Ministry Cuts Grade 9 Senior School Choices From 12 to 8 as as 2026 Selection Opens.
Approximately 1.2 million Grade 9 learners are participating in the 2026 Grade 10 senior school selection exercise following the opening of the selection portal by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
The selection portal opened on Monday, September 7, 2026, and will remain accessible until Friday, September 11, 2026. The exercise will facilitate the selection of preferred career pathways, subject combinations and senior schools ahead of the transition to Grade 10 in January 2027.
The selection is being conducted through the Ministry of Education’s Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) platform.
Under the 2026 selection framework, learners are required to select a minimum of one and a maximum of two subject combinations. They will also be required to identify eight preferred senior schools.
The number of senior schools that can be selected has been reduced from 12 schools used during the inaugural Competency-Based Education (CBE) senior school selection exercise to eight schools.
Three Career Pathways
Grade 9 learners will select subject combinations under three broad pathways: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Social Sciences, and Arts and Sports Science.
The STEM pathway includes subject combinations involving Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Studies and Agriculture.
The Social Sciences pathway includes combinations involving Business Studies, Geography, History and Citizenship and other humanities subjects.
The Arts and Sports Science pathway comprises two main tracks: Arts and Sports and Recreation.
Subject combinations under the Arts and Sports Science pathway include Fine Arts with Music and Dance; Sports and Recreation; Fine Arts with Biology; Theatre and Film; Computer Studies with Fine Arts and Music and Dance; and Business Studies with Music and Dance and Theatre and Film.
Learners will be required to select subject combinations based on the available pathways and the combinations offered by their preferred senior schools.
Eight Senior School Choices
The 2026 selection exercise introduces a revised distribution of senior school choices.
According to the Directorate of Secondary Education (DSE), each learner will select eight senior schools comprising three C1 schools, two C2 schools, two C3 schools and one C4 school.
The DSE said the selection system would open at midnight on Sunday, with the selection exercise running from Monday, September 7 to Friday, September 11, 2026.
The revised arrangement replaces the 12-school selection framework used during the first CBE cohort’s transition to senior school.
During the previous selection exercise, learners were required to select 12 schools, with four choices allocated to each of the three pathways: STEM, Social Sciences, and Arts and Sports Science.
The current eight-school framework therefore changes the distribution of school preferences across the senior school categories.
Approximately 1.2 Million Learners in Second CBE Cohort
The selection exercise involves approximately 1,196,000 Grade 9 learners, against an estimated 1.6 million declared places available in senior schools.
The exercise forms part of preparations for the transition of the second cohort of learners under the CBE system to senior school.
The selection process had initially been scheduled to commence on August 24, 2026, and run for three weeks. The revised exercise is being conducted over five days.
The first CBE cohort conducted its senior school selection exercise from June 8 to June 30, 2025.
The 2026 selection exercise is initially covering public senior schools. Private schools will participate during the revision stage.
Senior School Subject Requirements
Learners transitioning to senior school will take seven subjects.
Mathematics, English, Kiswahili and Community Service Learning will be compulsory subjects. The remaining subjects will be determined by the learner’s selected pathway and subject combination.
The selection process requires learners to first identify their preferred pathway and subject combination before selecting senior schools offering the relevant combinations.
Learner Profiles and Confirmation of Choices
Heads of Institutions (HoI) have been directed to print each learner’s profile after completion of the selection process.
Parents will be required to sign the printed profiles to confirm the choices made by the learners. The signed profiles will subsequently be retained in the respective schools’ records.
Junior school heads are expected to guide learners and parents during the selection exercise, including ensuring that selected schools offer the relevant subject combinations.
The Directorate of Secondary Education has also engaged Sub-County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (SCQASOs) and Sub-County Directors of Education (SCDEs) on the selection arrangements.
The officers have been tasked with supporting schools and learners during the selection process.
Grade 10 Placement
Placement into Grade 10 will be conducted after the release of the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results, which is expected to take place in December.
The placement process will precede the transition of learners to Grade 10 in January 2027.
The placement system will consider learners’ school preferences, career interests and academic performance.
Assessment information to be considered will include cumulative assessment scores from Grades 6, 7 and 9 as well as performance in the KJSEA.
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The selection and placement process forms part of the implementation of the Competency-Based Education system and the transition from the previous 8-4-4 education structure.
The 2026 exercise will determine the senior school preferences recorded for the second cohort of learners transitioning from Grade 9 to Grade 10 under the CBE system.
Ministry Cuts Grade 9 Senior School Choices From 12 to 8 as as 2026 Selection Opens.
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