According to some officials, some parents in Garissa are working together with instructors to have their Grade 7 students registered for the KCPE exam in order to bypass the CBC curriculum.
The 6-3-3-4 educational system has pioneered the Junior Secondary School system with learners in Grade 7.
As part of the shift, the government mandated last year that students who took the Grade 6 exams enroll in JSS in their elementary schools.
The final 8-4-4 cohort, who will take the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam at the end of the year, is also enrolled in these institutions.
This registration would result in the students skipping junior secondary and returning to the previous curriculum by enrolling in the final.
Solomon Chesut, a deputy county commissioner for Garissa Township, has cautioned both parents and teachers to avoid such a conspiracy.
Speaking at Garissa High School on Saturday during the announcement of the recipients of the Equity Bank Elimu Scholarship Program, Chesut claimed that a recent trend has seen local primary school teachers working with parents to move their kids from Grade 6 to Standard 8 in order to get around the Competency-based curriculum.
The majority of the children who participated in the Grade 6 assessment tests should be enrolled in junior secondary schools. We’ve found that some parents are working with the instructors to get some of these kids into grade eight,” Chesut added.
“We are informing the teachers that your jobs are at risk. A sixth-grader cannot be registered.
This is to let you know that, without the approval of Ministry of Education personnel at the subcounty, county, and regional levels, “certain unprofessional headteachers are receiving on transfer and enrolling Grade 7 students as 2023 KCPE candidates,” the circular reads in part.
“Let it be known that such headteachers will face severe consequences for enrolling unauthorized KCPE candidates, including personal accountability. All students, including those in Grade 7, have been given unique personal identity numbers (UPIs) by the ministry, making it relatively simple to find such students.
Chesut urged the 1,843 recipients of the Elimu scholarship program in Garissa to take advantage of the chance to study and improve their communities’ quality of life.
