John S. Khabamba

Thousands of Grade 10 transfer requests were rejected even before the transfer window was closed, much to the disappointment – and in some cases anger – of parents and learners. While the government maintains that there was never a guarantee that transfers would be approved, the scale of the rejections raises serious questions about how realistic the original placements were. PS Julius Bittok (on the left) consulting Education Secretary Julius Ogamba during the release of KJSEA Results on 11th December.   Photo:Courtesy The official position is that placements were done strictly based on learners’ choices. We have even been told that a learner being placed in a day school more than 100 kilometres away from home was still the learner’s own choice.  But if this is true, one question remains unanswered: Why would learners deliberately choose day schools located hundreds of kilometres from their homes, fully aware that placement in those schools was a real possibility? The answer ...

 Babu Owino cannot simply inherit ODM and automatically become the Luo kingpin the way someone inherits property  or worse, a wife. Leadership in Luo politics has never worked that way. Photo: Embakasi East MP, Babu Owino consulting the late Raila Odinga In an event   Raila Odinga did not inherit ODM. He fought for it. He endured detention, exile, betrayal and near-political death. His struggle resonated with the frustrations of the Luo community and with millions across the Republic. Over time, he became more than a politician — almost a cult-like figure whose authority flowed from sacrifice, not succession. It is therefore misleading for polls such as the recent Infotrack survey to casually position Babu Owino as the “next in line” to the ODM throne. ODM is not a monarchy. It is a movement built on struggle, not inheritance. The bigger danger is what such narratives do to the fragile post-Baba unity within the party. ODM is still in mourning politically. Its base is sti...

 Despite the Ministry of Education’s insistence that KJSEA does not rank learners and that placement under CBE is non-discriminatory, the release of recent Grade 10 placements has sparked debates over whether academic ranking persists under a new label.  Following public outcry, the Ministry allowed requests for school transfers, but the review process largely reinforced merit-based placement patterns. Of 117,000 transfer requests received in the opening two days, only about 20,000 have been processed so far.Most approved transfers are within the same cluster or to lower clusters (e.g., C2 to C2).Learners placed in C4 seeking transfer to C3, C2, or C1 are largely being rejected, exposing hidden stratification.The outcome raises questions about whether CBE has removed ranking in practice or merely rebranded it. The Ministry of Education has repeatedly assured parents and the public that the Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA) does not rank learners and therefore...

The failure of the Education Ministry to release Grade 10 placement results has escalated anxiety among KJSEA candidates. Over a week after the release of the KJSEA results, the Ministry had indicated that placements would follow almost immediately. Speaking during the inaugural release of KJSEA  last Thursday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba assured the public that over one million students would know their respective senior schools before Christmas. “Placement of candidates who sat for this year’s Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) is set to begin next week,” he announced while taking questions from the press. This was intended to ensure adequate planning ahead of the first-ever senior school transition. “All candidates will know the senior schools they have been placed in by December 20,” he added, noting that over 60% of learners qualify to take the STEM pathway, as envisaged by the framers of the CBC. While addressing delegates at the Kenya Union of Tea...

 Two days after flagging KJSEA results analysis as fake, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has continued to dismiss persistent social media posts by schools publishing such analyses. Source : KNEC (Facebook)  Also Read:  KNEC Warns Schools Against Analyzing KJSEA Results The council maintains that KJSEA results do not require further analysis and has urged schools to refrain from reviving the old system of mean scores and rankings, which it says breeds unhealthy competition. In a series of Facebook posts, KNEC condemned several schools for continuing to publish fake analysis, noting that the practice contravenes assessment reporting guidelines under Competency-Based Education (CBE). “Reporting in KJSEA uses descriptive terms rather than raw marks to avoid reviving excessive competition associated with the former 8-4-4 system,” the council explained in a follow-up Facebook post issued a few hours after flagging the results analysis of a certain junior school. ...

 As the public continues to grapple with understanding the inaugural Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results released on 11th December, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has issued a stern warning to schools conducting independent analyses of the outcomes. Photo: KNEC Logo The warning comes amid widespread circulation of result breakdowns purporting to rank schools and generate mean scores an approach KNEC says is misleading and inconsistent with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) framework under which KJSEA was administered. In a statement shared on its official Facebook page, in which it flagged Results analysis from a Junior School in Kisii County , the examination body urged schools to stop misleading the public with fake and inaccurate KJSEA results analysis, stressing that the new assessment system is fundamentally different from the former 8-4-4 examination structure. KNEC clarified that, unlike the previous system, KJSEA does not generate an...

