How bungled Grade 10 placement leaves parents stranded

Education CS Julius Migos Ogamba National during the interview in his office in Nairobi, on September 8, 2025. [Jenipher Wachie, Standard]

Confusion, anxiety, and uncertainties have rocked schools and parents over the chaotic placement of the Senior Secondary School (SSS) learners expected in school on Monday.

Some education experts described the chaos in placement as akin to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve a problem without keying in the right instructions.

Across major towns and rural centres, anxious parents have been thronging senior secondary schools in a last-ditch effort to secure slots for their children following the opening of a second placement review window by the Ministry of Education.

The rush has exposed deep frustrations with the placement process, particularly among low-income families who say they were left in the dark as critical decisions were made.

On Thursday, several parents were scratching their heads about what awaits them as some grappled with the realities of what they described as a botched exercise.

A spotcheck across a number of schools in the Coast region revealed parents camping at principals’ offices trying to make changes to the school their children were placed in.

Most of the parents and education experts who spoke to The Standard said the placement process was a total shambles that was generated by computers.

Mary Mwango, a resident of Bamburi, said her child was placed in a school in Kilgoris, yet he had chosen a school in Mombasa.

Linnet Akinyi said that her son chose a school in Kilifi County but was called to a school in Garissa.

“What was the point of parents being called to select schools if they were going to use computers to haphazardly place our children anywhere? This is unfair and causing us a lot of economic stress,” said Akinyi.

Sulubu Charo, from Kakuyuni in Kilifi County, said his son was admitted later to Maranda Boys in Siaya County but is unable to raise the Sh53,000 per year.

“I am unable to apply for admission to the nearby school either,” he said.

James Omondi’s daughter, who scored 72 points, was placed in an extra county school, and he was under pressure to secure a suitable school for her.

‘’We tried to apply for another school but the process still pending. I am not sure whether to look for school fees or search for a school,” Omondi said.

Khamadi said her office had received a lot of complaints from school principals and parents over the placement of learners in the JSS.

“Let the ministry be sensitive to the feelings of parents, learners and principals. You cannot teach a student who does not want to be in that school. They will be indisciplined and rebellious. This Gen Z and Gen Alpha have a funny way of dealing with stress,” said Khamadi.

The Kuppet boss asked the ministry to remove the bottlenecks in the placement of Grade 10 learners in the SSS and leave the whole process to principals and parents.

“The parents feel that their children are young, and when you place a young child from Mombasa in a day school in Kehancha, coercing a parent to take a child to that school is impossible and inhumane,” said Khamadi.

Mama Ngina National School Principal Mwanahamisi Omar admitted that she has received many complaints from parents over the placement of the learners.

She said that her school is set to admit over 400 learners next week.

Shimo La Tewa Boys Principal Mathew Mutiso said the school was ready to welcome the new learners.

Kuppet leaders in Kilifi County also raised alarm over the absence of Grade 10 textbooks in senior schools even as students are expected to report to school on Monday.

Kilifi County Kuppet assistant secretary Opolo Kopolo said there is still confusion, as teachers have not been briefed on how they are supposed to conduct learning for the Grade 10 students.

Kopolo said the government has not adequately prepared schools for the Grade 10 rollout as textbooks are essential.

‘’We cannot implement a curriculum using guesswork. Even though teachers have been trained on what is going to be taught, sadly the curriculum is not yet in schools, so it is not yet clear how teachers are going to handle those subjects,’’ he said.

Kopolo said that, unless urgent measures are taken, teachers will enter Grade 10 classrooms ill-equipped to deliver the curriculum, potentially compromising the quality of learning from the first day.

Magarini Sub-county Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary Moses Mramba urged stranded parents to look for help from relevant offices.

“The ministry is in a hurry to bring students but it is still not clear how many students are going to which school. We are waiting for the children to report, and then we will see how the syllabus will run,’ said Mramba.

Mombasa branch Kuppet executive secretary Linet Khamadi said the whole selection process was generated by AI and lacked the emotion bit that involved the parents and learners.

Ms Khamadi urged mandarins at the Ministry of Education to stop meddling with the exercise, adding that it would disadvantage the learners if the placement was not properly handled.  

At Kakamega High School, large queues of anxious parents were witnessed throughout the week as famlies sought clarification over placements they say do not reflect their choices or their children’s academic performance.

Some parents arrived as early as dawn, clutching documents and hoping for answers that remained elusive.

Parents at Savanis Book Centre, Nairobi while shopping for books ahead of school opening day on December 31, 2025. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

Similar scenes were reported at Nangina Girls in Busia County, where parents have been camping at the school since Monday, waiting to be attended to amid fears that their daughters may miss the reporting deadline.

Parents say the confusion has been worsened by unclear communication and system challenges, leaving many scrambling for alternatives at the last minute.

One such parent, Beatrice Anyango, said the pressure of securing a suitable school for her daughter has taken a toll on her health and family stability.

“I have not been sleeping well. We keep moving from one office to another without clear answers,” Anyango said during an interview in Kakamega.

Despite carefully selecting schools she believed her daughter qualified for, Anyango said the learner was still placed in a mixed day school located in an informal settlement, a decision the family neither anticipated nor was prepared for.

“We did not know placements could be changed like that. By the time we went back to her former school, the system was down and we were told it was already too late to make corrections,” she said.

The uncertainty also caused Anyango to miss the Elimu bursary application window, further complicating the family’s financial planning ahead of school reopening.

Amina Wanjiru, another parent, described the placement exercise as emotionally draining and impractical for many families.

She said one of her twin children had been placed in a day school in Kakamega County, hundreds of kilometres away from their home, a decision she termed unrealistic and insensitive.

“How do you place a child in a day school so far from home? We stay in Nairobi. It means the learner will not report at all because I am sure I cannot afford to educate my kids because the school is very far,” she said.

Several parents interviewed at Kakamega High School complained that learners had been placed in day schools far from their homes, warning that many students risk missing out on education altogether if urgent interventions are not made.

“How can you take a student who scored very well to a day school in Kisumu or Kisii? It is unfair,” said Peter Oketch.

Some school heads say they have resorted to issuing official letters to parents in an effort to manage crowds and reduce pressure at their institutions.

For Joseph Ouma, a parent from Kisumu County, the Grade 10 placement process has been characterised by uncertainty and poor coordination, with critical questions left unanswered.

“There is a lot of confusion around the Grade 10 selection and even the preparedness of the government to manage this transition,” Ouma said.

Report by Rodgers Otiso, Mary Imenza, Daniel Chege, Joachim Bwana, Marion Kithi and Purity Mwangi