Parents Association Wants Boarding Abolished in Public Schools
The National Parents Association (NPA) is pushing to have boarding services offered only by private schools.
According to the association’s secretary-general, Eskimos Kobia, they opposed the requirement that children board at certain public schools.
“All boarding facilities should be left to be managed by a private entity or individuals and a policy needs to be put in place to make boarding not compulsory in schools,” he said.
The union also seeks to pass a law prohibiting schools from requiring students who fail tests to repeat classes.
In a proposal to the Presidential Taskforce on Education Reforms, the organization supported the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) but advocated for some system modifications.
Additionally, the group stated that the system should be renamed from Junior Secondary School to upper primary.
According to Kobia, the current structure of CBC should be modified so that the term “junior secondary” is replaced with “upper primary.”
“We are proposing that the structure of education from grade 1 to 6 be renamed as lower primary, while from grade 7 to grade 9 should be named as upper primary,” he said.
According to him, the system should not be amended. Still, the ministry should establish a vote-head for CBC teaching and learning materials within the Free Primary Education (FPE) capitation budget.
“The Government should provide extra infrastructure in terms of workshops, computer rooms, home science, arts, craft and music in every school for the practical lessons,” he said.
The group advocated renaming the national exams for Grade 6 to Kenya Lower Primary Examination (KLPE) and Grade 9 to Kenya Upper Primary Examination (KUPE).
The existing policy of denying students the ability to replace lost documents should be revised, he stated, as he examined the subject of missing certificates.
They also demanded that KNEC Act be revised to make it a crime for anyone to withhold a candidate’s KCSE, KCPE, or TTC certificate.
Kobia noted that parents desired an amendment to the KNEC Act to permit candidates who fail the national exam to retake supplemental exams within three months.
“The KNEC Act should be amended to allow candidates who commit offences to be suspended for a period not exceeding six months and thereafter sit for the examination again,” he said.
Regarding staffing, Kobia urged the government to hire 7,500 quality assurance and standard officers, allocating five for each ward.
“The capitation grants should be increased in secondary schools from Sh22,500 to Sh25,000 and in primary schools from Sh1450 to Sh1750 per student,” he said.
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