Gov’t allays fears over Grade 9 transition, sets aside Ksh.11B for construction of classrooms

The Ministry of Education has moved to allay fears from parents and stakeholders in the education sector over the transition of Grade 9 learners.

With less than a month to go to the reopening of schools, concerns are rife that many schools are ill prepared to accommodate Grade 9 learners in January who will be the pioneer learners of the CBC curriculum.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos has however assured the country that the construction of classrooms is underway across the country and will be completed on time.

The ministry said it has procured 9.9 million textbooks for Grade 9 learners, with over 5 million distributed to schools so far.

“The transition will take place and all challenges we encounter we are ready to handle them, the infrastructure which is the main concern, we will give you figures on that and an indication on when we are likely to finish the construction,” said CS Migos.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang' said the construction of 11, 000 classrooms is ongoing country wide in preparation for Grade 9.

Kipsang said the government has set aside Ksh.11 billion for the construction of the classrooms, with each classroom expected to cost Ksh.1 million.

The PS has directed school heads to use the funds strictly for the construction of the classrooms. Phase one of the construction is 98% complete and entailed 3,500 classrooms. The second phase of 7,500 classrooms is 70%

“Grade 9 preparation is ongoing, Grade 9 classrooms being constructed will be complete by January…text books already bought…20,000 teachers employed for Grade 9 while 60,000 teachers have been retooled to handle Grade 9 starting from January,” stated Kipsang.

CS Migos added: ”The retooling of teachers is taking place, the employment of 20,000 teachers is ongoing. We have 46,000 teachers placed on permanent and pensionable, the books distribution on a ration of 1:1 is ongoing.”

In a statement sent to newsrooms, the Ministry of Education said it has finalised the preparation of capitation grants for Junior Secondary School ahead of opening in January 2025.

The ministry also said it has released Ksh.15.3 billion of the annual capitation to 20,314 junior secondary schools.

“We’ll be working to ensure schools get capitation before they open so that there’s no suffering of teachers and head teachers. We are working with Treasury to ensure they release the money that’s supposed to be released before the schools reopen in January,” said CS Migos.

The Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (2023) recommended domiciling of JSS in existing primary schools, dividing opinion among stakeholders, with opponents insisting Srade 9 should be domiciled in secondary schools, where form one classrooms will remain idle from next year.