The Ministry of Education is expected to release the inaugural Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results this Thursday. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba earlier confirmed that more than one million learners would know their performance by 11th December, once marking by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) is finalized. Although the mode of release is yet to be disclosed, the announcement will set in motion a series of activities that will run through January next year. Here's the road map of events that will take place.  Photo Courtesy : Education Cabinet Secretary, Julius Ogamba during a press conference.  Instant Results Access...  Once the big  announcement is made, the results will be instantly accessible to the anxious candidates who have been waiting for weeks. Online and SMS platforms are likely to be employed to avail the results.  Placement  Before Christmas..  The next stage will be the placement process...

Jobless primary school teachers, commonly known as P1 teachers can only dream of TSC employment as the the commission continue giving their employment a wide berth. With the new 24,000  internship  posts waiting to filled in Junior Schools come next year, primary school hopefuls have little to smile about, as their wait continues. The tutors have cited unfairness in recruitments, where the employer has largely prioritised graduate teachers to staff Junior Secondary Schools (JSS). Photo: Interim TSC Chief Excutive Officer Ms Everline Mitei Credit: Courtesy But is JSS really to blame for the plight of P1 teachers? On the surface, the commission might seem justified. Yet, a closer look reveals that the JSS transition has been poorly conceived and even more poorly misconstrued as the reason for lack of recruitment in primary schools . Here’s why. A Long-Running Shortage....  Kenya’s public education sector has grappled with teacher shortages since before independence. Success...

 As millions of Kenyans still reel in shock following the sudden and catastrophic death of Raila Amolo Odinga, one sentiment cuts across the nation: the timing of his passing feels unspeakably cruel. File photo. The late Raila Odinga at a past event.  Courtesy of The Nation  It is as though the lights were switched off without warning, while we were deep in the room, leaving us groping for direction—unsure how to stagger our way out or even how to switch them back on. For decades, Raila was the constant in Kenya’s unpredictable political equation. His name was a rhythm, his voice a compass. To his supporters, he was Baba—the moral north star who embodied hope, resilience, and the endless fight for justice. His absence has plunged the nation, and especially his vast following, into a deep, disorienting darkness. The elusive presidency was never out of sight...  The elusive presidency was never completely out of his line of sight. Despite multiple failed attempts, Rail...

After an action packed weekend in Premier league Football , it's time for a quick round Up.  Photo: Rio Ngumoha erupts as he celebrates winner against Newcastle   Credits : Getty Images  London's Goals Galore  The football weekend kicked in London where Chelsea ripped apart a shambolic West Ham side in  their London Stadium . Chelsea goals were slotted home by five different scorers with Joao Pedro netting his first premier goal for the blues after his summer switch from Brighton . Lucas Paqueta  grabbed the consolation goal for the Hammers. The loss left Graham Potter 's side sitting pretty at the bottom after a point-less start  to the campaign.  Photo: Courtesy of Getty Images:, Nathan Chaloba celebrates scoring Chelsea's  first goal City's spurs jinx continues...  As sure as   sun   rises in the East so is the Spurs three points guarantee from City. Tottenham   inflicted the first of the season defeat to ...

When you think of tragic love stories, Shakespeare gave us Romeo and Juliet, Hollywood gave us Twilight , but the Premier League  beats them all. Enter Manchester United and their soulmate: 15th position. Unlike Kenyan politicians who love defecting from one party to another, United has been faithful. Loyal. Consistent. Their romance with 15th Position is so unshakable, even ODM strongholds would clap in admiration. The Courtship – Like Matatus and Traffic Jams It began slowly, like a Nairobi matatu sneaking into a jam-packed roundabout. A bad game here, a humiliating loss there. Fans thought it was just a “construction jam” on their way back to the top. But no. This jam wasn’t moving. United parked there, opened the windows, and started selling smokies and eggs at 15th place. Love Like Chanda na Pete United and 15th position go together like  Chanda na pete. No frills, no glamour, just  like humble pairing. Forget Champions League nights — these two share Tuesday evenin...