• KICD proposes junior high school be housed in primary schools
• Proposal faces sharp criticism from secondary school principals
Image: CHARLES MGHENYI
A proposal to have junior high school domiciled in primary schools under the new curriculum has come under sharp criticism from some secondary school principals.
If adopted, the proposal will expand primary schools to accommodate nine classes, which principals are opposed to.
Those familiar with the new curriculum development say secondary school managers are uncomfortable with it as it will shrink the capacity of the institutions.
Instead, the principals want all the high school classes accommodated in their institutions, insiders familiar with the process say.
In effect, secondary schools will expand their capacity to accommodate two extra classes from the current four. This means more resources for the institutions.
However, Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association chairman Indimuli Kahi downplayed the allegation.
"There's no opposition by principals. It is not in the interest of the principals or headteachers to know where the classes will be placed," Kahi told the Star yesterday.
Under the new curriculum, primary and secondary schools will each have six classes.
The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development wants primary school classes that will fall vacant in the new arrangement converted to junior high school.
These include grades 7, 8 and 9, equivalent to classes 7, 8 and Form One in the current 8-4-4 system.
The proposal notes that the learners will be vulnerable as they will be barely teenagers when they complete primary school. The move, it notes, will save on resources by utilising the defunct classes.
This means a learner transiting to secondary school may end up in the same primary school they were in but in a different uniform.
However,Education CS George Magoha yesterday said the ministry is yet to decide where and how these classes will be accommodated.
Magoha said a national conversation will be opened culminating in a national education conference in August.
"We welcome all those who have views on how best junior secondary school will be accommodated," Magoha said during the launch of the National Curriculum Policy set to guide implementation of the new system.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS PUZZLE
Should the principals' proposal be put into consideration, private schools will be the biggest losers through severe slash of funds and number of students.
And should junior secondary be moved to secondary schools the vacant classes in primary schools will have to be converted to other purposes.
"We will use the extra classes to make the current students comfortable... The issue of numbers should not be in the picture. It is about quality of the learners we will produce," Private Schools Association chair Peter Ndolo told the Star yesterday.
The national education conference will enable the sharing of all the county-specific issues raised from the counties, collate relevant monitoring reports and ensure the country discusses critical lessons learnt on the CBC, the CS said.
The national conference will form the basis of a roadmap for CBC rollout in Grade Four in 2020.