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SPEECH BY THE CABINET SECRETARY FOR

EDUCATION, PROF. GEORGE A.O. MAGOHA, EGH,

DURING THE LAUNCH OF 2022 FORM ONE SELECTION

AND PLACEMENT AT THE KENYA INSTITUTE OF

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT (KICD) ON 11TH APRIL

2022
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• Chief Administrative Secretary;

• Principal Secretaries;
• CEO TSC
• Director General;
• CEO KICD, KNEC and other SAGAs present
• Directors of Education;
• Regional and County Directors
• Principals of National schools
• Invited guests;
• Members of the Fourth Estate
• Ladies and Gentlemen
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Good morning,

In years gone by, the day for the release of the Form
One selection results was one that raised both fear and
anxiety. Fear and anxiety because the Minister for
Education would always make news for the wrong
reason - that of announcing huge numbers of
candidates who perennially missed Form One places in
secondary schools.
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This sad story of KCPE candidates missing slots in Form

One has now been consigned into the annals of history,
thanks to His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta’s
most noble 100 per cent transition policy.

So today, I stand before you to speak about a story of

hope and progress. The beautiful story is that all our
1,225,502 KCPE 2021 candidates whose results we
released just two weeks ago have found places in our
9,200 public schools. So by the Grace of God, the
candidates will all transition and complete their
secondary school education in four years. As a
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ministry, we thank His Excellency President Uhuru

Kenyatta for directing us to initiate the 100 per cent
transition policy, which has put a smile on many
households, especially in the era of the free day
secondary school learning.

In my recent statements, I have made it glaringly clear

that the Ministry will conduct a meticulous Form One
selection exercise to ensure all the candidates get
placed in schools they deserve. In keeping with the
Government’s spirit of equity, inclusion and affirmative
action, we have ensured that justice has been done to
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the candidates in terms of placement to various

secondary schools.

I wish to thank His Excellency President Uhuru

Kenyatta for trusting me with the management of
education in the country, especially his directive to me
to ensure that the transition process from Primary to
Secondary school level is smooth and effective for all
KCPE candidates.
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Consistent with the Presidential directives, I have

continued to lead the Ministry to implement the
following programmes during my tenure:

1. Government’s 100 per cent Transition Policy

As I have just mentioned, the Government of His
Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta has emphasized
strict enforcement of the constitutional right of every
child in Kenya to access free and compulsory Basic
Education.
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The 2021 KCPE candidates therefore constitute the

Fifth cohort of learners to be admitted to secondary
schools under the Government’s policy of 100 per cent
transition.

I urge all stakeholders to not drop the ball in

implementing this policy directive even in the face of a
few challenges that stand on the way. These
challenges include the negative effects of insecurity in
some parts of the country, teenage pregnancies, long
distances to school, and poverty, especially during the
COVID-19 era.
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We will continue working with the Ministry of Interior

and Coordination of National Government to facilitate
the enrollment of every child in secondary school to
actualize the 100 per cent transition. National
administration officers (NGAO) will work with county
and sub-county education officials to ensure that no
child is locked out of secondary education.

I direct Ministry of Education officials to file accurate

daily returns on the status of reporting to schools to
ensure we rely on data and evidence as we track those
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candidates who, for one reason or the other, will lag

behind during the reporting period.

I urge Principals to not admit students in NEMIS before

the students report physically. Field officers should
monitor admission of students in NEMIS.

As a Ministry, we are committed to ensure that

parents/guardians with learners who will be joining
Form One are not overburdened with unnecessary
requirements that increase the cost of education.
Principals should exercise caution while listing student
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requirements as part of the measures to reduce the

cost of education. Some of the items to be avoided
include: Exercise books, Class readers/novels,
Photocopying papers, Full scalps, Atlas, Mathematical
tables, Hockey sticks, pangas, jembes slashers, hand
brushes among others

2. Elimu Scholarship Programme

As I announced during the release of the KCPE results,
the Government has offered full scholarships for
secondary education to 18,000 learners over the past
two years. This year, the Government of H.E. Uhuru
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Muigai Kenyatta will make available 9,000 more

scholarships. Out of these 4,000 beneficiaries will be
drawn from the slums. The aim will be to enable many
of the learners to break the ceiling and liberate their
families from dehumanising urban poverty.

