The ministry of education has issued new guidelines on the implementation of junior secondary schools in primary schools.

The ministry has instructed that Institutions share facilities as the government scrambles to ensure junior secondary schools (JSS) open next week.

With a shortfall of teachers and inadequate facilities like laboratories, the Ministry of Education has directed that JSS taps the resources, including teachers and infrastructure, from neighbouring institutions.

In guidelines released yesterday, the ministry said this collaboration is to facilitate teaching of practical subjects such as integrated science, agriculture, computer science, home science, visual and performing arts. The guidelines stipulate the main activities that require a science or mobile laboratory and/or science kit.

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While the ministry has committed to disburse due capitation for the first term by the end of the month, primary schools that will host junior secondary will benefit from a Sh9.6 billion cash injection, Sh15,000 for each learner, of which Sh4, 000 will go to infrastructure development.

The Education ministry has allowed public JSS to enter into context-specific agreements with neighbouring public primary and secondary schools, tertiary institutions, counties and other service providers to share learning infrastructure and other resources.

However, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said the infrastructure and resource sharing arrangements shall be implemented in accordance with existing government regulations and policies, and coordinated by the county director of education.

The ministry shall also develop and implement a framework for sharing and management of infrastructure and human resources among JSS and other public as well as private institutions.

According to the guidelines, some of the facilities to be shared include “pitches, open spaces and other relevant facilities and equipment for athletics, games, physical fitness and health. Small plots or spaces for innovative agricultural practices and assorted farm tools and equipment. Computer science laboratory with adequate computer sets”.

Others include counselling rooms or space for psycho-social support and other learner support programmes, library with relevant (digital as well as physical) learning resources and home science room with provision for laundry, cooking and sewing areas/space.

In the guidelines, the ministry also detailed how learners will be assessed, including a national summative assessment administered by the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) at the end of Grade 9. The learners will be assessed in all the 12 core subjects and maximum two optional subjects. The assessment will be referred to as the Kenya Junior Secondary Education assessment.

At Pre-Vocational level, the assessment will be referred to as Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment, with learners being assessed in nine subjects

At JSS and pre-vocational level, both formative and summative assessment will be conducted. The formative assessment will be offered in form of school-based assessments (SBAs) while the summative assessment will take the form of national assessment.

Knec shall provide guidelines for standardised SBAs to be administered by subject teachers in Grades 7, 8 and 9. The teachers shall then score the learner’s work and provide immediate feedback to the learners. A school year report shall then be issued.

The scores for each learner shall then be uploaded to the Knec assessment portal, with the agency then using the reports to provide a national report. This report shall highlight areas that need intervention and give specific recommendations to education stakeholders.

The end of Grade 9 national summative assessment and the SBAs scores shall be used to guide placement of learners in the different pathways in senior secondary school.

The Grade 7 cohort of 2023 shall report to their respective JSSs one week before their Form One 8-4-4 counterparts during the five-year phase-in and phase-out period.

The ministry has also directed that new JSS uniforms shall be the responsibility of parents and schools should not direct parents where to purchase them.

“No learners shall be excluded from reporting to school on Monday next week for failure to afford a school uniform,” states the guidelines.

However, Education stakeholders led by the National Parents Association chairperson Silas Obuhatsa urged the state to prepare common uniforms for learners like it does for security agencies including Kenya Defence Forces and the National Police Service.

“Only the badge for the learners should be different, this will save parents the agony of being exploited,” he said.

At the same time, the ministry urged the leadership of JSS close to each other to consider sharing school transport to support day schooling.

“The ministry shall provide guidelines on school transport and these shall be operationalised by JSSs in consultation with the CDEs and parents,” the guidelines state.

The ministry also plans to implement affirmative action to address education disparities for disadvantaged learners, including establishment of low-cost boarding schools in areas with highly scattered settlements, for learners at risk or with disability. It will also run a school meals programme for the needy.

All boarding JSSs shall be formally after meeting specific registration protocols prescribed by the CSs.

Primary school teachers now want the government to fund the production of mobile laboratories in schools.

Kenya National Union of Teachers executive secretary, Nairobi Chapter Macharia Mugwe said the labs are cheap.

The mobile labs which are procured by the School Equipment Production Unit cost around Sh200,000.

“To install laboratories to facilitate learning CBC we recommend SEPU to partner with primary schools in Nairobi,” Mugwe said.

The unionist was speaking when the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform visited the University of Nairobi to collect views.

