Education Cabinet Secretary, George Magoha on Thursday, August 18, pleaded with school heads not to send children home for fees over harsh economic times.
The CS was speaking during the commissioning of two Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) classroom at Mary Leakey Girls High School in Kiambu County
“Because we are in very difficult times, I plead with school heads not to send children home for fees during these economic times,” Magoha noted
Schools reopened today after a two-week break, occasioned by August 9 elections. The second half of the term is expected to run until September 16, according to the revised calendar from the Ministry of Education.
Parents across the country have been forced to dig deeper into their pockets to pay school fees with condensed terms after the government reviewed the school calendar.
The outgoing CS was on an inspection tour of Kiambu County where he noted that the second phase of CBC classrooms was at 80 percent across the country while Kiambu County was at 94 percent.
“Before the end of next week, Kiambu will hit 100 percent, there are many other counties like Marsabit and Mandera that have hit 100 percent including Nyeri, and we are on course to complete what we are doing, we hope next week to deliver 3500 classrooms,” Magoha stated
Magoha earlier inspected and commissioned other classrooms at Uthiru Girls High School in Kiambu County where he assured parents that learners will remain in schools in case the Kenyans go for a rerun.
“Let's just hope everything will be fine. There will be no other interference with the school calendar, should there be a need, there will be wide consultation but from where I stand, we should encourage our children not to talk negatively about them,”
The 2022 academic year has two national exams with the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) slated between November 28 and December 23.
The Grade Six exam will be administered between November 28 and 30, with 1.27 million candidates registered to sit the pioneer exam under the new curriculum which will see them join junior secondary schools.
The CS clarified that most learners in Junior Secondary will be day scholars starting January 2023. " This is not the time to say I want my child to go to a national school. That can wait until year 9. Majority of the children will be day scholars in the junior high schools."
