The Ministry of Education has issued new guidelines that will be used during the transition of learners to secondary school.
According to a 1st of November Circular issued by the Principal Secretary (PS) for Basic Education, schools are required to edit the instructions for KCPE candidates who are set to join a secondary school in January 2023.
According to the Principal Secretary, Form 1s are set to report on the 30th of January 2023.
With the transition set to take place soon, principals have been directed not to make purchase demands to parents.
He called on Principals of secondary schools to stop directing parents to buy school uniforms or any materials from specific stores.
“Schools must not direct parents to procure uniforms or any other materials from a central location. At the same time, schools should not ask parents to come and buy items in the school,” said the Circular from the Ministry of Education.
This year is set to have three national examinations being done. Grade Six learners are set to sit for their Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), Standards Eight learners for their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and finally Form Four candidates for their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
Last year, parents complained about the expensive items required for the admission of learners in secondary schools.
This led to the former Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha warning principals over the same during the release of 2021’sKCPE results.
“To avoid overburdening parents, I direct principals to stop listing unnecessary items,” said Prof George Magoha.
CS Magoha instructed principals to admit all students allocated to their schools even if some of them do not manage to pay school fees,
“The idea is to admit a Kenyan child into a Kenyan public school. At the same time, principals should be cautious while listing the requirements for Form One students as part of the measures to reduce the cost of education,” said Prof Magoha.
Magoha also told parents not to buy a number of items comprising of exercise books, class readers, novels, photocopying papers, foolscaps, atlases, mathematical tables, hockey sticks, pangas, jembes. Slashers and hand brushes just to mention a few.