“They even have mobile laboratories which are relatively cheap. The government should be able to finance this,” Mugwe said.

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The mobile lab has the ability to carry out experiments for subjects ranging from Form 1 to Form 4.

In junior secondary, the lab can be used for Grades 7, 8, and 9.

Sepu CEO Joel Mabonga said the mobile lab is an alternative facility for the already congested schools, especially secondary.

He said in case the government approves the use of mobile labs, Sepu is ready to procure more pieces.

“Of course, we can’t make many pieces, but we can contract other institutions to do the other pieces,” Mabonga said.

The white wooden mobile laboratory has a fully installed gas system with a 13kg gas cylinder.

The gas is stored in a bottom chamber. On the side is a chest of drawers and cabinets to be used for storage.

One side of the laboratory is fitted with a black acid-proof sink; its waste is drained into a black jerrican.

Water entering the tap is fetched from a water supply tank on a black rack.

For physics projects, the lab  has power sockets with supply cables and an illumination lamp for lighting.

The mobility of the MB is great in enhancing utility. It has four caster wheels for movement; once the teacher starts a project, they can easily lock the wheels.

For the safety of students, the wheels will not be able to move once they are locked.

In case of a fire outbreak, the mobile lab has a fire extinguisher in one of its lockers.

If one mobile lab costs around Sh200,000, then a school needs around eight pieces, that sums up to Sh1.6 million for one school.

Currently, Sh5 million is used for the construction and equipping of a lab.

A school needs around three labs for the three sciences subjects, so that’s Sh15 million spent on labs.

Pioneer Competency Bases Curriculum (CBC), candidates currently in Grade Six, who should be transiting to junior secondary schools (JSS) in January 2023 will have to apply for the slots, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha confirmed.

“First of all, the children will have to apply and we are going to tell them the number of slots available. We are almost completing the process. We encourage the private schools, which we will say are ready for junior secondary schools, to allow the children to apply on the public platform so that they are placed,” said Prof Magoha.

Magoha was speaking at Moi Educational Centre after an inspecting private schools’ preparedness to host JSS. According to the CS, the Grade Seven learners will not board in the new schools.

Magoha also confirmed the government’s plans to place Grade Seven learners from public schools in private schools to ease the stiff competition likely to arise due to double intake expected in January.

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The admission of Form Ones under the 8-4-4 system, and Grade Seven learners is expected to strain existing infrastructure. “Parents should not panic over the Grade Seven students since both the government and private schools will accommodate all the students. With 10,000 classes from public and another 5,000 from private schools, we will manage the transition,” said Prof Magoha.

The CS urged parent not to move the students to different institutions, maintaining that “competition will only surface during joining the senior secondary schools in Grace 10”. “It would be very important for the parents who already have their children in private schools to retain them in junior secondary facilities that are established within those schools so that the cut-throat competition that comes after Standard Eight be postponed to Year 10. It is just one additional year, so they will even be a little bit older than usual when they start competing now for the Senior school,” said Magoha.

Further, the former KNEC boss dismissed the argument that the students joined high school at a young age under the CBC, and that teachers were not trained to handle them.

“Who said that our teachers are not well-trained? Even in this school, we have had 12-year-olds before and even now. I am a doctor and I can tell you that the difference between a 12- and 14-year-old is not that serious. They even behave better,” he said.

The teachers’ Service Commission (TSC)has trained the first cohort of 60,000 secondary school teachers on Competency Based Curriculum and Competency Based Assessment.

The trained teachers will handle the Junior Secondary School (JSS) at Grades 7,8 and 9.

The teachers were trained using the cascade model which requires that the master trainers train the Trainers of Trainers (TOTs) and thereafter offer professional support during the face-to-face teachers’ training in the county and sub county levels.

TSC conducted the training from April 25,2022 to May 13,2022. The face-to-face training of the TOTs started from May 2,2022 to May 6,2022.

TSC Director Quality Assurance and Standards Dr. Reuben Nthamburi said the target group for the training were all the teachers who will handle grades 7,8 and 9 in both public (regular and Special Needs Education-SNE) and private schools.

This first level of training targeted teachers of Languages (English, Kiswahili, Foreign and Indigenous languages and Kenya Sign Language), Pure Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Health Education),Applied Sciences (Agriculture, HomeScience, Computer Studies and Mathematics), Mathematics, Humanities (Social Studies (Citizenship, Geography, History); Religious Studies (Christian, Islamic and Hindu Religious Education) and Live Skills), Creative Arts and Technical subjects(Pre-vocational and Pre-career Business studies, Music,  Sports and Physical Education).

