Selection of Junior Secondary Schools Set To Begin
The selection of junior secondary schools will take place over a two-week period beginning August 15th and ending August 30th.
The Kenya National Examinations Council, KNEC, is expected to open the grade 6 assessment portal today.
According to Prof. George Magoha, cabinet secretary for education, students will be admitted to Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) based on merit.
The merit includes performance on the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), equity in students’ school selection based on recommendations from parents and teachers, and institutional declared capacity.
“Learners, in consultation with their parents and teachers will be given an opportunity to select a public or private secondary school of their choice for their JSS education.
“Parents shall meet the cost of learning in private schools as is the usual practice. In compliance with the 100 percent transition policy, all learners will be placed in Junior Secondary School institutions,” Magoha noted.
Only those who have registered for standalone JSS will be eligible for selection and placement.
Learners will be placed in all existing registered public and private secondary schools, according to Magoha, while public secondary schools that share a compound with a public primary school will use the primary school’s available classrooms as additional learning space.
“JSS established from existing registered private primary schools which have expanded their facilities to accommodate JSS will be available for learners whose parents will pay the fees charged by the private secondary schools,” explained the CS.
He stated that existing registered public and private secondary schools will not be required to re-register in order to provide JSS education.
The Ministry will, however, register all JSS established as stand-alone institutions from existing private primary schools, as long as they meet the minimum classroom requirement and have a fully equipped laboratory.
“Registration of JSS will be in accordance with the Registration Guidelines for Basic Education Institutions (2021).
"The Ministry will monitor the process of registration to ensure compliance with the CBC requirements,” he explained.
The CS stated that the transition of learners to JSS under CBC will be guided by the KPSEA assessment outcomes and will be a combination of the learners’ scores attained from the School Based Assessments (SBA) administered in Grades 4, 5, and 6, as well as the National summative assessment to be administered in November.
The School-Based Assessments (SBAs) for each of the three Grades, Grades 4, 5, and 6, will account for 20% of the scores to be used in reporting as learners progress to JSS.
KNEC has already administered SBAs to the 2022 Grade 6 cohort in Grade 4 in 2020 and Grade 5 in 2021.
KNEC is currently administering the Grade 6 SBA, which began on July 18 and will be completed by September 9.
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From November 28 to 30, KNEC will administer a summative assessment to all 2022 Grade 6 students.
The assessment will account for 40% of a learner’s score as they progress to JSS School.
According to Magoha, KNEC will grade the 13 upper primary subjects.
Selection of Junior Secondary Schools Set To Begin
