The future of thousands of primary and secondary schools hangs in the balance as the government plans to close down institutions that will not have met set standards by mid-June.
In a raft of measures to ensure quality learning, the Education ministry will in the next 40 days assess registered schools that have not met the set standards for deregistration.
According to the ministry's guidelines, any place that teaches 15 or more children should be registered as a school. Those that have not been registered will be shut down and their students placed in other schools at the start of the third term.
This will push the schools back to the drawing board as they fight for their survival.
However, CS George Magoha's puzzle lies in public institutions that have been underfunded and lack the required infrastructure for registration.
In this case, the ministry says it will revoke their registration certificate, which could affect thousands of schools.
Already, MPs have said such schools are of no use but a burden for the government in terms of grants.
"When I look at the press and see students sitting under trees, I question how they received their operational licences," Magoha said.
Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang yesterday said the ministry is conducting an audit to establish institutions that don't meet the criteria the ministry has put in place.
"As schools break for mid-term, the government will assess those that will not have complied with the regulations and they will be closed down," Kipsang said.
Kenya Private Schools Association chairman Peter Ndoro disowned schools that had not met registration qualification.
"We ensure our members meet the ministry's requirements. If these institutions are out there and are registered, then someone bent the law to allow for their registration. They should be prosecuted," Ndoro said.
He proposed the merging of small schools with the bigger ones as a way of strengthening them
PRIMARY SCHOOLS
For primary schools, the ministry says that a school in rural areas should sit on two acres.
Those in the rural-urban setting should occupy an acre, while those in rural will require at least a half acre and an annex where the pupils can engage in co-curricular activities.
The schools will also have at least eight permanent classrooms for a single stream school and toilets at the ratio of 1:40 students.
"Before registration, schools are also required to get a report from the Ministry of Health, Nema, and the Ministry of Education. We support the move as it will rationalise the quality of education despite coming with negative impacts," Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association secretary general David Mavuta told the Star yesterday.
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Secondary schools will be required to sit on 10 acres.
In cases where the school has one class for each form, then a minimum of four classes are required.
The school will also be required to have at least two laboratories and basic amenities such as water and toilets at a ratio of 1:40.
This means a school of 400 learners will require a minimum of 10 toilets.
Principals in secondary schools have already supported the proposal, saying it will ensure sanity in the basic education sector.
Through their association's chair, Indimuli Kahi, the heads gave an example of cases where students have been turned away from sitting their KCSE and KCPE examination for registering in schools' not recognised by the government.
"We need to have sanity in the education sector and as principals. We support the ministry... Some students go all the way to Form 4 without sitting a single practical and these are regulations that were supposed to be set from the beginning," Kahi said.