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The teachers were clustered according to departments.

Secondary schools each nominated six teachers drawn from the above-mentioned categories. The nominated teachers were trained by Trainers of Trainers from May 9,2022 to May 13,2022 at selected venues at the county level with strict adherence to Ministry of Health Covid-19 prevention protocols.

The TOTs were subject tutors from teacher training colleges who are subject panelists with Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development(KICD) both regular and SNE, Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs) with Bachelor’s degree in Education with two teaching subjects’ combination both regular and SNE,TSC Sub-County Directors with Bachelor’s degree in Education with two teaching subjects’ combination and secondary school teacher champions drawn from Languages, Pure Sciences, Applied Sciences, Mathematics, Humanities and Technical subjects.

The TOTs were also Secondary school SNE Champion teachers.

TSC Regional and County Directors were required to identify and invite the TOTs for both regular and SNE for trainings that was held at the county level, identify and invite six (6) teachers per school for both regular and SNE for face-to-face training, invite six (6) teachers from private schools, inform the schools to cater for transport and meals expenses and identify, procure and prepare training venues.

TSC Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)Dr. Nancy Macharia announced during the release of Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE)at KNEC headquarters in Nairobi on March 28,2022 that the Commission had planned to train 60,000 JSSs teachers in CBC and CBA with effect from April 25,2022.

The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has bowed to pressure from parents and reduced the number of home and community activities Grade Seven learners are expected to carry out.

In the revised curriculum designs for Grade Seven, which forms the first year of junior secondary, the KICD has limited community service learning (CSL) to one integrated activity that will cover various subjects.

The CSL concept will be covered as a topic in Life Skills Education to guide the learners on how to conduct the integrated activity.

The activity will mostly be school-based, with community interaction limited to data collection and related actions.

“All learners in Grade Seven will be expected to participate in a CSL class activity… Teachers will guide the learners to execute a simple school-based integrated CSL class activity. The activity can be done in one to two weeks outside the classroom time,” the designs read in part.

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While briefing publishers on the draft designs that were released late last year, the curriculum development agency explained that they would not expect Grade Seven books to have as many CSL activities as were in previous grades, where every sub-strand (equivalent to sub-topic) had a CSL activity prescribed. Publishers were allowed to infuse the activities where they deem fit but keep them at a minimum.

The changes will be a major relief for parents, who had complained on social media and other forums that the new curriculum was burdensome to them.

Parents lamented that they had to carry out the activities on behalf of the learners due to limited time and that the materials required were many and expensive.

There were also complaints that illiterate parents were unable to help their children with the activities.
During the publishers’ briefing last year, the KICD also asked textbook developers to provide alternatives to digital activities to avoid leaving out learners who may not have access to the necessary resources.

For example, where learners are asked to search for information online, books and magazines should be given as an option.

Education experts had joined parents in pointing out that many learners were being disadvantaged with regard to digital activities.

Kenya Publishers Association chairman Lawrence Njagi confirmed in a telephone interview that indeed the CSL activities had been scaled down significantly.

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“This, we believe, could be as a result of the pressure from parents,” Mr Njagi said.

Mr Njagi added that even the CSL activities that publishers would be infusing in the books would be more school-based rather than home-based.

KICD Chief Executive Officer Charles Ong’ondo said in the earlier concept, which is currently being implemented in Grades One to Five, learners are required to undertake CSL activities in every subject. The concept will also be implemented in Grade 6.

The integrated approach, he said, allows teachers to assign learners different CSL projects.

“However, for Grade Seven, which is junior secondary, the CSL projects will be undertaken under the Life Skills Education subject, but teachers will still be able to give fewer and less engaging CSL assignments in the other subjects,” said Prof Ong’ondo.

The KICD boss said putting the big CSL projects under one subject would enable learners to do their assignments successfully and effectively.

According to the Basic Education Curriculum Framework, learners in junior secondary, which commences in January next year, will study 12 core subjects and seven optional subjects.

Life Skills is among the key subjects that learners at the junior secondary level will be required to study. The subject is aimed at enhancing knowledge and appreciation of oneself as well as sharpening interpersonal skills.

Learners are expected to acquire psychosocial competencies and interpersonal skills, which in turn should enable them to make informed decisions, solve problems, think creatively and critically and be able to communicate effectively.

