Learners at Kawangware Comprehensive School in Nairobi follow proceedings during the activation of Nation in Education Programme.
Unions and junior school teachers want the new learning level granted full autonomy, separate from primary and senior schools.
The Kenya Association of Junior School Teachers, Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the more than 50,000 tutors are demanding administrative independence and recognition of junior school as its own tier in the education system.
The association argues that the current arrangement, which places the institutions under the primary school administrative structure, undermines the professional growth and career development of junior school teachers.
“A good example is promotions. How can a headteacher, deputy head teacher or senior teacher—who does not even qualify to teach in junior school—supervise junior school teachers?” asked association chairperson James Odhiambo.
He noted that most primary school administrators, including headteachers, lack the qualifications to teach or fully understand the needs of junior school learners and teachers.
“This often causes friction between junior school staff and the primary school administration,” he said.
In an interview with the Daily Nation, Mr Odhiambo said junior school teachers are disadvantaged in promotions due to the absence of a clear scheme of service and career progression guidelines. He emphasised that junior school tutors are trained as post-primary school teachers but are operating in environments that prioritise primary school staff.
“We are appealing to the Ministry of Education and the Teachers Service Commission to grant junior schools administrative autonomy, in line with the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform,” he said.
The association has also raised concerns over discrimination in the running of junior schools.
“Junior school teachers are often sidelined because most of the staff within the current school structure are primary school teachers. Junior school is a transitional stage where learners begin career pathway-based learning. It requires special attention, which is not being given under the current system that treats junior schools as an extension of primary schools,” Mr Odhiambo said.
Kuppet Deputy Secretary-General Moses Nthurima questioned the legitimacy of the “comprehensive school” model.
“Kenyan education law only recognises pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary levels. So, where is the ministry getting the term ‘comprehensive school’? Under the Competency-Based Curriculum, junior school is meant to be part of high school—or at the very least, operate distinctly from primary level,” he said.
He further argued that junior schools should have independent management structures and be staffed exclusively by teachers trained for secondary education.
“When graduate teachers are subjected to supervision by P1 (primary-level) teachers, it contradicts their legitimate professional expectations. These teachers trained with the understanding that they would work alongside their peers in secondary schools,” he said.
In response, Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary-General Collins Oyuu urged junior school teachers to respect the recommendations of the education task force.
“Do you know that 90 per cent of our head teachers are graduates? Many were graduates long before some of these teachers even entered the profession. In leadership, qualifications alone don’t count, experience does. Do they even have leadership experience?” he asked.
Mr Oyuu dismissed the push for junior school autonomy as a settled matter, citing recommendations by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform. He said the task force clearly defined two sections within Basic Education: comprehensive school (grades 1–9) and senior school (grades 10–12).
“Let’s stop making wild proposals. They are teachers and professionals; they should avoid activism,” he said.
The association vowed to continue pushing for autonomy, saying it will keep engaging policymakers, education stakeholders and the public until junior school is recognised as a distinct level of education.
