This archive report was first published on 19 November 2019.
EDITORIAL: Seamless Transition to High School a Priority ¶
On November 19, 2019, the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination results were finally out, marking the beginning of the transition to the next phase of learning.
While the overall performance in the examination is commendable, the country is facing a difficult economic patch that requires proper planning to avoid chaos when students join high school in about six weeks' time.
The 100 percent transition policy to secondary schools, introduced in 2018, has brought numerous challenges, including infrastructure congestion and delayed capitation disbursement. Although the policy has ensured children's constitutional right to education is respected, it has had its dark sides.
For two years now, secondary school administrators and students have had to live with congestion in dormitories, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and dining halls as more than a million students swarmed in from primary school. Teachers have not been spared either and now have to cope with extra workloads.
Officials in the Education ministry and their counterparts at the National Treasury must learn from these initial missteps and deliver a better transition this time round. The selection and admission of Form One students should be concluded in good time to allow for sufficient windows for disbursement of capitation for students and preparation of facilities.
School heads have also complained that the current fees structure does not include extra costs, which should be addressed adequately. Despite the financial downturn facing the country, we hope the students' dreams will not be affected by austerity measures as the government juggles its expenditure needs.
