This a very stone age approach. If I chose a school as my second or third choice and I scored more marks than you, I should get a higher priority than you even if you chose it as your first choice if I miss my first choice.

It's doable only the people involved are lazy, corrupt and clueless!!!

If you chose a school as your first choice and I chose it as my third and one of us is supposed to be admitted there and I scored higher marks than you, it is common sense that I should get the slot before you, other things (affirmative action bla bla bla) being constant). The only difference should be that there are other two schools I'd rather have gone to but didn't meet the criteria.

Common sense is surely not common - as far as this so called selection process is concerned.

You are wrong. Private secondary schools will get very good students. After 4 years, the private schools will outshine National schools.

ha ha ha..not to blow your bubble but you can't compare marks and points directly. Correct m if am wrong : if back in the day you sat 3 papers, and a A ranged from 80-100%, your 32 points translate to an average of B+. In current system, ignoring all other factors, you would have gotten 325-350. You could have secured a seat in the national schools however in 2015!

What's the point of making choices then?

#team Affirmative action lot

And why are we rewarding mediocrity???

Is the government telling us that individuals running private schools are doing a much better job than the government and the government is resigned to that fact?

I will tell you something free of charge. Teachers in MOST private schools are less qualified, less experienced, more overworked and earn less than their counter parts in public schools. The main reason private schools perform better is because the teachers are held accountable for the performance of their students and there is a proper follow up and audit all the way from lower classes. If you don't believe me, dare any teacher in a public school to join a private school. The can't even dare. In most public schools all you have to do is show up. Go to class, talk to yourself if you feel like and wait for end month.

The government should run public schools like private schools in terms of managing staff and setting targets!

I understand affirmative action in the case of students from Mandera and other disadvantaged areas but students in the same estate in the same county??? Seriously??? We are neighbours, we go to neighbouring school only that one is private and the other one is public and you are admitted to the school of my choice with 380 marks and I am left out with my 420 marks???

Why are people complaining as if they don't know what is happening???

the problem is not the computer algorithm.
Those who designed the system, I am pretty sure, just translated what used to be manually done into a computer language.

e.g for national schools.
Check no. of districts/counties or the educational levels they use.
Check available spaces in National schools (which i believe are ranked. Alliance High school is not in the same league as the newly created National schools)

Check top students from this districts/counties
Check which school they picked as first choice... If top student in Machakos picked AHS, place him in AHS.. This caters for pupils even in marginalised areas...
Check if we still have space in AHS...
If there is still space.. check the passmark of remaining students. if they qualified and picked AHS please place them in AHS. If spaces are full move candidate to second choice National school.

The bright candidates, based on the districts, should fit into the national schools and provincial schools.. period!

But what is happening is, my dear Wazuans, Kenyans wont just let the systems run as programmed.
Parents go to the min of Education/heads of schools and feed their children's' names directly into the system...

In short, watu wanapeana hongo in December, even before the selection starts. Nothing to do with ranking and its removal..

You do have a point and I hope MoE is scanning Wazua to get some ideas....

The net effect of your proposal is that all the choices are given equal priority and then placement is based on popularity of a school.

That is, suppose Adam has 410 marks and Bob 400

Adam chooses Alliance as second choice while Bob chooses it as first choice.

What you are saying is that we ignore the fact that Bob had a greater desire to go to Alliance that Adam and only look at their marks.

So we give the slot to Adam even though he didn't want to go to Alliance as much as Bob.

My opinion is that this is not fair to Bob. And secondly, we are giving too much focus on marks and ignoring the rest of the human being - his likes and dislikes etc!

@poundfoolish - There is no system. Just pure madness. Two years or so ago, the BEST student in Mombasa missed out on his National School of choice and was admitted to a newly upgraded National School I think somewhere in Taveta I think that he didn't even know existed. The so called quota system should have guaranteed him a place in his first choice National school. His marks should also have guaranteed him a place. How do you get upwards of 420 marks, you are the best in your county and still don't make it to the National School of choice? Kwani quota system ni nini? Ama ni kuota system???

you have put it very well, the parameters that go into the algorithm are limiting the places, to have the scenario that @MaichBlack is advocating for, then we would need to change the parameters, but as you put it the current ranking of the choices is a parameter that has to be considered when doing the placement otherwise it would be a case of defining a variable and then not using it.
The kids selection lists as used currently has led to the current scenario where some think that its unfair, but if we were to start guessing where a kid might prefer to go outside their selection then the algorithm becomes very complex especially given the current input.