The government of Kenya has announced plans to introduce junior secondary classes to primary schools under the Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC).
The Ministry Of Education made the announcement and said the move is based on the availability of unused space in primary schools with the CBC ending primary education at Grade 6. Education CS George Magoha revealed that Sh 900million has been allocated to the construction of extra classes in selected primary schools and a further Sh 1billion to build two classes in some secondary schools.
Primary schools with established infrastructures that can host the junior secondary classes will be upgraded while those not able to and in close proximity will be merged and the infrastructure of one of them improved.
Geographic information system (GIS)
โThe Ministry officials are working on the number of primary schools by assessing the capacity of schools using a geographic information system (GIS). The GIS indicates that some secondary schools have some idle classrooms and we are going to establish the exact gap before construction of the classes,” said Magoha.
“The new Principal Secretary for the implementation of curriculum Fatuma Chege spent about two weeks in Machakos with her team working on the numbers and will soon give an exact number of primary schools that will be upgraded,” he added.
The Ministry allocated a total of Sh 4.2billion for infrastructure development to primary and secondary schools in the 2021/22 financial year. The budget allocated is expected to ensure 100 percent transition for the pioneer class that completes their primary education next year.
