Senior School Placement Under CBE: What Parents and Learners Need to Know

Understanding the Transition from Junior to Senior Schools

With the entry of the first cohort of the Competency-Based Education (CBe) into Senior School (Grades 10–12), this year represents a major turning point in Kenya’s educational system. This change marks the end of junior school and the start of the last stage of CBE basic education.

All Grade 9 students must take the KJSEA, the first national exam administered at the junior school level since the introduction of CBE in 2017, in order to advance to senior school. 60% of the final score will come from the exam, which is given by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), with the remaining 40% coming from assessments taken in school.

How Placement Will Work

In contrast to the 8-4-4 system, which assigned students to schools classified as national, extra-county, county, or sub-county, CBE implements a system based on career pathways. This method will use three main pathways to guide students into senior school:

1. Arts and Sports Science
2. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
3. Social Sciences

Your child’s placement will be determined by their KJSEA performance, school-based assessment scores, and personal interests as indicated in questionnaires issued by KNEC. These questionnaires will help match learners to pathways that align with their strengths, talents, and aspirations.

School Placement Considerations

While primary schools housed junior schools (grades 7-9), senior schools will now be independent establishments with the resources necessary to support particular career pathways. Students will be admitted to schools according to their infrastructure, staffing, and ability to support specific pathways.

For example:

• National schools, which have the best facilities, may accommodate students across all three pathways.
• Extra-county schools may have the capacity for only two pathways.

In addition to academic achievement, regional balance, inclusivity, and closeness to home will all be taken into consideration when placing students. The goal of the CBC framework is to ensure that students attend senior schools closer to their homes by reducing the need for them to travel great distances.

Gender-based school segregation will also be abolished, so students will be grouped according to their chosen path, even if a school was previously assigned to either boys or girls.

What This Means for Parents and Learners?

Parents should begin thinking about which pathway best fits their child’s interests and strengths as we move into this new system. In contrast to the conventional 8-4-4 placement model, CBC provides a more individualized approach, guaranteeing that students are positioned in a setting that maximizes their potential.

This is an exciting chance for students to acquire skills that will help them in their future careers in science, business, sports, the arts, and more, as Senior School placement now places more emphasis on competence than competition.