At least 12,951 Grade Six pupils from Nyeri County are set to join the Junior Secondary School (JSS) beginning next year.
Nyeri County Director of Education Sabina Aroni has told KNA that all necessary preparations for the smooth transition of the learners have been put in place ahead of the historic move.
Aroni has also disclosed that two private schools have already been approved to offer JSS classes after having met the required standards.
This comes in the wake of the recent announcement in which Education CS George Magoha extended the deadline for learners to pick their schools of their choice from August 30 to September 10.
“We have put up all the measures required for the transitioning of all Grade Six learners to the Junior Secondary School next year. These preparations include the construction of 166 classes under the Competency Based Curriculum which are currently complete and ready for use. Similarly, the government has embarked on the construction of an extra 71 classes for the second phase of the program to increase the capacity of the new learners,” she said.
Private Schools have been assigned 369,948 slots in the JSS selection across the county though this is pegged on an institution’s ability to provide crucial facilities like well-equipped Science laboratories and secure storage cabinets for pupils.
However, Aroni has clarified that parents who will choose to take their children to private schools will have to dig deeper into their pockets since the Government will only foot tuition costs for those in public schools.
“If your child is going to join a private Junior Secondary School you will be required to foot the levies required unlike in the public schools where the government is paying sh 22,240 as tuition fee for every pupil,” she said.
Among private schools in Nyeri that have received the nod to admit learners into the JSS after having been approved by the County Education Board include Ndima Kanini Primary School in Mathira East.
However, such an approval will only stand after receiving approval by the Kenya National Examination Council on whose such mandate lies.
But to be eligible for admission into the Juniors Secondary school, Grade Six pupils will have to sit for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment test that will be administered later in November.
The transition to the Junior Secondary School next year will put to test the ingenuity of the CBC curriculum that operates on a 2-6-3-3-3 system as opposed to the 8-4-4 system which is being phased out in a year’s time.
The CBC system will operate on a program of two years in pre-primary, two years in lower primary, three years in upper primary, three years in senior secondary and three years in a tertiary institution.
