Education Ministry Rejects 68,000 Student Transfer Requests
The Ministry of Education has refused transfer requests from over 60,000 pupils who took the 2025 Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA), citing low school space.
According to Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, the bulk of kids requesting transfers to senior schools applied to prestigious institutions.
However, the PS stated that there are fewer than 20 throughout the country and that they lack the necessary infrastructure to accommodate a high number of students.
The Grade 10 placement was totally automated, taking into account learners’ preferences, KJSEA performance, psychometric test scores, equitable concerns, and school capacity, according to the ministry.
PLACEMENT REVIEW UPDATE – DAY 2
— State Department For Basic Education (@_BasicEdu) December 24, 2025
177,000 requests for Grade 10 placement review have been received by Day 2 of the 7-day window,with over 30k already processed. Parents and learners are urged to take advantage of the review period to revise Senior S. selections where necessary. https://t.co/cfEC4InzCk
“Out of the 183,000 that have been processed, 116,000 transfers have been approved, and 66,000 have been declined, so that is the position that we are at now,” Bitok said during an interview on Saturday, December 27.
“The main reason that we are declining most of the requests is because of capacity. I have said more than 50,000 students are interested in 20 schools, which is impossible to deal with,” he added.
Affected students have been directed to file new appeals in the first week of January in order to find alternative institutions.
The government has announced that students whose transfers have been accepted will be able to access acceptance letters to their respective universities beginning Sunday, December 28.
“One sad thing is that there are several schools in some areas that are not attracting enough students,” Bitok said.
“And as a ministry, we are really thinking hard to ensure that these students have students across the country, and we are thinking of opening the second revision between dates 6 and 9.”
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The government also stated that students would be obliged to report to their respective senior schools beginning January 12.
On Thursday, December 11, the Ministry of Education revealed the KJSEA exam results for 2025. It revealed the Grade 10 placements on Friday, December 19.
According to the Ministry, 1,130,459 students took the 2025 KJSEA, with 578,630 being male and 551,829 female.
“The top performers in each STEM, social science, and arts track will get priority placement in boarding schools of their choice,” the Ministry stated.
Education Ministry Rejects 68,000 Student Transfer Requests
