- The governor insisted that there are teething challenges in implementing the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
- He noted that domiciling JSS in primary schools has created complex challenges because of serious infrastructural constraints.
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Kericho Governor Eric Mutai on Tuesday admitted that there are serious challenges facing the rollout of Junior Secondary Schools (JSS).
The governor, although running a devolved unit, insisted that there are teething challenges in implementing the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
The governor noted that domiciling JSS in primary schools has created complex challenges because of serious infrastructural constraints.
“The transition of CBC was not properly structured… the best thing to do, because we could not throw the baby plus the bath water was to domicile JSS within the primary school structures,” Mutai said on Citizen TV.
“Fact on the ground is that the government is facing a tough situation in making JSS a reality in primary schools.”
President William Ruto had in December directed that the JSS learners be accommodated in primary schools and not in secondary schools as initially envisaged.
The President had also directed that the KPSEA exams by Grade 6 pupils would not be used to place them in JSS.
“As we talk now, we need laboratories within the JSSs. The primary schools don’t even have sufficient classrooms; we don’t have the right infrastructure in those institutions," Mutai said.
The governor said that although the national government had started the recruitment of more teachers, there is a lot to be desired in public school facilities.
“I applaud the President’s effort of employing 30,000 teachers which might bridge the gap over time, but the truth is there is still much to be done. We would wish to see more supplementary budgets being done to ensure we provide enough learning structures, classrooms and teachers,” he said.
He called for “creative and innovative” ways to address the challenges in the meantime, such as sharing of facilities between primary schools and neighbouring secondary schools.
“We need to see how we can pair up a local day secondary school and a local primary school adjacent to each other so that they can share existing facilities in the secondary school. It is a painful reality that we must juggle around for the sake of our children,” Mutai said.