State Department for Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang has reiterated that the preparations for grade nine class are complete.
Dr Kipsang noted that the government had put all the necessary measures in place to ensure smooth transition of grade eight pupils to grade nine next year.
The PS revealed that by January next year, an additional 11, 000 classrooms country wide will have been completed, for the grade nine learners with Nairobi County getting an extra Sh 1 billion for classrooms because of their unique challenges.
Kipsang spoke when he commissioned five classrooms at Masikonde Primary school in Narok Central Sub County.
He was accompanied by Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia and Narok Director of Education Apollo Apuko.
The PS revealed that 2025 is a critical year for the new Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) programme as it is the year when the first Junior school cohorts will be tested to transit to Senior school.
He noted that the Ministry has already launched the distribution of core textbooks in the nine learning areas in a bid to ensure smooth transition from grade eight to grade nine.
Among the materials distributed, he said, are teachers’ guides which will help teachers to prepare for curriculum delivery to the children.
He underscored that the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) is working with Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) and Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to build the capacity of teachers so that they can be in a position to prepare the learners for the school-based assessment.
“2025 is the year that we will have the final cohorts for junior school. We will have finished the first three cycles, that is grade one to grade three, grade four to grade six and grade seven to grade nine,” he said.
This means the year will be used adequately for the final cycle of CBC in basic education, he continued.
The PS called on the County Commissioners to spearhead a smooth transition to grade nine by ensuring all newly constructed classrooms in their area of jurisdiction were up-to standard and that all learners report back to school.
On the just concluded National Examination, PS Kipsang decried the increasing number of girls who sit for the exam while pregnant saying the number has slightly gone higher compared to previous years.
On this note, he cautioned adults to protect their girls during this long school holiday noting that many girls are impregnated by adults.
“Most of these girls are impregnated by adults. If society takes up the role of protecting girls, then we will not have pregnant girls in school,” he said.
Commissioner Lotiatia on his part lauded the education stakeholders for collaborating to ensure all the programmes in the education sector are successful.
He noted that the just concluded Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) was done in a smooth manner and no major incidents were reported in the county.
By Ann Salaton
