Grade 10 School Selection Halted: Here’s What Parents and Teachers Need to Know

So you’re a parent, student or teacher navigating the Grade 10 senior school selection process in Kenya—there’s been a sudden development. The Ministry of Education has temporarily paused the process due to a system issue.

Let’s break down what’s happening, what it means for learners and what to do next.

Grade 10 Selection On Hold

The senior school selection exercise started on June 9, 2025 and was supposed to close on June 30, 2025 at midnight. But it hit a snag.

Schools across the country are reporting technical errors in the system—specifically, issues with selecting pathways, tracks, schools and subject combinations. As a result, County and Sub-County Education Directors have instructed headteachers to stop the process until further notice.

What’s the Purpose of This Exercise?

This exercise is part of Kenya’s new Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) system. Grade 9 learners are supposed to:

• Choose one pathway for senior school (and yes, STEM is compulsory for all learners).
• Select 12 senior schools total:
  • 9 boarding schools
  • 3 day schools (within their sub-county)

The goal? To match learners with schools offering the right programs for their strengths, career interests and future plans.

How School Selection Works (When the System Is Working)

When the system is working properly, here’s what learners and schools are supposed to do:

Pathway Selection

Each learner must choose ONE of the following pathways:

• STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (this is compulsory for all)
• Social Sciences
• Creative Arts and Sports

Once a pathway is selected, the learner picks THREE subject combinations offered in that pathway.

School Selection Criteria for Grade 10

For each subject combination, the student selects four schools, one from each cluster:

• Cluster 1: Boarding school (preferably outside the learner’s county)
• Cluster 2: Boarding school (again, preferably outside the county)
• Cluster 3: Boarding or hybrid school (within the learner’s county)
• Cluster 4: Day school (within the learner’s sub-county)This is repeated for all three subject combinations, so a total of 12 schools.

Step-by-Step: How It Works (When Live)

When the platform is open, here’s how schools are supposed to log in and select:

1. Visit: selection.education.go.ke
2. Login using the Junior School NEMIS UIC and password.
3. Enter Verification Code: 54321 (only valid during piloting phase).
4. Go to “Pathway Selection” from the menu.
5. Select each learner and update their profile:
   • Special needs (if any)
   • Parent/Guardian present?
   • Learner’s home and residence county/sub-county
6. Choose the pathway for each student.
7. Select three subject combinations under that pathway.
8. For each combination, pick four schools (one per cluster).
9. Submit and confirm your selections.
10. Download or print the learner’s final profile.

Note: This is NOT done via NEMIS—it’s a separate platform.