The subject is also designed to enable the learners to interact with their teachers, peers and the environment.

“This subject moves beyond providing information to the development of the whole individual. Teachers will assign major engaging and interaction projects in this subject,” said Prof Ong’ondo.

The government has cleared the confusion on where Junior secondary schools will be domiciled when the first lot of students learning through the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) complete their primary education.

There has been confusion over the transition process for CBC students joining junior high school next year.

The Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Jwan has announced that the junior secondary school will be domiciled both in secondary and primary schools.

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Speaking at St Peter’s Kotieno Secondary School in Rachuonyo South, Homa Bay County, when he commissioned the construction of additional classrooms, Dr Jwan said in some situations the government will use classrooms in primary schools to host learners joining junior secondary schools.

“Classrooms used by pupils of class seven and eight will remain vacant due to the introduction of the CBC. But the classrooms will not go to waste because they are public resources. Instead, they will be used by students of Junior secondary schools,” Jwan said.

The PS urged the residents to support the implementation of CBC saying the 8-4-4 curriculum failed to recognise competencies and skills of pupils who could not perform well in exams.

“The curriculum being phased is majorly focused on examinations which was a disadvantage for the students who have other skills,” said Jwan.

He argued that the CBC is based on nurturing talents.

“Unlike the other curriculum, CBC is nurturing skills and offering all students to do what they are passionate about,” said Jwan.

The PS warned teachers against leaking national examinations which begin in March.

He pointed out Migori, Kisii, Nyamira, and Homa Bay as some of the counties where teachers tend to open examination papers with intention of leaking them to students.

“We have put in place measures to ensure examinations are not leaked and let nobody think they can outwit us,” Jwan said.

He was accompanied by the chairman of Lake Basin Development Authority Odoyo Owidi who appealed to the government to come up with a clear policy when a school should own a bus.

Owidi expressed concern that many schools in the area own buses but they lack necessary infrastructures such as classrooms, dormitories, and dining halls.

Junior secondary schools will be classified according to the number of competency based curriculum (CBC) pathways offered in the institutions, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has said.

The three pathways that define a learner’s career are Arts and Sports Science; Social Sciences and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem).

While touring Nyeri County, Prof Magoha said well-established schools will have three pathways while day schools and other smaller boarding schools will have two.

This means all the 103 national schools and the extra county schools will offer all three pathways while the smaller institutions will have two. Concerning construction of more classrooms to accommodate junior secondary students, Prof Magoha said some classes had been completed while others were at the roofing stage. The government plans to build 10,000 new classrooms, with 5,000 completed by April in the first phase of the project.

The CS lashed out at some contractors who he said had delayed completing the classrooms. He warned that “lazy and incompetent” contractors will not be tolerated.

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Speaking at Mutira Girls Secondary School in Kirinyaga County, Prof Magoha told county commissioners and county directors of education to ensure tenders of such contractors be terminated immediately. In Nyeri, the CS said, 31 classes are being built.

Prof Magoha lamented that students had been torching learning institutions on trivial issues, leading to massive destruction of property.

He urged them to concentrate on classwork and leave school peacefully if they feel offended instead of destroying facilities.

While secondary school teachers will be trained on CBC implementation in March, the learning institutions are still dealing with an acute shortage.

According to TSC data, there is a total shortage of 114,581 teachers across the country. Secondary schools need 64,737 teachers while primary schools have a shortage of 49,653 teachers. It is still unclear the criteria that will be used to place students in junior secondary schools, as some have better facilities than others.

Secondary school has been split into two levels; junior and senior. Junior secondary will comprise Grades Seven, Eight and Nine while senior secondary will be Grade 10, 11 and 12.

In junior secondary, students will learn 12 core subjects — English, Kiswahili or Kenyan Sign Language, mathematics, integrated science, health education, pre-technical and pre-career education, social studies, religious education, business studies, agriculture, life skills and sports and physical education.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be integrated and used as a delivery tool for all the subjects. They will also have optional subjects, which include visual arts, performing arts, home science, computer science, foreign languages (German, French, Mandarin and Arabic), Kenyan Sign Language and indigenous languages.

This will see two classes enrolled to the 10,413 secondary schools across the country, creating a shortage of facilities.

To address the shortage of classrooms, the government is in the process of building 10,000 new classrooms to accommodate the increased enrolment.

In the first phase, the government will build 6,500 new classrooms built in 6,371 schools. In Nyeri, 168 classes will be built in 167 out of the 220 secondary schools in the county.