Why The Ministry Of Education Plans To End Boarding Schools
The government through the Ministry of Education, may soon shut down thousands of boarding schools across the country and force all learners on the day scholar module.
The Competency-based Curriculum (CBC) task force by the CS Magoha proposed that boarding schools be crapped off in primary and proposed junior secondary schools under the new 2-6-3-3-3 education system.
The move is meant to reduce unnecessary expenses and make learning more affordable for parents and guardians.
The team furthers that boarding schools be left for several institutions to admit learners across the nation who pursue different pathways in senior secondary.
The team is also proposing the scrapping of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination after the 6th year. Alternatively, the task force wants the exams done after the first of the end of junior secondary.
The assessment will then assist in placing learners in various senior secondary schools.
From that point, another examination will be taken at the end of the senior secondary which will help place the students in tertiary institutions.
Under the CBC, pupils are expected to spend 2 years in pre-primary, 6 years in primary, 3 years in junior secondary and another three in senior secondary school.
The new education system that was rolled out by the Ministry of Education mandates a 17-year-stay in school as opposed to the 8-4-4 system which totalled 16 years.
The major discrepancy between the 8-4-4 system and the new CBC system is that the years’ learners spend in school are being restructured to 2-6-3-3-3.
All learners take 2 years of Pre-primary, then 6 years of Primary, and then 3 years of Junior School. If you pass the Grade 9 exams at 15 at the end of Junior School, you can then proceed to 3 years of Senior School.
University under CBC will be just three years instead of four.
Education Chief Administrative Secretary, CAS, Dr. Sara Ruto, said there is a set plan to implement in the phase that will see learners from grade one to nine attend day school.
She added that parents will have quality time with their children and support their growth, which has not been the case.
Ruto said that students have been spending much of their time in school especially those who attend boarding schools from class one all the way to secondary school.
