Govt to Build 3,000 Junior Secondary Classrooms
The government has revealed plans to build approximately 3,000 classrooms for Junior Secondary School learners over the next three financial years.
This plan attempts to address the infrastructure shortfall that will exist once Grade 6 learners transition to high school by the end of the month.
The upcoming fiscal year will see the construction of at least 906 classrooms, according to Treasury papers detailing budget proposals.
Additional 936 and 964 are scheduled for the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26, respectively.
According to the Education sector working group’s report, the government has also scheduled 400 laboratories for JSS students next year.
More than 6,100 schools will undergo upgrades during the following fiscal years, along with the construction of 837 additional laboratories.
Nevertheless, former Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha revealed in a previous press conference that 10,000 classrooms were built in 2022 for secondary schools, which were initially intended for JSS learners.
Considering that there are 24,000 primary schools in the United States, the disclosures reflect the limits the incoming government confronts in meeting the need for extra classrooms.
This comes after the education reform team suggested that Grade 7 learners remain in primary school.
The team of Ruto’s predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, built the majority of classrooms in secondary schools, a policy that the new team has abandoned.
The report on the education sector indicates the previous administration put 6,495 classrooms between 2020 and 2022 to facilitate the transition to junior secondary school.
National schools received 15 classrooms, while ordinary schools received 962 and special needs schools received 91.
In addition to constructing 859 laboratories in regular schools and four in special needs schools, the Uhuru team also built 1,843 sanitary facilities in regular schools.
About Sh1 billion was invested in the projects, the future of which is uncertain due to the policy shift.
This financial year shows no indicators of ongoing work.
The sector report submitted by the Principal Secretary of Education, Belio Kipsang, emphasized the need for additional investments in the expansion, modernization, repair, and equipping of existing institutions.
He stated that the industry will “prioritize near-completion projects to expedite the implementation of its capital projects.”
This would entail the renovation and expansion of infrastructure (classrooms, teaching blocks, and laboratories) to accommodate junior high school.
Govt to Build 3,000 Junior Secondary Classrooms