Why educationists want junior secondary stationed in primary schools

@ppcheti

The Competency-Based Curriculum is way different from the 8-4-4 education system and it is no secret that learners, teachers and parents are still struggling to adapt.

Under the new system, Grade 6 learners are expected to choose from a list the junior secondary school one would want to join.

This is similar to what Standard 8 pupils do, whereby they choose the secondary school they would want to go to after sitting their KCPE exam.

The difference is that while the 8-4-4 system has Form 1-4, the junior secondary school comprises grades 7, 8 and 9.

In November 2021, the government disbursed Sh4 billion to facilitate the construction of junior secondary school classrooms across the country.

However, the biggest concern for most parents is the young age of the learners who will be transitioning to junior secondary.

Since many of the listed junior secondary schools are quite far from where most Grade 6 learners are undertaking their primary learning, the option is that many will end up in boarding school.

Many parents and educationists in Kakamega say junior secondary schools ought to be domiciled in primary schools because those transitioning to Grade 7 are still too young.

During a taskforce on education reforms meeting at Bishop Sulumeti Girls in Kakamega, there were concerns that Grade 6 learners were still too young to be in the same learning environment as older students in a country where molestation and bullying have yet to be eliminated.

Kakamega Knut chairman Patrick Chungane said cases of molestation of young learners by their seniors are likely to spike if the current arrangement is to be adopted.

He said the new education system failed from the start as it was never subjected to reviews through a commission, as has been the norm which caused it to face opposition right from the onset.

The education official said stationing junior secondary schools in primary schools will save learners the long distances day scholars will have to cover to their new schools.

“Let us have these junior secondary schools domiciled in primary schools majorly because of the age of the learners involved. These are very small kids who barely know how to survive in a boarding environment. Day schools too will be too far for many," Chungane said.

Educationists also want junior secondary renamed to senior primary schools if they are to be domiciled in primary schools.

They also said teachers are ill-prepared for CBC as they have never been trained.

Chungane said the current plan will be unrealistic, seeing as the single CBC classrooms that were recently set up in secondary schools have been taken up by the current crop of students.

“The country is ill-prepared for CBC and we feel the rush is not really going to do our learners any good. Whatever the plan is, let them start on a better note by training teachers, working on establishing the necessary infrastructure and above all, considering the ages of the children involved," he said.

Chungane advised that primary school teachers with diplomas, degrees and master’s degrees be posted and allowed to teach in the proposed senior primary schools.

“Primary schools will have vacant classrooms if the move is effected as presently structured while overstretching learning facilities in secondary schools and so there is a need for more hands on deck," he said.

Many educationists agreed that the objective of the curriculum is instrumental in nurturing talents, but would only be effective if the government provides learning materials and employs enough teachers.

They also want the Kenya National Examination Council to establish clear guidelines on the assessment of learners as the current system is giving teachers a lot of leeway to award marks.