Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy William Kabogo has strongly defended the digital system used in the recent Grade 10 school placement exercise, insisting it operated fairly, transparently, and without bias as public scrutiny over the results intensifies.
Kabogo said the government deliberately relied on automation to eliminate human interference, arguing that technology ensured objectivity throughout the placement process. According to the Cabinet Secretary, the system applied uniform criteria to all learners, regardless of their background.
“Governance in the digital age is rooted in transparency and data-driven equity,” Kabogo said, noting that the platform was “secure” and built to guarantee that every learner receives a fair opportunity to join top schools.
He dismissed claims that the system favoured or disadvantaged learners from specific regions or communities, warning that such narratives risk fuelling unnecessary division in the country. Kabogo stressed that geography plays no role in how the system allocates schools.
“Our digital systems don’t recognise ‘regions’; they recognise merit and choice,” he said. “Peddling narratives of exclusion only serves to undermine our national unity.”
Kabogo spoke amid growing concerns from some parents and political leaders who questioned whether the automated placement fairly distributed learners across national and extra-county schools. However, he maintained that the system evaluates candidates strictly based on their academic performance and the school preferences they submit.
The Cabinet Secretary reaffirmed the government’s broader commitment to using technology to improve fairness and efficiency in public service delivery, particularly within the education sector.
“We remain committed to an inclusive Kenya where opportunity is accessible to all, not just a few,” he said.
The debate gained political momentum after former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, now leader of the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), accused the placement system of unfairly marginalising learners from the Mt Kenya region. Gachagua alleged that some high-performing students from the area were assigned to distant, lower-ranked schools while learners from other regions secured slots in top institutions.
“Around here, our children have been placed in small schools, yet their marks are high, while other people have been brought to our schools,” Gachagua said.
President William Ruto later weighed in on the controversy during the Nyota Business Start-Up Capital Disbursement event in Uasin Gishu, urging leaders to keep education matters out of political contests ahead of the 2027 General Election. He warned that politicising school placement harms learners and the country at large.
“How desperate can people be? Let our children be, let our children learn. Those children are Kenyans, wherever they come from, whatever community they belong to, they are our children – the children of Kenya,” President Ruto said.
Education officials have consistently maintained that the Grade 10 placement process relies solely on learners’ performance in the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and the choices they make during selection. They insist the system does not factor in ethnicity, region, or political considerations when assigning schools.
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