Education Stakeholders Calls For JSS Crisis Talks
Education stakeholders are calling on the government to convene crisis talks to address the challenges facing Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in Kenya.
The meeting will also review the JSS rollout after it emerged that some parents are bribing headteachers to allow their Grade 7 children to skip JSS and join Standard Eight to sit this year’s KCPE exam.
The Ministry of Education has ordered an investigation into the scandal that involves falsifying student records, including a unique personal identifier to eliminate tracing of progress in school and a birth certificate, which is a requirement for registration.
These fake records enable the students to be presented to a new school as transferring Standard Eight candidates. However, stakeholders warn that the revelation is a ticking time bomb that will affect the future of learners.
National Parents Association chairperson, Silas Obuhatsa, and former Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary-general, Wilson Sossion, argue that there must be reasons why parents are dodging the JSS for the 8-4-4 system.
The JSS guidelines prohibited some schools from hosting JSS, and students were moved to other schools. This may be making it difficult for parents to find alternative schools hosting JSS closer to their homes.
As a result, a nearby school that is registering candidates for KCPE may be more appealing to parents than JSS.
Obuhatsa urged Education Cabinet Secretary, Ezekiel Machogu, to quickly call for a crisis stakeholders meeting with all education players led by unions, parents, sponsors, owners of private schools, and teacher associations to iron out the teething challenges.
This meeting will take stock of the JSS rollout and address the challenges that JSS face.
The requirements for registering as a KCPE candidate include a birth certificate, unique personal identifier, and a registration fee. Registration for the 2023 KCPE and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams opened on February 1 and closes on March 30.
Parents Association chairperson, Obuhatsa, and former Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary-general, Sossion, suggest that the revelation is a ticking time bomb that will affect the future of the learners.
They argue that stakeholders need to work together to address the challenges facing JSS to ensure that every student gets a chance to achieve their potential.
Education Stakeholders Calls For JSS Crisis Talks
