BY ESTHER MUTURI
Earlier this year, the first grade 7 students were expected to report to their respective Primary schools to pursue their Junior Secondary Education.
However, a number of students, who could not be placed in their primary schools went to new schools after the Ministry Of Education’s move to consolidate schools that were unable to meet the secondary school hosting criteria.
This raised concerns amongst many parents as some of their children had been moved to schools that were far away from home making it difficult to access the schools for Junior Secondary.
Earlier this week in Muget Primary School in Moiben Uasin Gishu County, the normal school program was disrupted after angry parents stormed this learning institution and locked all the classrooms over what they stated was a lack of teachers for the Junior Secondary School pupils in the school.
The parents were furious because only one teacher teaches all 14 subjects in the new system and the parents deemed it as not fair and very expensive and made suggestions that the system be removed and instead bring back the 8-4-4 system.
Gloria Amisi, a grade 7 student from Mukuru Kwa Njenga in Nairobi has been forced to work at a Dumpsite to make ends meet as her mother lacks money to pay for school fees for the past four months.
This situation forced the student to start collecting reusable items at the Dumpsite and selling them to supplement her mother’s income as she struggles to educate her two siblings in form one and form two.
The situation drew Citizen TV’s attention who then visited Gloria’s school to ascertain how bad was the situation.
In response to the matter, the head teacher stated that he had reached out to the family to plan on how the girl can be assisted to go back to school.
The two scenarios are just but a tip of an icebag of what is happening in the country’s education sector, will the system benefit the learners?
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu during the transition assured Kenyans that the level of preparedness in JSS across the country was commendable indicating that the teachers recruited were well-equipped to handle the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
However, from the little-known stories, a lot is being swept under the carpet.