According to the latest draft guidelines issued by the government, with schools set to reopen in the coming weeks, parents are obliged to purchase new sets of uniforms for their children who are going to join Junior Secondary School (JSS).
More than 1.2 million learners are set to join JSS in Grade 7 across the country.
JSS will have its own Boards of Management (BOM) that shall oversee the operation of the JSS institutions and their financial management.
Primary schools are going to act as hosts for the JSS through the transition period with primary school headteachers set to act as junior secondary school principals.
Further details are included in the draft Junior Secondary Transition Guidelines.
According to reports, the government has promised to guarantee that even though Junior Secondary schools will be domiciled in primary schools, the two levels of study will not be the same.
“It is a delicate balance because parents will buy uniforms. But at the same time, no child misses admission to Junior Secondary School due to the 100% transition policy,” said a senior government official.
Primary school headteachers will act as junior secondary school principals until the end of the academic year. Headteachers will also act as the secretary of the JSS BOMs and shall be in charge of the financial management of the JSS.
JSS learners will also receive capitation from the government per child as it is the case for other secondary schools. JSS BOM will be separate from that of the primary school.
These details have been revealed to address the concerns of parents whose children are set to join Grade 7.
Regarding school laboratories of the JSS, President William Ruto said that these facilities will be shared with neighboring schools.
The particular draft details were revealed at a recent stakeholders’ meeting on the 4th of January held at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) presided over by the Cabinet Secretary for Education Ezekiel Machogu.
A multi-agency committee had been drafted by the Education CS to draft the guidelines.