I wish to commend and appreciate other bursary

providers such as Equity Bank, KCB, Co-Operative
Bank, NG-CDF, and County Governments among others
who are part of this support in the achievement of
100% transition.
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Bursaries and scholarships should be given to students

admitted to boarding schools since day schooling is
free. However, for boarding school well-wishers and
philanthropists are encouraged to consider covering
costs of other non-tuition related expenses such as
school uniforms and personal effects for children who
are needy.

3. Government Subsidy and School Fees

The Government continues to support secondary
education. This financial year alone, the government
has released Ksh62B under Free Day Secondary
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Education (FDSE). In this regard, I wish to point out

that the Government provides KSh22,244 to cover
tuition and related expenses for ALL public secondary
school students. The Government provides capitation
under Free Day Secondary Education for tuition,
operations and infrastructure improvement disbursed
to schools based on enrollment. All Principals and
Boards of Management are required to ensure that
these funds are used for intended purposes. This will
enable us to further the attainment of 100 per cent
transition, improve the learning environment and
ensure that the right to education is achieved.
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Schools must adhere to the fees guidelines showing

how much parents are required to pay per category of
school.

As with last year, the Ministry will mount a nationwide

monitoring exercise to ensure that Form One students
join the schools they were selected to and that fee
guidelines are strictly adhered to. Parents are
therefore advised to only pay the amount of fees set by
the ministry and report incidents of any students
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turned away for not paying higher fees and other levies
to the nearest education office for action.

I urge members of the public to report any cases of

learners who fail to join Form One and file any
complaints of excessive fees and levies with the
ministry. I also wish to challenge parents and
guardians to take their obligations seriously by
ensuring prompt payment of school fees in boarding
schools.
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4. School infrastructure and resources

In this financial year, the National Treasury allocated
the Ministry KSh4.2 billion for infrastructure
development in public primary and secondary schools.
I wish to inform you that these funds were effectively
used to ease the strain on school facilities due to the
increased enrolment.

In the same breath the Government through the

guidance of His Excellency the President has been able
to construct 6,497 Competency Based Curriculum
(CBC) classrooms in the first phase at a cost of
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Ksh788,220 per unit. This is a major shift in delivery of

government services that ensured the ordinary fundi is
given an opportunity for empowerment.

In the next financial year, the National Treasury has

allocated the Ministry a further Ksh4 Billion for
construction of the balance of CBC classrooms in
secondary schools to reach the target of 10,000
classrooms.
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5. Policy development
The session paper No. 1 of 2019 was finalised during
my tenure, this gave birth to a number of policies
targeting various sectors. The National Education
Sector Strategic Plan 2022-2027 is at its final stages.
This is milestone document that will outline the
Ministry’s priority areas.

Focus on the 2022 Form One Selection Exercise

Let me now focus on the placement of 2021 KCPE
candidates to secondary schools.
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Of the 1,225,502 candidates that sat the 2021 KCPE,

900 were inmates, 573 were overage candidates,
33,627 were underage (12 years and below), 9,128
were candidates from refugees in camps and 2,819 are
Special Needs candidates. We have therefore placed all
selectable candidates appropriately in secondary
schools in keeping with our 100% transition policy.

In the selection, we have strictly applied the principles

of merit, choice and equity in placing candidates to
each school category as follows:
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School Category Total

National 38,797
SNE 2,045
Extra County 214,960
County 218,456
Refugees in camps 9,128
Sub county 726,311
TOTAL 1,209,697
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We have given opportunities to the less fortunate in

our society. Public primary schools have received a
reasonable number of vacancies in all schools that is
commensurate with their candidature. In the
placement, the majority of candidates who scored 400
marks and above were placed in National or Extra
County schools of their choice. The Special Needs
candidates were also placed in the regular schools of
their preference, while others were placed in special
schools based on their disability categories, on merit
and choice.
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Affirmative Action in Slums

