CBC Confusion As Junior Secondary School Yet To Kick Off

There is confusion in many parts of the country as Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) began joining Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) on January 30^th January 2023.

The first group of Grade 7 students under CBC reported to school on the same day, after months of the curriculum being subjected to review.

Many parents opted to accompany their children to their new schools and inquire about what was required, including the type of uniforms.

A select number of public schools, however, showed high levels of preparedness and cooperation from parents who ensured their children reported in new and distinct uniforms.

While learning in private schools kicked off in time, most public primary schools were yet to start teaching Junior Secondary School students.  The delay in learning is attributed to the failure of the government to deploy teachers to public schools.

According to the Rift Valley Regional Director for Education, Mr. Jared Obiero said the exercise took place at 10,093 schools across 14 counties in the region. The exercise started off smoothly across the region. Most of the schools reported a high turnout of learners enrolling back for Grade Seven.

He said that 187 public and 1,242 private schools in the region did not qualify, and their learners have been directed to enroll in the nearest approved facilities. He added that some schools have already come up with unique uniforms while we have allowed the learners to report to school with any decent civilian clothing. Some will use their primary school uniforms.

Most of the schools did not have learning materials on the first day with the government still in the process of recruiting teachers.

Nakuru County Director of Education Fred Osewe said Grade Seven learners in the county reported to 670 public and 265 private schools approved by the Ministry of Education. Osewe and Obiero toured various schools in the county among them the Moi Primary and Junior Secondary has the highest enrollment in the county.

“59,000 learners are transiting to junior secondary schools in the county. None of the schools has reported a challenge so far. We are expecting a seamless transition in this,” said Osewe.

Through the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the Kenyan government recruited 30,000 teachers for Junior Secondary Schools. TSC was expected to deploy at least one teacher in every public primary school in the country to handle JSS.

However, headteachers across the country urged TSC to increase the number, citing the high public-school teacher-student ratio. The government assured teachers that the issue of employing more teachers was being handled as a matter of urgency.

Some parents lamented the high cost of school uniforms, with some schools selling a pair between Sh2500 and Sh3500 in Western. Western Regional Education Coordinator Stephen Barongo said they have 115,000 grade seven pupils from public schools and 15,000 from private schools expected to join JSS starting yesterday.

The director of Kenya Institute of Curriculum and Development (KICD) Prof Charles Ong’ondo, was in the region to oversee the distribution of CBC books to grade seven pupils at Kakamega primary school. Prof Ong’ondo said KICD will distribute 12 books per student and an additional two in optional subjects to all public schools by the end of this week.

The government has directed to a make-do list with the available resources and infrastructure as they admit the learner. According to the Education Ministry’s Junior Secondary School rules, students will be taught nine lessons per day for five days (45 per week), with each lesson lasting 40 minutes, implying that additional teachers will be needed. Primary school teachers allocate 35 minutes per lesson.

The guidelines also state that parents would be forced to cater their children’s meals, but the government has yet to establish the amount of money to be paid. Apparently, parents with secondary school pupils spend sh.4,000 every term on meals.

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