Parents are one of the key winners in the government decision to host junior secondary in existing primary schools, offering a relief to people who were concerned about young learners staying away from home.
This is one of the major positions taken by the presidential task force headed by Prof Raphael Munavu that got views from the public in person and through memoranda in efforts to review education programmes.
However, it is a big dent for the taxpayers who have just spent Sh8 billion on building competence-based curriculum (CBC) classes to hold the Grade 7 classes in secondary schools.
It remains to be seen how the government will direct the secondary schools to use the 10,000 classrooms that were built at an average Sh800,000 per unit.
On Thursday, State House said Grades 7, 8 and 9 will be domiciled in the existing primary schools.
“The Ministry of Education will provide the necessary guidelines on how this will be done,” the dispatch read.
Jasper Omwega from the National Parents Association Nairobi branch, during the education reforms review team forum at the University of Nairobi said the learners would not be comfortable in secondary schools.
“As parents, we are not comfortable with our 11-year-old learners being in the same environment with 17 or 18-year-olds,” Omwega said.
State House also said the Grade Six Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) national exam will not be used for placement to junior secondary schools.
“An extra classroom and laboratory will be built in every primary school. The construction of laboratories will be given priority within the next one year,” State House said and asked lawmakers to provide support in building the extra facilities.
Primary schools neighbouring secondary schools will share laboratories and other facilities with junior secondary schools, the despatch directed.
To facilitate the transition and bridge the teacher shortage, 30,000 tutors will be recruited in January as schools reopen towards the end of the month.
Kenya conducted three national exams in November: KPSEA for Grade Six, Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education.
Primary and secondary will be closed for a two-month holiday until the first term begins on January 23. It will be the first time in about two years that schools will be resuming a normal calendar since the emergence of Covid-19.