In this year’s selection, just like last year, we have
applied the affirmative action provision by opening
opportunities for a number of children from slums. The
candidates were placed first, thus guaranteeing them
of their first choices in national schools. Through this,
we managed to place 567 learners to their first choice
national schools. A further intervention was done by
giving an additional 314 places in National and Extra
County schools. The slums identified under this
arrangement were from Thika, Nyeri, Kisumu, Nairobi,
Mombasa, Nakuru and Eldoret urban centres. This
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intervention is in line with the directive of President

Uhuru Kenyatta’s rallying call that we consider needy
and vulnerable children in informal settlements in
urban areas. With such interventions, a candidate like
Kimberly Grace with 368 marks From Mji wa Huruma
slums is joining The Kenya High school. Grace is just
one among may similar cases.

During the selection, we noted a number of issues that

require concerted efforts to address to ensure that all
future KCPE candidates are able to get opportunities to
study in secondary schools they desire:
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(a) KCPE Candidates’ School Choices

During the selection, as was the case last year, it
became clear to us that a big number of candidates did
not receive proper guidance and direction when
choosing schools. This resulted in some schools
attracting far many applicants against their capacities.
These included:
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SCHOOL NO. SELECTING CAPACITY

1 NANYUKI HIGH SCHOOL 156,003 480
2 KABIANGA HIGH SCHOOL 149,087 528
3 PANGANI GIRLS 118,073 336
4 MASENO SCHOOL 110,811 576
5 NAKURU HIGH SCHOOL 107,915 336
6 ALLIANCE GIRLS' HIGH 104,353 384
SCHOOL
7 KAPSABET BOYS 99,725 384
8 BUTERE GIRLS HIGH 98,410 528
SCHOOL
9 MANGU HIGH SCHOOL 93,648 432
10 MOI GIRLS' HIGH 92,666 336
SCHOOL- ELDORET
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This scenario can be avoided if candidates are offered

relevant guidance during the selection process by
teachers and parents. Relevant Ministry officials must
also move in to have in place proper sensitisation
programmes on the Form One selection process.

(b) Schools with highest Placement

I am proud to state that there are schools that have
gone out of their way to expand capacity in support of
100% transition. In this regard, I would wish to
recognize St. Albert Ulanda Girls and Sironga Girls who
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are going to admit 864 and 816 candidates

respectively.

(c) Inadequate Capacities

The following counties had inadequate capacities

according to their candidature:

S/NO COUNTY CANDIDATURE CAPACITY DEFICIT

1. NAIROBI 68,829 24,365 44,464

2. KAJIADO 23,915 16,464 7,451

3. NAROK 31,909 30,768 1,141

4. MOMBASA 21,456 17,224 4,232

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To mitigate the short fall, candidates were placed in

other counties with sufficient capacities.

The above counties continue to pose a challenge

during placement. I call upon all leaders from those
areas to address the perennial deficit in capacity. I
commend Kilifi and Kwale for addressing their deficit
this year. The Ministry has placed a number of learners
in boarding schools outside of their counties due to
these deficits.
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(d) Reporting Dates

The reporting date for all 2022 Form One students is
3rd May 2022. Parents are asked to visit their
respective county directors for any assistance.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As I conclude my remarks, I wish to announce that this
year’s Form One selection, leveraged on the
computerised systems that were deployed in 2021,
right from national to sub county levels. As such, there
will be no selection of Form One candidates at sub
county level as was the case in the past. Candidates,
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parents or guardians can now access joining

instructions that are available online for all categories
of schools through the Ministry’s website
https://www.education.go.ke/online-services/form-
one-selection. The results can also be checked by
texting the candidate’s index number only to 22263.
Schools will access and download their selection lists
by logging onto the NEMIS.

I wish to recognise the efforts of the team that worked

on this exercise comprising officers from the Ministry
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of Education, the Kenya National Examinations Council

and the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs .

I now wish to declare the 2022 Form One selection,

placement and admission process based on the 2021
KCPE Examination candidates officially launched.

Thank you and God bless you.