Machogu Addresses Junior Secondary Text Book Shortage
During a Senate Education Committee meeting on March 9th, Ezekiel Machogu, the Education Cabinet Secretary, revealed that a lack of textbooks has caused delays in the start of learning for many Junior Secondary Schools (JSSs) across Kenya.
Machogu stated that while some JSSs have received their textbooks, the publishers have been slow to deliver them to other schools. However, he reassured the committee that plans were in place to ensure that every school would receive enough books based on their population.
Machogu also disclosed that the government had already invested Ksh3 billion to provide nearly 17.8 million textbooks, which would be sufficient for all public JSSs in Kenya.
However, the Senate Committee criticized the Education Ministry for delaying the release of capacitation funds for public JSSs, which has caused further delays in learning.
Senator Tabitha Mutinda asked why the funds had not been disbursed even though the money had already been released to the Ministry.
Machogu clarified that the delay was caused by the need to obtain specific figures to capture in The National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) to avoid losing government funds.
He assured the Senate Education Committee that schools would start receiving capacitation from March 13.
In January 2023, the Ministry announced that JSS would be located in existing primary schools, and learners with special needs under the stage-based curriculum who complete the intermediate level would be directed to join the pre-vocational level in the same institutions.
In conclusion, the lack of textbooks has caused delays in learning in many JSSs across Kenya, but the Education Ministry is working to rectify the situation.
Additionally, the Senate Committee has criticized the Ministry for delaying the release of capacitation funds, but Machogu has assured them that schools will receive the funds from March 13.
Machogu Addresses Junior Secondary Text Book Shortage
