Kuppet roots for transition exams to secondary school
What you need to know:
In August, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that under the new curriculum, pupils won’t sit exams before joining secondary school.
The curriculum is being implemented in pre-school and Grade One to Three. It will move to Grade Four in January.
Secondary school teachers want primary pupils to sit a national exam in Grade Six before transiting to lower secondary school.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), in a proposal submitted to the task force on curriculum reforms chaired by Prof Fatuma Chege, Tuesday said eliminating the exams in Grade Six was a mistake.
INFRASTRUCTURE
“National examinations should be maintained at Grade Six as a determining factor in joining the various institutions,” Kuppet secretary-general Akelo Misori said in the proposal presented before the task force sitting in Nairobi.
In August, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that under the new curriculum, pupils won’t sit exams before joining secondary school. The curriculum is being implemented in pre-school and Grade One to Three. It will move to Grade Four in January.
“The existence of national, extra-county and sub-county schools can be preserved for learners according to the assessment records but if transition is left without examination the system will be set for chaos and confusion,” said Mr Misori.
The union also want the government to improve existing infrastructure, including laboratories, workshops and classrooms to accommodate more learners.
ASSESSMENT
Kuppet also wants more teachers to be recruited in preparation for transition of grades seven, eight and nine. “Orientation to the CBC (Competency-Based Curriculum) for secondary school teachers should not wait till 2022. The induction process should be continuous and take at least four weeks,” said Kuppet.
The union also wants a large budget allocation for school capitation so that parents are not forced to co-pay for education.
“The government should adopt a participatory approach in the selection, categorisation and mapping of schools for science, technology, engineering and mathematics and humanities across the regions,” said Kuppet.
The union also wants the Kenya National Examination Council to re-brand so that the exam component is replaced with the new model of assessment. They also want teachers’ advisory centres revived.
