- The order to retain them was given after the learners had finished the summative assessment.
- Grade 7 learners who are in primary schools that can't host Junior Secondary will be transferred.
Image: FILE
The directive to retain Grade 7 learners in primary schools might have hurt the 11-13-year-olds, going by sentiments from some parents.
A spot check by the Star now reveals that some of them don't want to go back to their former primary schools.
The order to retain them was given after the learners had finished the summative assessment.
For boarding schools, the learners had checked out with all their belongings.
"My son doesn't want to go back to that school, he even cries begging me to transfer him to another school," Damaris, a parent told the Star.
The Machakos-based parent now says her son has already set up his mind that he is not going to his former school in Machakos county.
The Grade 6 learner now wants his mother to transfer him to a different school in Nairobi.
"When he left his primary school after the Grade 6 exam, he knew he was going to a secondary school, now he feels like the juniors from the school will mock him because he is back," she said.
A devastated Damaris now has to dig deep into her pockets to take her son to a new school.
She says ignoring the concerns raised by the boy would only cause more harm.
"I understand his situation and we will find another school," she said.
But she has one request to the government related to junior secondary transition.
"Please let's not use our Grade 7 learners as experiments because our kids are the ones suffering with all these changes," she said.
Chris another parent also decried the changes made by the government to the curriculum.
He says his son who is due admission to Grade 7 is always a worried boy.
"He doesn't know what the government will change next, and you know that's not good for him," Chris told the Star.
He is set to also transfer his son to another school but on different grounds.
"I have already found another school for him in Kajiado," he said.
Ann from Kitale had a daughter in Grade 6, the most devastating directive is that which did away with KPSEA's role in the placement to JSS.
Even though her daughter had less pressure doing KPSEA, she said her daughter was well prepared for the next step, Junior Secondary School.
"We knew KPSEA was all that mattered for JSS, but now we don't know what next, she wishes the assessment was retained," Ann said.
Her daughter enjoyed the assessment and told her mother that she wished it was used to place her in JSS.
"She was already prepared to go to secondary school, if I had the money I would at least take her to a different school," she said.
Grade 7 learners who are in primary schools that can't host Junior Secondary will be transferred.
The Ministry of Education has said there will be a category of JSS feeder schools.
According to the registration guidelines checklist seen by the Star, detailed reports should be submitted by January 23.
"Feeder schools refer to primary schools that lack the enrolment and infrastructural capacity to domicile a JSS," the guidelines read.
For such cases, the learners will be transferred to a neighbouring JSS school.
Alternatively, affirmative action will be used to ensure a 100 per cent transition from senior primary to junior secondary.
"In high-density areas and urban informal settlements primary schools with an enrolment of fewer than 45 learners, or those lacking the basic facilities to host JSS, will serve as feeder schools to other JSSs within two kilometres," the guidelines read.
The ministry said in geographically expansive, low-density and insecure areas there will be affirmative action.