,” the circular reads.

This marks a fairly significant moment in the ongoing rollout of the Competency-Based Curriculum, with the second cohort of Grade 9 learners now approaching the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) — the last major step before they head into senior school in 2027.

Before any learner actually sits down to make a selection, though, the ministry has a fair bit of groundwork to cover.

A series of virtual sensitisation sessions for education officials and school heads is scheduled to run between August 3 and August 11, essentially getting everyone on the same page before the exercise opens to learners.

Things kick off on August 3, with a virtual briefing aimed at Sub-County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (SCQASOs) and Sub-County Directors of Education (SCDEs).

From there, SCQASOs are expected to declare Grade 10 capacities within the ministry’s system sometime between August 4 and August 6, essentially confirming how many learners each senior school can absorb.

Senior school principals come next. They’ll go through their own virtual sensitisation before being tasked with updating pathways and subject combinations in the system, a process set to run from August 6 to August 8.

Running in parallel, Regional and County Directors, along with Quality Assurance and Standards Officers, have their own separate sensitisation session scheduled for August 6.

Junior school heads round out the preparation phase, with their virtual meetings taking place between August 7 and August 11 as the ministry finalises everything ahead of the nationwide exercise.

Education officers have been instructed to make sure all the relevant officials and heads of institutions actually show up for these sessions, a detail the ministry appears keen not to leave to chance, given how tightly the rest of the timeline is packed.