Kenya: Up to 20,000 Grade 10 Review Requests for Top Schools Declined Over Capacity

By Phidel Kizito

Nairobi — The Ministry of Education approved 211,636 Grade 10 placement review applications with over 100,000 applications including 20,000 for top schools declined due to limited capacity.

Over 20,000 students sought schools include Alliance High School, Kenya High School, and Mangu High School, where the demand far exceeded available slots.

"Following the initial placement, we received a total of 355,457 applications for review, with each learner allowed to lodge up to four applications," Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba said.

"Applications from 211,636 learners have been approved. The remaining applications were declined largely due to the absence of preferred subject combinations or limited capacity in the selected schools," he added.

The initial Grade 10 placement ran from December 14 to 19, followed by a review window from December 23 to 29.

MoE to open second Grade 10 revision window on January 6

Popular schools experienced overwhelming demand, with some receiving tens of thousands of applications despite having only about 500 slots each.

Currently, 51 per cent of learners have been placed in the STEM pathway, 38 per cent in Social Sciences, and 11 per cent in the Arts and Sports Science pathway.

Learners who wish to seek further review can apply during a second revision window from January 6 to 9, 2026.

Joining instructions are now available for download on the placement portal.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

Copyright © 2025 Capital FM. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.