Various schools in the country are facing a crisis during the ongoing grade 10 transition, especially the category four, formerly known as sub-county schools.
Several schools nationwide reopened to receive learners transitioning to senior school under the competency-based curriculum, only to find classrooms largely deserted, with some recording no students at all.
In Machakos County, the rollout has been sluggish, with some schools admitting just three or four learners by Wednesday, January 14, the third day of the transitio, while others remained completely empty despite having capacity for well over 100 students.
The headteachers now blame the dismal turnout on the new method of placements, noting that most of the students required to report to the schools allegedly come from faraway areas.
They also blame the transfer window that the government opened for students to change schools. The teachers note that the review and transfer have complicated the situation further.
“What is offered in those ‘big schools’ is the same with what we offer. The teachers are the same, they went to the same universities and trained by same lecturers and theywenyt through the same curriculum,” one of the teachers stated.
While grade four schools face minimal admission, most top-tier schools, formerly national and regional schools across the country, have witnessed smooth grade 10 learner admission with high turnout of learners.
Some schools have also reportedly admitted students at full capacity as of Wednesday, January 14, forcing parents to return home with the students, despite having placement letters. The top-tier schools had received more students than the capacity they can admit and the available slots.
After the grade 10 placement, the Ministry of Education opened room for parents and students to make requests of the schools they would like to enroll in, following outrage that several students were placed in schools that were far from where they resided or in schools that were not of their choice.
The ministry opened a window for review, noting that the period gives parents, guardians, and learners an opportunity to seek a reassessment of initial or revised senior school placements under the Competency-Based Curriculum.
The teachers from the grade four schools, especially in rural areas, now blame this review period for further complicating the situation that the states witnessed in the transition.
They now demand that the government react and intervene to save the schools that could now face closure, staff redeployment, or reduced funding if the trend persists.
The government gave a period of up to January 16 for students to review placements and request schools of their choice, even as the first transition is expected to come to an end by Friday.
