Fourteen thousand five hundred (14,500) out of the 16,000 classrooms required by the first cohort of grade nine learners have already been constructed by the Ministry of Education and the National Government Constituency Fund (NG-CDF) across the country.
Speaking in Kajiado North while assessing the state of preparedness for the new school term, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Julius Migos, said that they will ensure that in the next one month all the Junior Secondary School (JSS) classrooms that are not yet complete have been completed.
The CS remarked that the ministry, through a multi-agency approach, is doing everything possible to ensure a smooth transition to grade nine.
“Where there are challenges, it should be escalated, and a solution is found, including merging classes for the lower grades so that the grade nine learners are not affected,” he said.
The CS noted that 9.9 million books in all learning areas have been distributed, and all students will get the books as they report to school on a 1:1 ratio.
Distribution is also ongoing in places where it has not been completed for one reason or another.
“Almost 76,000 teachers have been availed for the JSS, and in areas where there are not enough, there is an amalgamation of the primary teachers who will move up to teach the JSS classes depending on their competencies,” said the CS.
The CS further noted that they are carrying out a 100 percent transition in compliance with Article 53 of the constitution for the learners who are moving from grade six to grade seven and urged the teachers not to turn away students who do not have uniforms or anything that is required but to give them time to purchase.
The CS visited Ongata Rongai Comprehensive School, Arap Moi Comprehensive School, Oloolua Comprehensive School, and Kimuka Comprehensive School in Kajiado North, accompanied by the area Member of Parliament (MP), Onesmus Ngogoyo.
On his part, Hon. Ngogoyo urged the Ministry of Education to factor in desks in their supplementary budget as they were not factored in in the initial budget for the classrooms.
“The issue of desks is a problem because they were not factored in and it is important that when the supplementary budget is done, we budget for lockers so that each student can get their locker. The cost should also not be passed to the parents because of the harsh economic times we are living in,” said the MP.
The Ministry of Education disbursed 11 billion shillings for the construction of 11,000 classrooms while the national treasury released Sh7.8 billion to NG-CDF to also aid in the construction of 5,000 classrooms to be used by the first cohort of the grade nine learners under the Competency Based Curriculum.
By Diana Meneto
