Education Cabinet Secretary is leading talks with a multi-sectoral team that has been tasked with the implementation of an order issued on Mashujaa day to construct over 10,000 new classes to facilitate 100% transition for the Grade Six candidates set to join junior secondary schools at the national and county level.
Magoha will give a brief Wednesday on the way forward during a meeting with County Directors of Education and other stakeholders at Kenya School of Government (KSG).
President Kenyatta last week Wednesday in Kirinyaga directed the Ministry of Education jointly with that of Interior and Treasury establish a framework for the construction of the extra classes needed to provide the additional learning space for the 1.1 million grade six learners.
Treasury is expected to engage Parliament and appropriate Ksh8B towards the venture that will be undertaken by local contractors in all respective sub-counties
Over 8.1 million children have enrolled under the new education system which the President said will continuously be enriched.
“The construction of the classroom will be undertaken by local contractors within the vicinity of each school, so as to provide further stimulus to the local economy; …the payments for the construction of the said classrooms will be remitted directly to the contractors in their respective sub-counties. This initiative will tap into the skilled manpower within the counties, empowering locals with enhanced economic opportunities” he explained.
He called on all Members of Parliament to prioritize the allocation of the CDF towards school infrastructure.
“The timely programme provides additional momentum to My Administration’s prioritization that no child is left behind in the transition from primary to secondary school” he noted.
The new curriculum which was launched in 2017 to replace the 8-4-4 system puts emphasis on competencies and talents.
National examinations
Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has already come up with a criteria that will guide the placements of the learners once they finish primary level.
The new curriculum abolished national primary examination KCPE and Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) will instead use a competency-based assessment framework to provide an effective way to gauge the students.
The mode of assessment will entail a combination of teacher-administered formative assessment in Grades 4, 5 and 6.
The formative assessment would take up 60 per cent whereas the summative assessment would account for 40 per cent of the total results.
