Thursday, February 6, 2025
Home > Counties > School heads asked to admit Grade 7 and Grade 1 pupils unconditionally 

School heads asked to admit Grade 7 and Grade 1 pupils unconditionally 

Central Region Director of Education, Sabina Aroni, has appealed to school heads to unconditionally admit Grade 7 and Grade 1 learners who may not have reported to school due to lack of school requirements.

According to Ms. Aroni, last week the region recorded a slow rate of reporting for Grade 7 and Grade 1 learners, with some parents saying they were keeping their children at home to allow them time to purchase the required school uniform.

As a requirement during the transition from Grade 6 to Junior Secondary School, Grade 7 pupils are expected to wear a different colour or type of uniform to differentiate them from the primary school pupils.

Learners transitioning from pre-primary school to Grade 1 (lower primary school) also require a new set of uniforms, more so for learners who are joining a new school.

Ms. Aroni also noted that some parents had informed the education officers that they were waiting for the release of the Grade 6 Kenya Primary School Education Assessment results before releasing their children to school.

“We want to send out word that if there is a school that has not had their Grade 7 reporting 100 percent, the head teacher should communicate with the parents and tell them to take the Grade 7 learners to school. Yes, it may be desirable to have a new school uniform, but if a parent has not managed to buy a new uniform for the learner, it is more important that the learner is in school in the primary school uniform until such a time that the parent is able to acquire the new uniform,” said Ms. Aroni.

Aroni has further instructed Ministry of Education officers in the region to liaise with their colleagues from the Interior Ministry to coordinate the 100 percent transition of learners. She said that no child should be denied an opportunity to learn for failing to raise some of the requirements, some of which she said are not compulsory.

“A chief or assistant chief will know if a Grade 7 or a Grade 1 learner has not reported to school. So, our officers are guided to liaise with the officers from the Ministry of Interior to ensure that all learners report to school right away,” she said.

The Regional Director spoke at the Moi Nyeri Complex Primary and Junior Secondary School, where she commissioned five Grade 9 classrooms which were constructed through the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning Program.  She said that the construction of 1,310 classrooms, which were set to be constructed in Phase 1 and 2, was at 99 percent completion.

“We identified almost 1600 schools that needed classrooms. In the first phase we constructed 494 classrooms. In the second phase we constructed 816. And so far, 99 percent of those classrooms are complete,” said Ms. Aroni.

She said that the Ministry will also construct an additional 282 classrooms in the region over the next one and a half months. The project will be undertaken in two phases, with the overall goal being to ensure that the 1600 schools have adequate classrooms to accommodate the Grade 9 learners. She however said that learning will go on undisrupted in all Junior Secondary Schools in the region.

“Despite 282 schools not having classrooms right now, all Grade 9 learners are now settled in classrooms, and learning is taking place in all the schools in the region,” said Ms Aroni.

By Wangari Mwangi and Bacha Muigai

Leave a Reply