How Grade Six learners will be placed in junior high
Grade Six learners will select Junior Secondary Schools(JSS) for placement next month, the Education ministry has announced.
The online portal will be opened from August 15 through to August 30.
Under the Competency-Based-Curriculum (CBC), Junior Secondary School (JSS) will comprise Grades 7, 8 and 9.
This comes even as the Ministry of Education and the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) released guidelines on the grading of the Grade six assessments and placement to Grade Seven.
Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Prof George Magoha yesterday announced that learners will be allowed to select their secondary schools of choice as it happens with the Form One selection.
“Knec will open the portal from August 15 to August 30, for the Grade Six learners to do their school selection for JSS in readiness for placement,” he said
According to Prof Magoha, learners shall be offered placement in all existing registered public and private secondary schools.
Available classrooms
He said, public secondary schools which share a compound with a public primary school shall utilise the available classrooms in the primary school as additional learning space, while existing registered private secondary schools will be available for learners whose parents will pay the fees charged by the private secondary schools.
The CS said transition of learners from upper primary to JSS, under CBC, will be guided by the assessment outcomes of the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).
Prof Magoha added that the selection of students for admission to the JSS will be based on performance in the KPSEA, equity which will include use of affirmative action, choice of schools by learners on advice by parents and teachers and also 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,” said Prof Magoha.
For standalone JSS, the CS said only those that are registered will be eligible for selection and placement.
Final assessment
And for placement of students with special needs and disabilities pursuing the Stage-Based Pathway, Prof Magoha said transition will be based on performance in the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA).
The Grade Six learners are expected to sit for their final assessment from November 28 to November 30.
The summative assessment will contribute to 40 per cent of learners score.
Prof Magoha said, Knec will assess the 13 subjects offered at upper primary level using five papers.
They include, Mathematics, English, Kiswahili/Kenyan Sign Language, Integrated Science which comprises of Science and Technology; Agriculture; Home Science; and, Physical and Health Education, and Creative Arts and Social Studies which combines four subjects among them Social Studies; Christian Religious Education/Islamic Religious Education/Hindu Religious Education; Art and Craft and Music.
The other 60 marks have been drawn from school based assessments administered at Grades Four (20 per cent), Five (20 per cent) and Six (20 per cent).
Prof Magoha said, the overall score will be reported as a summation of the scores in the five papers and will be out of 500 marks.
The CS said, Knec has instituted all relevant measures to ensure credibility of School-Based-Assessments (SBAs).
“Knec is administering the final Grade six SBA to the 2022 cohort between July 18 and September 9,” he said.
The Grade Six learners will be issued with a transition report for the KPSEA instead of the examination certificate Knec has been issuing to Standard Eight candidates under the 8.4.4 curriculum.
Prof Magoha also called on secondary schools to prepare to accommodate all the Grade Six learners and Standard Eight learners as they prepare to join secondary schools next year.
A total of 2,512,467 learners are expected to join secondary school education in accordance with the government policy on 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary schools.
They include, 1,268,830 learners enrolled in Grade 6 in 2022 who will transition to JSS (Grade 7) under the CBC and 1,243,637 Standard 8 cohort of 2022 who will transition to Form One under the 8.4:4 system.
So far, Prof Magoha said over 7,000 classrooms meant for junior secondary have been completed.
Knec Chief Executive Officer David Njengere said all the Grade Six assessments are ready.
“We have put all structurers required to administer credible assessments in November,” said Dr Njengere. BY DAILY NATION
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