Form One Selection: BY THE STANDARD: The Education ministry faces a challenge in this year’s Form One selection, as the scramble for over 17,000 slots in national schools starts on December 3.

Data from the ministry showed the available spaces in 103 national schools stood at 29,712. The revised Form One selection criterion requires that all candidates with 400 marks and above be admitted to national schools.

This year some 12,273 candidates scored 401 marks and above and are guaranteed slots in the coveted schools. This means the remaining 17,439 slots in national schools will be up for grabs by the 228,414 candidates who scored between 301 and 400 marks.

The criteria to be used this year will have to do with sharing the remaining slots based on candidature strength across sub-counties.

This means the more the candidates a sub-county has the more slots in national schools it will be allocated. It also emerged that top performing candidates in each sub-county would be prioritised.

Sub-counties that produced many candidates with 400 marks and above may have some of their candidates who have scored relatively higher marks missing out on national schools.

This means that sub-counties whose top candidates scored relatively lower marks will be given slots to national schools, because each region will get a share of the coveted schools.

“We foresee a situation where a candidate with 380 marks may miss out on national schools while another with 250 gets a slot based on the above criteria,” said Kenya Private School Association Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndoro.

Overall, admission to the remaining categories of schools; extra-county, county and sub-county schools will also be based on candidature strength and a distribution ratio.

Selection of candidates to extra-county schools will be based on a 20:40:40 ratio, to be shared across the host sub-county, the host county and other counties in that order.

The available places in county schools will be shared out between the sub-counties on a 20:80 ratio, spread across the host sub-county and the rest of the sub-counties in that order.

All the candidates for sub-county schools shall be selected from the host sub-county based on merit and choice. These criteria will apply regardless of whether the candidates sat KCPE in a private or public school.

Ministry data shows that there are 123,400 slots in the 531 extra county schools and 142,358 in 1,031 county schools.

According to the data, more candidates will be admitted to day schools, also known as sub-county schools, with 685,590 slots available in all the 7,325 institutions.

Learners with special needs will be admitted to 32 special schools, which have 1,453 vacancies. Data also shows that 1,800 private schools will make available 87,000 slots to accommodate more students.