NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 6 – The Ministry of Education has set aside Sh3.9 billion for the construction of classrooms at Junior Secondary School (JSS).
Through this, it plans to build an additional 15, 021 classes to accommodate grade nine learners by 2025.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said the World Bank will provide an additional Sh9 billion towards the setup of 9,000 classrooms.
“We are taking steps to ensure that our schools have the facilities they need so that staff members and students can work together in a supportive environment,” he said.
The pioneer class of Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) will join Grade 8 in January 2024.
Speaking during the Kenya National Union of Teachers 69th annual delegates conference in Nairobi, Machogu said plans are underway to provide extra funds to schools as proposed by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms.
The presidential team had proposed that, in addition to the capitation granted per learner, schools should get flat-rate support.
The flat-rate payment is intended to give schools the money they need to carry out their regular operations.
Machogu also declared that, for terms 1, 2, and 3, respectively, the government had gone back to a 50:30:20 capitation disbursement mechanism.
“The Working Party also made recommendations for the review of the capitation amounts, and for the introduction of the Minimum Essential Package for schools with less than optimum enrollment. We are working to progressively implement these recommendations,” Machogu said.
The CS applauded the government for employing 56,750 teachers in its first year in office, stating it is the highest number since independence.
The announcement comes amid worries expressed by several stakeholders regarding primary schools’ inability to accommodate JSS.
