Changing Schools in January 2027: Transfers, KEMIS, Documents

The long holiday is when Kenyan families change schools. A transfer at work, a fee statement that cannot be paid, a child who is unhappy, a grandmother who can no longer manage the school run: all of it lands between late October and the first week of January. The process is not complicated, but it has moved onto a new system, the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), which went live on 9 January 2026 in place of NEMIS, and the Ministry of Education has not published a parent-facing guide to how a transfer is recorded on it. This article sets out what the law says, what the Ministry has said about KEMIS, what the schools will ask for, and the order to do things in, with every unpublished step marked as such.

One distinction first. A Grade 9 leaver's move into senior school is a placement, run by the Ministry with its own review windows, and it is covered in our guide to senior school placement after KJSEA. This article is about every other move: PP1 to Grade 9, and a Grade 10 learner changing senior school for Grade 11.

Information current as of 20 October 2026, checked ahead of publication. The Ministry, KEMIS notices and your county education office take priority over this page; we will update it if a transfer circular is published.

Key takeaways

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• Public basic education is free and compulsory, and a public primary or junior school may not set an entry examination or charge an admission fee; the 2015 Basic Education Regulations say so, as the Ministry announced when they were gazetted.
• KEMIS is the record. Capitation follows the learner on the system, so the move is not complete until the new school has your child on its KEMIS roll. The Ministry's rule for Grade 10 was that no principal enters a learner before the learner reports physically.
• Two heads, one envelope. The current head releases, the receiving head admits. Carry the birth certificate copy, the assessment number, the latest report, a leaving or transfer letter and fee clearance.
• Timing: ask before the current school closes its records, visit the new school on its holiday office days, and complete the move in the first week of January at the latest.
• Not published: a step-by-step KEMIS transfer procedure for parents, and the 2027 calendar. Where this guide says "in practice", that is what schools do, not a circular.

Two kinds of move, and which one yours is

What the law says

The Basic Education Act 2013 makes basic education free and compulsory and, in Section 33, fixes a child's age for admission by the birth certificate. The Basic Education Regulations 2015 (Legal Notice 39 of 2015) contain regulations headed "Transfer of learner", "Minimum entry" and "Admission of a learner"; when they were gazetted, the then Cabinet Secretary, Jacob Kaimenyi, said that no entry examination or admission fee would be required for Standard One and that forcing a learner to repeat a class was illegal except on a doctor's recommendation or after a year's absence. Two consequences for a transfer. A public school may not test or charge your child for a place; if it has space in the grade, it admits. And a public school may not refuse to release a learner because of a fee dispute; it may pursue the debt, but the child's education is not the collateral.

Private schools are different. They set their own admission procedures and fee terms, and a signed fee agreement is a contract. Most require a term's notice or a term's fees in lieu for withdrawal; read the agreement before you give notice. Our guide to fee structures, invoices and receipts explains what a proper fee statement and clearance look like.

How KEMIS records a move: what is known and what is not

KEMIS replaced NEMIS on 9 January 2026. The Ministry described it as the system that tracks every learner nationwide, and in July 2026 it onboarded all junior and primary schools onto it, with reported deadlines of 20 July for junior schools, 25 July for primary schools and 30 July for learner onboarding. Capitation to public schools is paid per learner on the system, which is why a head teacher cares a great deal whether your child is on the roll, and why a receiving school cannot simply take a learner's word that they have left somewhere else.

Here is the line between published and practice.

The documents to carry, in one envelope

The order to do things in

1. Before the current school closes (or on its first holiday office day): tell the head in writing that the child is leaving and why. Ask for the leaving letter, the KEMIS identifier, the assessment number, the final report and the fee statement. Ask the head to confirm when the learner has been released on the system.
2. Visit the receiving school with the envelope. Public primary and junior schools in Kenya admit on space; ask the head whether the grade has a place and what day in January the child should report. Private schools will have their own forms, and may ask for a term's fees in advance.
3. Get the admission in writing from the receiving school: a letter or a stamped form with the reporting date and the requirements list. Our boarding versus day school guide helps if the move is also a change of type.
4. Report physically on the first day. The Ministry's Grade 10 rule, that no principal enters a learner before they report, reflects how KEMIS works generally: the record moves when the child does.
5. Confirm the record a week later. Ask the new class teacher whether the child shows on the school's KEMIS roll. If not, ask the head what is pending; if a school refuses to release or admit without good reason, write to the Sub-County Director of Education with copies of both letters.

Timing: when to move, and when not to

Schools close their records in the last week of October and heads keep limited office days in the holiday; ask for them on closing day. A move completed by mid-December gives the new school time to put the child on a class list and order books. The 2027 opening date has not been published by the Ministry; one education news site has reported Monday 4 January 2027, but no circular has been seen, so confirm the reporting date with the receiving school. Mid-year moves are possible but cost a learner continuity of school-based assessment, which matters most in Grades 4 to 6 (KPSEA SBA), 7 to 9 (KJSEA SBA) and 10 to 12 (KCBE SBA); January is the clean break. Our 2026 calendar page tracks the Ministry's announcements.

Costs: what a transfer should and should not cost

For the full picture of what Term 1 should cost, including the gazetted senior school ceilings, see our guide to school fees and what schools may charge.

