A lawyer based in Nakuru has called on the Ministry of Education to reveal how prepared the education fraternity is amid the transition of learners from primary school to junior secondary schools.
Ms Sheila Sabaya who is an advocate to the high court has written to the Kenya Insitute of Curriculum Development (KICD) asking how the institutions have been prepared for the transition of learners from primary to junior secondary school.
Ms Sabaya practices as Sabaya and Associates Company Advocates and is based in Nakuru.
Sabaya also wants the government to service her with a comprehensive action plan on how the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) will be implemented at the junior secondary school level.
The lawyer has warned that she could decide to go to court within 30 days to halt the transition to junior secondary school level if she is not serviced with proper information and measures to protect the learners’ welfare.
Sabaria wants to know if there are enough personnel and qualifications required to tutor grades 7, 8 and 9 and how practical it is to have students at the junior secondary school level.
Besides this, she also wants to know about the safeguards that have been installed to protect the very young learners from abuse and bullying from learners from other forms who are older than them. Among the issues of abuse and harassment that she wants to be informed about are sexual harassment and abuse.
Specific details on civic education that have been issued to prepare both learners and parents on the same were also among the things she pointed out as concerns.
“Let us have the information we have requested within 30 days of this letter, failure to which we shall file a formal petition before court to stop the transition until proper information and measures are put in place for care and protection of our learners joining grade 7, 8 and 9,” read part of the letter.
On his part, Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha revealed that everything has been readied in preparation for their transition to junior high school.
While in Nakuru where he conducted an exercise to assist with one hundred per cent transition that students entering junior secondary will be hosted in both boarding and day secondary schools. In addition, CS Magoha revealed that the government has built 1,500 primary schools that should help with hosting junior secondary schools,” said CS Magoha.