Lobby Group Wants Boarding Schools Scrapped in CBC’s Junior Secondary.
An education lobby group has backed a proposal to remove boarding schools in junior secondary schools.
The ongoing debate over how students will be assigned to their respective schools has also highlighted the issue of 12- to 15-year-olds being placed in boarding schools.
Learners at this age would be in Classes 7 and 8 in the 8-4-4 system. In the CBC system, however, learners of this age will enroll in junior secondary.
Usawa Agenda CEO Emmanuel Manyasa stated that the students are too young and need to be close to their parents.
Manyasa made the suggestion at a regional conference commemorating CBC’s fifth anniversary.
He proposed that students be sent to sub-county schools, which are all-day institutions.
“It would be very important that these children are not sent to the bigger schools that are far away from home,” Manyasa said.
If teenagers are sent to boarding schools, the aspect of parental guidance may be lost, according to the lobbyist.
Manyasa urged the government to invest in sub-county schools, which would likely house junior secondary students if the proposal is approved.
Manyasa explained that children can commute, and if they can’t, they can go to a nearby boarding school where they can go home every weekend.
Even though Curriculum Reforms and Implementation PS Fatma Chege stated that the students would prefer to be placed in day schools.
Chege was speaking at the Catholic University of East Africa’s principals’ conference.
“We want to even encourage public schools that are boarding to set up a day wing for use by the CBC learners,” Chege said.
Chege explained that just because junior learners are housed in primary school does not mean they are in the primary category.
She stated that school principals who find themselves in this situation must manage both junior students and Form 1 to Form 4 students.
She stated that the ministry has begun looking for primary schools that are close to the secondary wing and can accommodate junior schools.
Education CS George Magoha asked the primary section to retain learners while commissioning CBC classrooms at Moi Educational Center in June.
Magoha gave the school principal three weeks to ensure that the classes are CBC compliant.
Magoha told private school officials in Mombasa on Tuesday that CBC classrooms would be housed in secondary schools.
However, Magoha stated that primary schools with sufficient space will be identified to host JSS.
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The CBC pioneer cohort, which is currently in Grade 6, is expected to enter junior secondary school next year.
According to the ministry, 2.57 million students will enroll in Grade 7 and Form 1 during the January double intake.
Lobby Group Wants Boarding Schools Scrapped in CBC’s Junior Secondary.