LATEST EDUCATION NEWS TODAY: (JSS) GRADE 9 LEARNERS TO REMAIN PRIMARY DESPITE SECONDARY SCHOOL PUSH

In a nutshell:

It is now confirmed that JSS learners, particularly those in grade 9 will not proceed to secondary school come January 2025.

This is a big blow to a section of stakeholders that have been pushing to have grade 9 learners proceed to secondary schools, a move that has been trashed by the Ministry of Education.

This means that the pioneer class for the barely three year old Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) will still remain hooked in primary in 2025 for grade 9. This confirmation brings to a halt all the uncertainties and anxiety that there is a possibility of moving this pioneer class to secondary schools.

Confirming the news, Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang dismissed claims that the primary schools are not prepared to host grade 9 learners.

The education PS stated that despite the fact that primary schools have inadequate facilities to support grade 9, the government has initiated the construction of 16,000 classrooms in primary across the country. By calculation, it means the government has 8 months now to prepare for the transition.

“We are prepared for our children to be in grade 9 next year. We are initiating the construction of 16,000 classrooms, it will be a marathon and Kenyans are not scared of a marathon,” Kipsang Said.

The PS said this while attending the stakeholders meeting at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) where they were checking on the preparedness for senior School and revamping of teacher education.

The PS said domiciling the Junior School in primary school is reflects the desires of the education stakeholders after a thorough consultation with the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms which was implemented last year.

“Ninety three percent of Kenyans decoded through the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms that we are domiciling Junior School in primary level, we are not about to change that because we even don’t have a window to do that,” said Kipsang.

Now stakeholders who sought the grade 9 to be moved to secondary schools have now been dealt a blow by the Ministry of Education . This also extends to parents who also demanded that the grade 9 learners be moved to Secondary Schools starting next year.

If the Ministry allows this to happen, it would mean a significant departure from the current decision to domicile Junior School ( grade 7,8&9) in primary school.

The National Parents Association chairman, Silas Obuhatsa reiterated that hosting Junior School in primary will deter it’s proper implementation and water down all the efforts that have been put forth.

The chairman further stated that the current state of these schools will not meet the demands of grade 9 hence necessitating moving this grade to secondary schools where there are enough facilities. He argued that there is need for an additional class in primary for grade one learners moving from preschool.

‘‘Is the government able to construct 15,000 classrooms between now and next year,’’ Obuhatsa said this while noting that this is the projected number of classrooms needed next year for grade 9 learners.

Obuhatsa further added that since there will be no admission of form one next year, this will create a vacant class in secondary schools that will accommodate grade 9 learners instead of constructing new classes which are impractical.

From the general view, the implementation of junior Secondary Schools in Kenya has remained a nightmare considering where these learners are domiciled. This is so because of lack of enough facilities in primary schools and inadequate teachers to cover majority of the learning areas. The system has been terribly corrupted resulting to lack of proper guidelines to run this institutions.