No confusion in Grade 10 placement, PS Bitok assures

Education officials have moved to calm growing concerns over the ongoing Grade 10 placement, insisting that the process is running smoothly and that every learner has already been allocated a school.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the government has successfully placed all 1.1 million learners transitioning to senior secondary.

Speaking at Alliance Boys’ High School, Kikuyu, on Thursday, he dismissed reports of confusion, attributing the anxiety to a high number of parents eyeing a small cluster of top-performing schools.

“There is no confusion about placement. We have been able to place 1.1 million learners. The only problem is that so many students are interested in only 20 schools,” Bitok said.

“It is impossible to place more than fifty thousand learners in twenty schools.”

The PS urged parents to embrace the schools where their children have been placed instead of insisting on a few institutions that cannot accommodate the huge demand.

He added that the government is clear about the transition plan and confident that all learners will join Grade 10 without disruptions.

“There is no confusion. We are very clear in our minds that the transition process is smooth, and we are confident that learners will be placed,” he said.

“I want to say all the 1.1 million learners have been placed in a school somewhere.”

However, he acknowledged that a number of families are still attempting to request changes, hoping for spaces in their preferred schools.

The PS stated that the government has allowed revisions until tomorrow, Friday, January 16, 2026, but he encouraged learners and parents to take up the opportunities already offered.

“There are those who have said let us wait and see if we can change, but I want to encourage the student to take the schools they have been given,” Bitok said.

Parents can confirm their child’s placement by sending an SMS with the assessment number to 22263 or by logging into the Ministry’s portal and entering the assessment number and PIN.

After confirmation, they can download the admission letter and other requirements from the system.

Bitok stressed that while the window for changes remains open until tomorrow, the majority of concerns stem from parents who remain optimistic about switching schools, even though all learners already have places.

“All learners are placed. It is just that there are parents who are optimistic to change the school,” Bitok reiterated.