FINALLY! THE END OF CBC.

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has issued a new directive to parents even as the process of selecting junior secondary kicks off on the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) portal.

Speaking on Thursday, August 18, during the launch of Competency-based Curriculum (CBC) classrooms, Magoha challenged parents to sit down with their children and agree on which schools they would like to join for junior high school studies.

The CS further maintained that the type of institution is not important as long as all candidates are placed in junior high schools, some of which will be hosted by Primary Institutions.

Instead, he explained that in year nine of the CBC curriculum is when the candidates could be allowed to proceed to preferred institutions.

“There is no parent who is illiterate, every parent is intelligent… I want to accuse parents which I did not want to do today. Please take time to engage your child and decide where you want them to go to.

“This is not the time to say that ‘I want my child to go to Kenya High School.’ That can wait until year nine. What we are trying to say is that for a majority of the children, more than it is nine, will be day scholars,” explained Magoha.

The CS explained that so far, 75 per cent of school going children attend day schools, a figure likely to go up as part of CBC implementation.

“Right now, 75 per cent of the children are day scholars and we hope that it can go even up to 80 per cent. Let us have our glass half-full rather than half-empty,” he added.

On Monday, August 15, KNEC opened the web portal allowing for Grade Six learners to select the Junior Secondary Schools – a process set to be concluded on August 30, 2022.

For the selection, learners were directed to log into the portal, select the Grade Six register and choose their preferred schools.

The method used in the Junior Secondary Schools selection is similar to the Form One placement by Standard Eight learners. Notably, for the selection, learners will work closely with their school heads and teachers.

The latest figures from the Ministry of Education show that 2.57 million students will be enrolled for Grade 7 and Form 1 during the double intake in January.

By Kenyans