Form one admission is expected to start Monday, February 6, a week after Junior Secondary Schools opened and two weeks since the new academic calendar began.
Learners are going back to school at a time parents are confronting high cost of living, that has seen prices of basic commodities skyrocket.
The Ministry of Education issued a number of directives, some meant to shield parents from exploitative school heads. The guidelines touched on school fees, uniforms, textbooks and calendar dates among others.
Here is what you should know, whether your son or daughter is joining form one, in Junior High School or any level of learning.
Opening Dates
All form-one students are expected to report to their respective schools from Monday, February 16 to Monday, February 13. Where some challenges are encountered in the admission process or clarification is required, parents were advised to consult County Directors of Education for assistance.
The Ministry of Education announced that National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) would be the key platform for monitoring the student's progress in the school system. The school principals were directed to file accurate daily returns on the status of reporting to schools.
School Calendar
Upon being admitted, the form one students will join the rest of the students who resumed learning on Monday, January 23. They will later break for three days half term from Thursday, March 16 to Sunday, March 19.
Schools will close for a two weeks holiday on Friday, April 22 to May 7.
The Ministry stated that the revision of the term dates was in a bid to normalize the school calendar which was disrupted by the pandemic.
“Following the stake-holders' consultation, the revised term dates were agreed on in order to cover the remaining two terms of the 2020 school calendar and stabilize the school calendar by December 2020,” read a circular by the Ministry of Education.
School Fees
According to Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu, school fees for the public secondary school would not change. The government will maintain its capitation per student in all public secondary schools at Ksh22,244.
“School fees for 2023 academic calendar year will not be changed and will remain at Ksh53,554 while that of County and Extra-County Schools will remain at Ksh40,555.
Parents whose children are enrolled in Public day Secondary Schools should not be charged any fees because the government is catering for all the tuition costs amounting to Ksh22,244,” Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu announced.
Parents should also report incidents of any students turned away for not paying higher fees and other levies to the nearest education office for action.
School Placement
Parents were directed to make sure they take their children to the respective schools in which they were placed and in case of dissatisfaction, they should raise the matter with the desired schools for assistance.
You can seek assistance by writing an email to placement(at)education(dot)go(dot)ke.
“Parents are asked to take their learners to the schools they have been placed in. Those who may not be satisfied may approach desired schools for assistance,” Machogu’s announced.
Candidates seeking to confirm their placement will use the portal provided through the link;
https(colon)(double forward slash)script(dot)google(dot)com(forward slash)macros(forward slash)s(forward slash)AKfy.
Uniforms
Amidst complaints from parents about high cost of uniforms, the MoE noted that some schools have been forcing parents to buy uniforms from their institutions which is against the ministry’s guidelines.
Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang announced that parents are supposed to buy uniforms from their preferred shops.
“Principals of secondary schools who force parents to buy uniforms from their institutions or preferred dealers will be tracked down and punished.
We shall be working closely with our colleagues from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to sanction anybody that will be abetting any illegality by charging fees which are not sanctioned by the government," Kipsang uttered.
A number of students will however not join their schools of choice. Teachers and parents were urged to ensure candidates make wise choices through proper advice.
