No More Morning And Evening Preps In Schools -CS Machogu

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has issued a ban on early morning and evening classes. On Monday, January 30^th, the CS decried that teachers were overburdening students leaving them with little or no time to rest.

Machogu warned schools against forcing students to report before the break of dawn or leaving school after dusk. “Starting from today, the government will be closely monitoring the reporting times of students,” said Machogu

He added that classes should commence at 8:00 a.m. and conclude no later than 3:45 p.m. The CS said that students are sometimes forced to wake up as early as 4:00 a.m. to attend remedial classes and that such practices will not be tolerated. He warned schools that violate this directive, by either forcing students to report before dawn or keeping them past dusk, will face consequences.

The Kenya Primary Heads Association (KEPSHA), in response, asked the Ministry of Education to employ more teachers for the directive to be effective. Currently, the teacher-pupil ratio in public schools is 1:50, according to KEPSHA.

The KEPSHA cited the current teacher-pupil ratio of 1:50, making it difficult to complete the syllabus within the given time. KEPSHA requested the Ministry to train and employ more teachers to ensure that schools can adhere to the released school calendar.

Despite the challenges, KEPSHA expressed gratitude for the efforts made by the Ministry of Education in addressing some of the issues faced by the education sector. The association noted the recent release of textbooks and stated that if more teachers were employed, the syllabus could be completed on time.

“There is an acute shortage of teachers in public primary schools, making it hard to finish the syllabus in the stipulated time. We request the Ministry to train and employ more teachers so that it will be possible to adhere to the released school calendar,” KEPSHA remarked.

In the Education sector, CS Ezekiel Machogu has introduced the banning of morning preps and evening classes. In January 2023, the Education CS warned principals against sending Junior Secondary School students home over fee arrears.

“Schools shall determine the uniform for their schools which includes additional unique features for the identification and branding of their institutions. The uniform shall be the responsibility of parents and no school shall direct parents where to purchase the uniform or exclude students for failure to afford a school uniform,” the guidelines read in part.

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