Junior Secondary School Crisis Worsens As KNUT Issues New Demands

The Competency-Based Curriculum, CBC, joining Junior Secondary school, JSS, began on 30^th January 2023 as some schools are yet to kick off.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has called for urgent action from the government to deploy teachers countrywide for learning to start in Junior Secondary Schools.

According to KNUT, they mounted pressure on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to deploy the teachers within the shortest time to avert further loss of class time.

“We want to ask the TSC to consider deploying these teachers very early so that the learners can have a new experience,” David Obuno, Executive Secretary of KNUT Kisumu branch, told the press.

Kisii County Commissioner, Tom Anjere, urged all education stakeholders to ensure that the children report to school despite the impending crisis. He said that the deputy county commissioner must ensure that any child who qualifies to go to Grade 7, Form 1 finds their place in school.

Privative schools decried low turnout as Grade 7 students flocked to public schools. The TSC had earlier asked for information on primary school teachers who are qualified to teach in junior secondary schools.

Only classroom teachers, according to TSC, will be posted to teach in the junior secondary sector beginning with Grade 7 later this month. The TSC is devising a strategy to vet all primary school teachers with degree and diploma certificates in secondary options for placement in Grade 7 classes.

It is expected that approximately 17,000 primary school teachers have secondary school teaching certifications. Despite the fact that some teachers submitted their diplomas and degree certificates to the Commission and obtained acknowledgment letters, the TSC requested a new list of teachers.

There are more than a million learners joining JSS at a time the government is yet to finalize the recruitment and deployment of the 30,000 teachers scheduled to teach in the newly introduced section of schools.

The government is faced with the headache of teacher shortage and inadequate facilities. Though it released guidelines on the JSS last week, teachers, parents, and other education stakeholders say there are many grey areas yet to be addressed.

But amidst the challenges, the government has directed head teachers to make do with the available resources and infrastructure as they admit the learners.

Related Content: CBC Confusion As Junior Secondary School Yet To Kick Off