Teachers' unions, educationists and parents have clashed on whether to accommodate JSS learners in primary or secondary schools.
This could throw into a dilemma the presidential team that is reviewing the Competency-Based Curriculum and delay the decision-making process.
On Wednesday, the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Teachers warned the government against adopting any recommendations to place JSS learners in primary schools.
The latest opposition precipitates a standoff that could hurt the government's plans to roll out a seamless transition that will not negatively affect the 10 million learners.
While making presentations before the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, Kuppet rubbished proposals to domicile JSS in primary schools.
Union secretary general Akello Misori said primary schools are congested and have no capacity to teach learners new study areas introduced by CBC.
“Junior secondary schools should be domiciled in secondary schools, which have the human resources for training at that level,” he said.
The official said the government must provide learning resources so that there is equity across all counties and also hire more teachers.
"Unless anyone is coming from the moon, only secondary schools have the human resources, libraries, laboratories and, more importantly, the culture for JSS," Misori said.
Kuppet's proposals to the PWPER team are at variance with recommendations that have been tabled by Knut.
In its proposals, Knut made a strong case in favour of placing JSS in primary schools, saying secondary schools are congested and not ideal for younger learners.
"The learners transiting to junior secondary are still young and requiring guidance from their teachers and parents," said Knut secretary general Collins Oyuu.
Knut said the JSS learners are also likely to skip or reschedule some cultural practices if they are taken to secondary school.
“This category of learners is between 11 and 13 years and should be protected from older secondary [school] learners,” he said.
“It’s not logical to have it [JSS] in secondary school. The classrooms that were meant to hold Grades 7, 8 and 9 are already occupied because of congestion. There’s total congestion even in day schools."
Under the CBC framework, JSS comprises Grades 7, 8 and 9, after which learners proceed to senior secondary (Grades 10, 11 and 12).
Initially, there were silent inter-union wars amid reports that the differences were fuelled by the fight for billions in capitation money.
Placement of JSS in secondary schools would give secondary school principals control over billions of shillings that come with high enrolment of learners.
Some 1,287,597 learners who are currently in Grade 6 will at the end of this month sit the inaugural Kenya Primary School Education Assessment.
However, the pioneer JSS learners do not know whether they will remain in their current schools or move to secondary institutions.
President William Ruto is expected to give a policy direction before January after receiving a preliminary report from the education task force.
The team has six months to write the final report, but it is expected to give a progress report to the President in December to guide the learners' placement in January.
The 1,244,188 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam candidates in Std 8 are certain of joining secondary school in January.
The Std 8 KCPE exam and the new KPSEA assessment will start on November 28.
Jasper Omwega from the National Parents Association Nairobi branch backed the proposal to have JSS learners domiciled in primary schools.
“As parents, we are not comfortable with our 11-year-old learners being in the same environment with 17 or 18 year olds,” Omwega said when he made presentations at the University of Nairobi.
“In regard to the transition to junior secondary school, parents feel that the Grade 6 [learners] are [too] young to transit to boarding schools together with senior learners. Domicile JSS in primary school with different uniforms, teachers and administrators.”
Kenya Private School Heads Association chairperson Charles Ochome made a radical proposal to create stand-alone schools to host JSS for individual monitoring and even bring in investors.
"We want the learners either to be domiciled in primary, secondary or as stand-alone schools," Ochome said.
"We can have people invest in stand-alone JSS schools. For secondary school, the government should only allow schools with infrastructure.”
Ochome said Grades 7 and 8 can be accommodated at secondary school level to be taught by secondary school teachers and graduate primary school teachers.
“These are the challenges of a double intake, which will be over after 2025. It is important to note that we are paying for the mistake of 1985; creating a long, primary cycle. We will need patience in the next two years, but it is doable,” he said.
Last week when the National Association of Private Universities in Kenya made its presentations, it backed domiciling of JSS in primary schools.
The association argued that despite the tender age of the candidates transiting into JSS, it is doubtful that there is adequate infrastructure to accommodate them in the current secondary schools.
“It is most prudent and reasonable to domicile JSS in primary schools,” the association said in the memorandum signed by Vincent G Gaitho, the secretary general.
Task force chairperson Raphael Munavu urged parents to be patient as they finalise the collection of views.
"By the first week of December we will release a report on the recommendations we have received," he said.
If all these recommendations are taken into consideration it means all the Grade 6 learners will return to their initial primary schools.
The initial plan was to host JSS learners in secondary schools but later the government announced some would be domiciled in primary schools to deal with the anticipated 100 per cent transition.
The government, however, said the administration of JSS schools will run independently and autonomously.
The government, then under retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, set aside Sh8 billion to build 10,000 classrooms in at least 30 counties to host the estimated 10 million JSS learners.
The working party was mandated to, among others, look into a review of policies in CBC amid indications that President Ruto could reverse some of them.
They include the implementation of aspects guiding the competency-based approach including but not limited to value-based education, community service learning, parental empowerment and engagement.
The team will also evaluate the assessment of learners, the quality assurance and the standards of CBC.
