Major clash over hosting of Grade Nine learners

Major clash over hosting of Grade Nine learners

Major clash over hosting of Grade Nine learners

Whether ninth-graders should stay in primary schools or transfer to secondary schools is a hotly debated topic.

CS Education According to Ezekiel Machogu, the 1.3 million students in grade eight who were scheduled to move up to grade nine in January will instead stay in elementary schools, according the suggestions made by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER).

But some people, including some representatives of the Education Ministry, believe that since there won’t be any Form One admissions in January of next year, the students in Grade Nine ought to be transferred to secondary schools and make use of the space that would otherwise go unoccupied.

Secondary school principals have said that, from January, they will have vacant classrooms they could use to host grade nine learners.

Kenya Secondary School Heads Association national chairman Willy Kuria, during the association’s last national conference for principals, said their institutions are ready to host Grade Nine.

“Secondary schools have adequate facilities and trained teachers that the government can tap,” he said in reference, partly, to the 10,000 classrooms constructed in high schools during late CS George Magoha’s tenure.

Machogu said: “Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2019 provided for the education structure of 2-6-3-3-3 which allows learners to spend three years in Junior Secondary. The Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) also affirmed that this level of education be domiciled in primary schools.” 

“These students will take exams the next year and move up to senior high schools in 2026. Because of this, we cannot state that Grade 9 enters secondary school. We are clear on this topic, as I have already spoken with secondary schools,” Machogu stated yesterday.

The PWPER plans, according to some, do not accurately reflect the situation on the ground.

President Ruto had said Grade Nine learners would remain in primary schools and an official at the Education ministry, who did not wish to be named, said no one is willing to go against this position.

“No one seems to be bold enough to tell the president the truth about what some of us feel is a looming crisis. I doubt the president has been given the true picture. Someone must face the president with truth however difficult it shall be, to save the children,” the official told The Sunday Standard.

January will witness a transition that will see the first cohort of CBC learners join Grade Nine. 

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary general Collins Oyuu said the entire JSS should remain in primary schools.

“There are people who are trying to force a debate over placement of JSS,” Oyuu adding: “One key aspect that came out during the reforms deliberations was the physical infrastructure for teaching and learning. The government just needs to employ more teachers to handle the transition, construct an additional class in the learning structure and address the change of curriculum.”

However, his Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) counterpart Akello Misori feels the present primary school environment does not provide space for Grade Nine.

Classes one through eight are taught in all elementary schools. There is no class nine there. In primary schools, an extra classroom needs to be built. Thankfully, there won’t be any Form One admittance, so that extra classroom will now be in secondary school, he said.

“Plans to hire 20,000 new teachers also hang in the balance,” he continued. There is still work to be done to secure the permanent terms of the 46,000 interns. However, there are already teachers at secondary schools that Grade Nine can make use of. Maintaining JSS in current primary schools has already presented significant difficulties.

According to Johnson Nzioka, chairman of the Kenya Primary School Heads Association, primary schools employ enough qualified instructors to support students in Grade Nine.

“We have even purchased mobile laboratories. Let secondary schools concentrate on preparing for Grade 10. The children are already used to the teachers and we shall not release them,” Nzioka said. “The government has also assured us that they are constructing classrooms for primary schools that do not have enough.”  

Last week, Basic Ediucation PS Belio Kipsang announced that construction of 9,000 Grade Nine classrooms had started in the existing primary schools. Even after this, 7,000 more classrooms will be needed.

But there is also the question of equipping the new classrooms with some sector players questioning when the money for purchasing desks and chairs shall be released.

There are 23,286 primary schools according to 2013-2021 Ministry data, which means more classrooms would be needed to support JSS.

Some stakeholders have termed the 9,000 classrooms being constituted a good effort in efforts to anchor Grade Seven and Grade Eight in existing primary scholars.

Emmanuel Manyasa, the Executive Director of Usawa Agenda, said with only few months left, there is not much time to construct enough classrooms to hold Grade Nine learners in primary schools.

As you plan, assign students in Grade Nine to fill vacant classrooms in secondary schools. That’s how easy it is, Dr. Manyasa remarked.

“In fact, JSS leaners should be held in sub-county secondary schools, and county schools upwards should be allowed to hold senior schools,” he continued. The ministry ought to have figured out by now how many institutions can accommodate what kinds of classes.

The executive director of the Zizi Afrique Foundation, John Mugo, issued a warning, saying that the goals of JSS shouldn’t be overlooked throughout the changeover.

Most of the discussions have focused on academics. Not much is discussed on the trainees’ professional development. JSS was housed in a single compound for a purpose. “Will we still accomplish the goal if we divide them up?” Mugo said.

According to him, the rationale behind keeping JSS at elementary schools stemmed from the concern that the kids, who were only 11 or 12 years old, weren’t old enough to attend secondary schools and that they should stay near their parents instead of attending boarding secondary schools.

Parents were concerned that secondary schools—which they understood to mean boarding schools linked to incidents of indiscipline and arson—would not provide a safe environment for their kids.

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