Magoha Issues Tough Directive Despite Concerns From Headteachers

former Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha during a past meeting in Parliament.
Former Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha during a past meeting in Parliament.
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Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha has issued a tough directive to all high schools with the country expected to record its highest form one admission.

Speaking to the press on Wednesday, May 4, Magoha directed that no school should turn away a student on the basis that there is no infrastructure.

His comments come even as the headteachers' lament of limited space within their institutions with the most affected being boarding schools.

He added that this being his final year at the helm of the ministry, he is hellbent on ensuring that the country finally achieves the 100 per cent transition rate.

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Form One students reporting for admission at Milimani High School, Nairobi County on January 9, 2019.
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"My orders are to deliver 100 per cent transition. This is actually the fourth year we are going to deliver it. Because it is my last time, you can be sure I will deliver it with more energy.

"The child is a Government child. Who are you to start saying that there is no space in the school? If there is no space, do you think we are unable to create space," stated Magoha.

The CS further jumped to the rescue of students from poor backgrounds directing that they should not be turned away for reporting without school uniforms.

This directive has forced some schools to invent ingenious ways of ensuring that all students get a bed as well as a desk in the classroom.

Kenya High School, which regularly has six streams, added a new stream after receiving a high number of students during admission.

Some institutions like Kisumu Girls High School were forced to convert the newly built Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) classrooms to serve as dormitories.

"This is a boarding school, what we don't have is the dormitory. We are going to create some alternative room where the students will stay," a staffer from the school told the press.

Form one admission ends Tuesday, May 10, with the Ministry of Education hoping to enroll more than a million students. Learners are also staring at a crash program with the academic year having been condensed into just six months. The normal school calendar will resume January, 2023.

Former Education CS Prof. George Magoha monitors the start of KCSE exams at Shimo la Tewa High School in Mombasa County on Monday, March 14, 2022
Former Education CS Prof. George Magoha monitors the start of KCSE exams at Shimo la Tewa High School in Mombasa County on Monday, March 14, 2022
Ministry of Education
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