Ministry of Education to Clear the Air on Junior High School Placement

Ministry of Education to Clear the Air on Junior High School Placement

The Ministry of Education will this week issue a circular giving clear guidelines on the placement of learners to junior secondary school (JSS) under the competency-based curriculum (CBC).

The circular is expected to guide parents, teachers and education officials on the transition, which remains hazy for thousands of them.

The first cohort of CBC learners is expected to join secondary education in January next year.

Last week, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha announced that the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) portal will be opened from August 15 to 30 for learners to select their preferred secondary schools. This will be ahead of their final assessment from November 28 to 30.

Knec started administering the school-based assessment on July 18 and this will be concluded on September 9, after which head teachers are expected to upload the scores on the learners’ portal.

Each of the three school-based assessments at Grade 4,5 and 6 contribute 20 per cent of the cumulative score. The November assessment will then add the other 40 per cent.

According to data from Knec, in the assessments that the candidate class undertook while in grades 4 and 5, the majority of learners scored between 10 and 13 out of 20 marks.

Some stakeholders have raised concerns over the objectivity of the scores, given that they will be used for placement to JSS. However, the CS has dismissed such fears.

“Knec has instituted all relevant measures to ensure credibility of school-based assessments.

It is evident that the assessment scores submitted by schools for the school-based assessments are objective, with the scores revealing a normal distribution curve in 2020 and 2021,” Prof Magoha said.

From the 2020 assessment, over 50,000 learners scored below seven marks, while 150,000 others ranged between 9.5 and 13 marks. Only 50,000 scored above 16.5 marks.

A similar distribution curve was reported in their assessment while in Grade 5.

The learners will not be issued with a certificate as the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) will be replaced by a transitional report for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA)

According to the CBC framework, the majority of learners will be admitted to day secondary schools.

However, parents have raised concerns over selection to in-demand national and extra-county schools that are mainly boarding.

Currently, most public secondary schools are over-enrolled and the double intake of the Grade 7 CBC class alongside the Form One under 8-4-4 will only complicate the situation.

The double intake will admit 2,512,467 learners at a go to secondary schools, yet only about 800,000 will exit Form Four in November.

It is this disparity that is causing school managements sleepless nights.

“Selection for admission of learners into JSS will be premised on the principles of: merit (performance in KPSEA); equity (affirmative action where required); choice of schools by learners on advice by parents and teachers; and institutional declared capacity,” Prof Magoha said.

Nation - Monday 25th July 2022

https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/ministry-of-education-to-clear-the-air-on-junior-high-school-placement--3890686