The Permanent Secretary for Basic Education, Julius Bitok, is set to meet Junior Secondary School (JSS) representatives from all 47 counties in Naivasha in a high-level meeting aimed at streamlining the rollout of JSS autonomy.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The meeting, which is to be held on May 23, will bring together education stakeholders, county representatives, and Ministry of Education officials to discuss the implementation framework for JSS break-off under the Competency-Based Education (CBE).

The Naivasha consultations will largely focus on harmonising views from different counties before the autonomy policy is officially rolled out to all Junior Secondary institutions countrywide.

Career progression, deployment, and the long-awaited operational independence of JSS schools are also on the agenda, one of the concerns that teachers have been expressing for some time.

📌 What You Need to Know

The main reason for this push by the JSS teachers is for there to be administrative and structural independence to escape the conflicts and operational chaos caused by being domiciled in primary schools.

Additionally, g overnment funds and capitations designated for JSS infrastructure directed to projects such as specialised labs and ICT hubs are often merged with primary school budgets, leading to shortages, a key concern that calls for JSS independence.

Of essence is that JSS teachers stress that learners are adolescents who require different co-curricular setups, distinct discipline management, and tailored career guidance that clash with basic primary school environments, a phenomenon that they believe shows a huge disconnect.

The Kenya Junior School Teachers' Association (KEJUSTA) has intensified pressure on the Kenya Union of Post Promary Education Teachers (KUPPET), demanding stronger representation and protection of JSS teachers.

In a strongly worded statement dated May 15, KEJUSTA warned that JSS teachers are becoming increasingly concerned about their professional identity, autonomy, and career progression within the CBE curriculum framework.

The association noted that JSS teachers joined the education system as professionally trained post-primary educators, fully expecting their roles and professional independence to be safeguarded throughout the transition to CBE.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke