An assessment by the government revealed that most public schools are not prepared to handle the junior secondary transition, starting February 2023.
The assessment by the Ministry of Education further revealed that most private schools complied with the transition requirements.
This revelation raised fears that most parents will be forced to mass transfer their students to schools that have met set standards by the ministry.
“There are 1.6 million pupils looking to transition to junior secondary in 2024.
“Reports from assessment shows that most public schools will not be able to take this large influx of students,” Edwin Argwings who is Sub-County Director of Education in Kasarani, Nairobi remarked on Wednesday, January 11.
Argwings was giving a report on the fourth day of a nationwide assessment on the preparedness of primary schools to handle pioneer Grade 7 students under the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC).
“We are urging the schools that have not passed the test to step up and work on the recommendations if they want to make the cut,” Argwings advised schools that are not ready to handle the transition.
“The underway national assessment is not final, we will come back at a later date and if schools will have worked on the recommendations, they will be given a nod to handling the transition,” the director promised.
To be able to host junior secondary school, an institution must be first registered under the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) which is a web-based data management tool that collects data and information from educational institutions.
The school must also have adequate physical facilities as well as at least two extra classrooms.
According to the Ministry of Education, institutions are required to have enough qualified teachers to handle the junior secondary school syllabus.
Lastly, the government assesses the collective number of teaching and nonteaching staff to ensure they meet the required staff–student ratio.