Special cases

A Grade 6 leaver joining Grade 7 in a different school. Most learners continue into Grade 7 in the same comprehensive school; a move to another junior school is an ordinary transfer, and the KPSEA assessment number goes with the child. Our guide to the Grade 6 to Grade 7 transition covers what changes.

A Grade 10 learner moving senior school for Grade 11. The receiving school must offer the same pathway and subject combination, and it must have a place in that combination. The Grade 10 SBA scores are already on the KNEC portal under the learner's assessment number; ask both principals to confirm how the record follows the learner, because no Ministry circular on Grade 10 to 11 transfers has been published. Where the move is really a placement complaint from last cycle, the Ministry's placement review route, not an ordinary transfer, is the one to use when it reopens; the senior school clusters guide explains the categories.

A learner with special needs. The EARC assessment report decides placement and support; our guide to EARC assessments explains how to get one.

A relative's child. You can enrol a child you are caring for; carry the birth certificate, a letter from the parent and your own ID. The school may ask for a Children's Officer letter where guardianship is informal.

One family's move, worked through

The Kiprotich family (a made-up example) is moving from Eldoret to Nakuru in December for work, with Chebet in Grade 5 and Kibet in Grade 8. On 22 October, the day before closing, their mother gives both heads a letter and asks for leaving letters, the KEMIS identifiers, the final reports and fee statements; the primary head confirms Chebet's release on the system on 28 October, the junior school head on 3 November. In the first week of December, with the new house found, she visits a public comprehensive school in Nakuru with the envelope. The head confirms places in Grade 6 and Grade 9, gives a stamped admission form with "report 4 January 2027, subject to the Ministry calendar" and a uniform list. No fee is asked. On reporting day both children are admitted; a week later the class teachers confirm both appear on the school's roll. Kibet's Grade 7 and 8 SBA scores, uploaded under his assessment number, follow him into the KJSEA year. The whole move cost the family two uniforms and a bus fare.

Common mistakes

• Leaving without the leaving letter. A school that has closed cannot issue one until January, and the new school may not admit without it.
• Paying an "admission fee" to a public school. It is not allowed. Ask for a receipt and the vote head, then ask the Sub-County Director.
• Assuming the system did it. Ask both heads to confirm the release and the admission in writing; KEMIS has had access and data problems this year.
• Moving a Grade 10 learner into a school without the same subject combination. The child repeats or changes subjects, and the SBA record becomes a problem.
• Giving a private school notice after the deadline in the fee agreement. A term's fees in lieu is common and enforceable.
• Not telling the new school about a condition or a learning difficulty. The report card levels do not say it; you must.

Frequently asked questions

Can a public school refuse to admit my child?

Only for lack of space in the grade. It may not set an entry examination or charge an admission fee for a basic education place, and it may not discriminate. If refused, ask for the reason in writing and go to the Sub-County Director of Education.

Can the old school refuse to release my child over unpaid fees?

A public school should not hold a child's education over a debt; it may pursue the debt separately. A private school's fee agreement may require clearance before documents are released; read it.

What is KEMIS and do I need an account?

The Kenya Education Management Information System, live since 9 January 2026 in place of NEMIS. It holds every learner's record and drives capitation. Parents do not have accounts; the two head teachers do the system steps.

When do schools open in January 2027?

The Ministry had not published the 2027 calendar when we checked. One education news site has reported Monday 4 January 2027; confirm with the receiving school.

Will my child's SBA scores move with them?

The scores sit on the KNEC portal under the learner's assessment number, not under the school. Give the new school the assessment number and ask the head to confirm the record is visible.

Can I move my child mid-year?

Yes, but January is the cleanest break for school-based assessment continuity, especially in Grades 4 to 6, 7 to 9 and 10 to 12.

Conclusion

A school transfer in Kenya is two head teachers, one envelope and one physical reporting day, with the law on your side in a public school: no entry examination, no admission fee, and age by birth certificate. KEMIS now carries the record, so get the release and the admission confirmed in writing and check the roll a week after reporting. The Ministry has not published a parent procedure or the 2027 calendar, so treat anyone who quotes you a "transfer fee" or a firm opening date with care. Whatever school your child joins in January, the learning materials do not change: CBCEduKenya Plus (KSh 599 a month) carries every CBC revision pack, note set and mark scheme in our library so a child who changes schools does not change what they revise from, and the Somo AI tutor is there for the first weeks of settling in. Start with the letter to the current head; everything else follows from it.

Sources: Basic Education Act 2013, Section 33; Basic Education Regulations 2015 (Legal Notice 39 of 2015), regulations on minimum entry, admission and transfer of learners; Kenyans.co.ke, "No entry exams for Standard One pupils: Kaimenyi"; Education News, "Government to roll out KEMIS on January 9, 2026, to track learners nationwide"; Education News Hub, KEMIS onboarding for junior and primary schools, July 2026; The Star, "State extends Grade 10 placement review deadline", 12 January 2026; Education News, "MoE extends Grade 10 transfer window to January 16 as KEMIS placement continues", January 2026; The Standard, "The KEMIS mess", 5 September 2026; Ministry of Education 2026 school calendar; Education News Hub report on 2027 term dates (unverified against a Ministry circular).