Ruto: Grade Six exam won’t be used for placement in junior secondary schools
President William Ruto has announced that the concluded Grade Six Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) will not be used for placement of learners in Junior Secondary Schools.
The president’s directives come after receiving a recommendation from The Presidential Working Party on Education Reform.
President Ruto said instead, the exam will be used as an assessment to monitor learning progress and provide feedback to education sector players on areas that require intervention.
Former Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha had said Grade Six learners will transition to Junior Secondary classes which were to be constructed in secondary schools.
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At the same time, the president directed that the junior secondary schools which include Grade Seven, Grade Eight and Grade Nine be domiciled in the existing primary schools.
The Ministry of Education is expected to provide the necessary guidelines on how junior secondary will be carried out next year.
The president also said an extra classroom and laboratory will be built in every primary school.
“The construction of laboratories will be given priority within the next one year. Members of Parliament are asked to work towards providing support for the extra facilities,” President Ruto said.
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Both the primary schools neighboring secondary schools will share the laboratories and other facilities with junior secondary schools.
President Ruto also said his government will recruit an additional 30,000 teachers to facilitate the transition and bridge the teacher shortage.
The president has also directed that the Ministry of Education, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development and the Teachers Service Commission to work on modalities of fast-tracking retooling teachers to ensure the country has sufficient numbers who are compliant with the Competency Base Curriculum (CBC). Priority will be given to those teachers who will be handling Grade Seven learners.
The president’s directives come before The Presidential Working Party on Education Reform concludes its exercise of working on a suitable curriculum. The working party has until March 2023 to submit the final report.
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