Govt Assures of Seamless Junior Secondary Transition.
President William Ruto has told parents whose children sat for the Grade Six tests that their children will experience a seamless transition when they enter Junior Secondary later this month.
In what appeared to be an effort to reassure anxious parents, President Ruto stated that the impending transition to Junior Secondary Schools will be smooth.
He stated that all public primary schools will have enough classrooms for the transition.
‘‘We have extra classrooms in all schools that will be used by the Junior Secondary pioneer cohorts and there is no need for parents to transfer their children. We have the curriculum in place and are now addressing the teachers’ shortage.
He added: “The only thing that is going to be pending and which we will engage with our Members of Parliament is to build a laboratory for them within the next year.”
Ruto urged schools experiencing difficulties to turn some current classrooms into laboratories.
He also requested that nearby schools share their facilities.
‘‘It is possible for schools that secondary share the same compound with the secondary schools for Grade Seven to carry out their experiments in the secondary schools,’’ Ruto added.
Ruto acknowledged that the transition will not be simple but stated that everything will be done to ensure its success.
‘‘I want to promise you it is doable. We have all hands on deck with everyone working seamlessly including the MPs,’’ he said.
President Ruto stated that the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) was hurried before the place of necessary infrastructure, which has impeded its smooth implementation.
However, he stated that the Presidential Working Group (PWG) on education reforms will seek a solution.
‘‘The transition to CBC is a big plus and there could have been some missteps in the process, maybe we could have taken an extra one or two years to ensure we get teachers and other stakeholders on board but now this is water under the bridge,’’ he said.
Ruto stated that the decision to hold JS in primary schools was influenced by the proposals of several education stakeholders whose opinions were gathered.
Govt Assures of Seamless Junior Secondary Transition.
