The Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha has revealed that the government is considering the idea of classifying senior secondary schools based on the courses that they will be offering under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
CS Magoha has revealed that some national schools might be picked to exclusively offer three main courses because they are already equipped with the required infrastructure.
The courses will include Humanities and Arts, Sports Science as well as Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
“In the new system, in senior secondary, we will be having pathways for three years,” said CS Magoha.
CS Magoha said this while in Nyeri on the 11th of January 2021.
“Those well-established institutions which we might suggest to have three pathways,” added the CS.
“Schools with three pathways could be classified as national schools. This will require good infrastructure and facilities at schools like Kenya High, Kapsabet, Alliance Boys,” said CS Magoha.
According to the CBC task force report, proposed 60% of learners at Senior Secondary are to pursue four STEM pathways.
The remaining 25% will pursue Languages and Social Sciences while 15% will be in the Sports Science, Performing and Visual Arts.
Placement to senior secondary will be based on formative and summative assessments in Junior Secondary and the career choices of learners.
The existing 10,359 secondary schools will host both Junior and Senior Secondary levels.
The Ministry will also select schools that could host the three main courses gradually and enhance their infrastructural capacity.
Magoha also directed contractors working on the building of classrooms for junior secondary schools to complete them before the beginning of the national examinations in March 2022.
According to the CS, this will enable the government to only focus on the national examinations only and then roll out the second phase in April, just after the national examinations i.e. KCPE and KCSE.