Eventful school term I draws to a close
Students walk on the streets of Nakuru city on their way home on October 23, 2024 after schools closed for the December holiday. Schools are scheduled to close this week for the April holiday.
Schools will close this week for the end of Term 1 holidays amidst challenges besieging the learning institutions, including infrastructure, capitation and the fees headache.
The learners will stay at home for a month and are expected to resume learning at the end of April for a busy second term that is packed with various co-curricular activities.
This comes as the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) completes the registration of learners who will undertake the first-ever Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) under the competency-based curriculum (CBC). The council has also been registering candidates for this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
The chair of the National Parents Association, Silas Obuhatsa, called for positive parenting, urging parents and guardians to take care of their children while at home during the holidays.
He urged parents and guardians to help children do their homework instead of allowing them to idle and roam in estates and villages.
“We have seen an upsurge of violence against women, please protect the girl child. I know boys are important but the abuse targeted towards our girls is worrying, hence the emphasis. Safeguard all the children, give them care, love, security and protection from sex predators, drug addicts among other illicit stuff happening within the society,” said Mr Obuhatsa.
With the rise in violence against women, parents should protect their children.
He also warned parents against marrying off their young girls during the holidays and those sending them upcountry to undergo female genital mutilation during the holidays.
“We recently witnessed an ugly incident in Wajir where a young girl was murdered after she refused to be married off to an old man. Justice must and has to prevail. Cases like these require heavy sentencing,” he said.
Mr Obuhatsa urged the government to instruct law enforcement agencies to take action against parents marrying off minors.
The association said parents need to be aware of the dangerous effects of drug and substance abuse, including tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption.
He said the re-emergence of juvenile criminal gangs wreaking havoc at the Coast is also a major concern, urging the State to tame the minors before they become hardcore criminals.
“These are all happening due to the influence of drugs. Young children at the age of 12 are carrying crude weapons and attacking members of the public. Where are the parents?” Mr Obuhatsa wondered.
He accused some parents saying they have become the main agents of selling and supplying drugs and alcohol to minors.
“Schoolchildren below the age of 12 years have become the main market and target. The fight against drugs and alcohol must be escalated to all areas in the country with everyone involved to support the government in arresting the worsening situation before all it turns ugly,” said the chairman.
He said many young children and youth lack positive parenting and good role modelling something that has exposed them to criminal activities.
Mr Obuhatsa observed that schools have closed during the rainy season. Last year, the education sector was hit by calamities including floods that disrupted the education calendar and also destroyed critical infrastructure in some schools.
St Elizabeth Primary School pupils in Lunga Lunga slum, Nairobi, prepare to go home on March 15, 2018 after the school was closed due to flooding.
The education calendar was disrupted following heavy floods, which caused havoc in the country killing over 100 people and displacing thousands of others pushing the state to extend Terms 2 and 3 dates and indefinitely postpone the opening dates of all schools in the country.
“The rains have begun; the weatherman says we are likely to have floods. We urge the state to put measures to ensure the safety of our institutions. Parents should also protect our learners during the heavy rains,” he said.
The chairman further urged parents to prepare the more than 1.2 million Grade 9 learners for transition to senior secondary school.
“Help them navigate the senior school; prepare them in advance. The government has done a lot of sensitisation for Grade 9 transition. Now talk to your child about subjects because in Grade 10 things will be different,” said Mr Obuhatsa.
The Grade 9 learners who are in Junior School will transit to Senior Schools from next year based on the career pathways of their choice, abilities and interests.
Kenya has adopted three pathways in Senior Schools: Social Sciences, Arts and Sports, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Last month, the government organised the county-based dialogues where education stakeholders were engaged in discussions about the Competency-Based Education (CBE) journey, including its progress, achievements and opportunities.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said his ministry’s commitment to refining the roll out of Competency-Based Education.
“The nationwide dialogues have shown general approval. I assured stakeholders that feedback from these engagements has shaped comprehensive guidelines for Grade 10 placement, addressing concerns about the Junior-to-Senior School transition,” he said.
Speaking after commissioning a multi-purpose hall and a tuition block at Nyabururu Girls High School in Kisii County, the CS said schools will now offer multiple career pathways to align with students’ aspirations.
He further highlighted the progress made in preparing for the inaugural transition to Senior School, reaffirming the government’s commitment to refining the implementation of the CBC through inclusive stakeholder engagement.