The Ministry of Education has dismissed concerns about learners repeating grades under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), emphasizing that the continuous assessment model eliminates the need for grade repetition.
Speaking on Thursday, December 11, during the release of the Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA) results, KNEC CEO David Njengere explained that learners have undergone multiple assessments throughout their education journey, making repetition unnecessary.
"The question about repeating. The child has sat for KPSEA in Grade 6. They have been assessed in Grade 7, they were assessed in Grade 8, and again in Grade 9," Njengere stated.
He questioned the logic behind having learners repeat grades when their abilities have been continuously tracked and evaluated over an extended period.
"So, I don't know why they would want to repeat when there has clearly been a process, a track and process of accumulating the ability of that child," the KNEC CEO added.
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Njengere emphasized that the CBC framework is designed to nurture individual talents, allowing learners to specialize in areas where they demonstrate strength as they transition to senior school.
"Since the spirit of these reforms is to nurture every learner's potential, everyone has an opportunity in senior school to specialize in the area they are good at," he explained.
The CEO argued that requiring learners to repeat Grade 9 would be unfair, given that they have already demonstrated their capabilities through continuous assessment.
"I don't think it would be fair to keep the child again in Grade 9, and yet they have already demonstrated their abilities over a long period of time," Njengere stated.
His remarks came as the Ministry officially released the 2025 KJSEA results, which are now accessible to learners, parents, and schools through both online and SMS platforms.
To access results online, users can visit the Ministry's selection portal at https://selection.education.go.ke/my-selections and enter the learner's assessment number. The platform displays comprehensive results, including subject scores and placement information.
The Ministry has encouraged users to save or print their result slips for future reference, while schools will also distribute printed copies.
For those without internet connectivity, an SMS service is available. Users can send the learner's assessment number to 22263 at a cost of Ksh 30 to receive school selection details.
Njengere revealed the scope of this year's assessment, noting the significant participation across the country.
"We had a total of 1,130,587 candidates who were registered for the 2025 KJSEA assessment. These were spread out in 24,366 junior schools across the country. We also administered a qualifying test to 2,032 in Grade 9," he disclosed.
