The pioneer Grade 7 students under Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) joined Junior Secondary School (JSS) on Monday, January 30.
Since the government rolled out CBC more than six years, the exercise has been characterized by uncertainty and confusion, with the Ministry of Education constantly clarifying issues.
Kenyans.co.ke compiled answers to frequently asked questions by parents on the rollout of JSS.
The questions range from the infrastructural constitution of JSS to parental responsibility towards the success of JSS in particular and CBC in general.
Where will JSS be domiciled?
The Ministry of Education (MoE) announced that JSS will be domiciled in existing primary schools.
“All learners who complete their upper primary education shall transition to JSS in the same school.
For learners who may wish to transfer to another school, the existing MoE Guidelines SHALL apply,” the Ministry stated in guidelines to stakeholders.
Further MoE stated, “Learners with special needs under the stage-based curricular who successfully complete intermediate level will transition to Pre-Vocational level in the same institutions.”
While JSS is envisioned to be day school, existing boarding primary schools are allowed to transition into JSS (Grade 7) as boarding schools.
What if a primary school does not have JSS?
A feeder school refers to a Primary School that lacks the enrolment and/or infrastructural capacity to accommodate JSS and, therefore, transfers its learners to a neighbouring JSS.
In densely populated areas, Primary Schools with an enrolment of less than 45 learners in the transitioning class or those lacking the basic facilities to domicile a JSS will serve as Feeder Schools to other JSSs within a two kilometre proximity.
The government will implement affirmative action, regardless of the enrolments in the transitioning class in low density and insecurity prone areas.
How does a school register for JSS?
Primary schools will submit applications to the MoE to be considered to host JSS.
The Ministry will then evaluate the school to determine if it meets all the requirements.
The requirements include;
- The institution must be registered under the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS).
- The primary school must have adequate physical facilities as well as at least two extra classrooms.
- The school must have enough qualified teachers to handle the junior secondary school syllabus.
What are reporting dates for JSS students?
The MoE announced that JSS students will report one week before admission of form ones.
“The Grade 7 cohort of 2023 shall report to their respective JSSs one week before their Form One 8:4:4 counterparts.
“Thereafter, the grade seven learners will report to JSS preferably at the end of January or beginning of February of the year following completion of their Primary Education (Grade 6),” part of the statement read in part.
Students started reporting to their respective JSS schools on January 30.
Will JSS students have a different uniform?
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu indicated that Junior Secondary Schools will determine the uniform for their schools in consultation with their respective stakeholders.
Schools were though warned about benefiting from the exercise.
“Uniform shall be the responsibility of parents and no school shall direct parents where to purchase the uniform,” the Ministry warned.
What subjects are offered in JSS?
In total, the students will be taught 12 subjects which are; English, Mathematics, Pre-technical studies, Kiswahili/Kenya Sign Language, Integrated Science, Social Studies, Business Studies, Agriculture, Religious Education, Learners to choose one of the following (IRE, HRE, CRE), Health Education, Sports and Physical Education and Life Skills Education.
How will JSS assessment be done?
There will be two forms of assessment at JSS; formative and summative assessment.
Formative assessment will be offered in form of School Based Assessments (SBA) while summative assessment will take the form of national assessment.
The assessment outcomes from both formative and summative assessments shall contribute to the final reporting at the end of Grade 9 at a ratio to be determined by Kenya National Examinations Council.
