Kenya’s education ministry issued guidelines on Friday for the smooth transition of learners to the junior secondary school level, following reports of some schools charging extra fees or demanding new uniforms.
The ministry instructed all schools to allow the 1.3 million candidates who sat the 2023 primary school assessment to join grade 7 in the same schools where they attended grade 1-6. It also directed grade 7 learners to use the classrooms and uniforms of the previous grade 8 cohort, and grade 8 learners to use the classrooms vacated by the last standard 8 batch.
“Grade 7 learners be allowed to attend school in uniforms that they used while in grade 6 in 2023 as parents and guardians make efforts to buy new outfits for the JSS,” the ministry said in a press release signed by Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu.
The ministry also warned schools against asking parents to construct new classrooms for the current grade 8 candidates, saying that the government plans to spend KES 12.8 billion to build 15,015 classrooms for junior secondary schools over the next year.
The ministry said it had released KES 7.6 billion last week for learners in junior secondary school and credited the funds to school accounts. It added that schools are not expected to charge any levies from parents.
“Field officers from the Ministry of Education should be vigilant in the regions to ensure all joining instructions to Junior Secondary schools and Form One are strictly complied with,” Machogu said.
The junior secondary school level is part of the new competency-based curriculum that Kenya introduced in 2017 to replace the 8-4-4 system. The new curriculum aims to equip learners with skills and competencies relevant to the 21st century.
The ministry said the new curriculum will enhance the quality of education and prepare learners for higher education and the labor market.
