CBC: This Is How Grade 6 Learners Will Be Placed In Junior Secondary School

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul, 24 – It’s official, grade six learners will be allowed to select their preferred Junior Secondary School (JSS) after Education Cabinet Secretary prof George Magoha said that the online portal that will facilitate the exercise that will be opened from August 15 through to August 30, 2022.

The move is reminiscent of the system used by candidates to select their preferred secondary school under the 8-4-4 before joining form one.

Already the education ministry alongside the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) released guidelines on the grading of the grade six assessments and placement to grade seven.

“Knec will open the  portal from August 15 to August 30, for the Grade Six learners to do their school selection for JSS in readiness for placement,” he said

Transition to JSS will be guided by the assessment outcomes of the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).

Magoha said that all learners will be offered placement across the country’s public and private secondary schools.

In a bid to ensure public space for learning is well utilized, the CS also said that some secondary schools will utilize available classrooms in primary schools to enhance learning.

Some secondary schools share a compound with primary schools.

At the same time, registered private schools will also admit learners.

During the selection of students for admission to grade 7, the education ministry is expected to observe several factors including, performance in the KPSEA, equity, institutional decade capacity, affirmative action from less privileged learners, and the learner’s choice of school.

Under the CBC, Junior Secondary School (JSS) will comprise Grades 7, 8, and 9.

“Learners, in consultation with their parents and teachers will be given an opportunity to select a public or private secondary school of their choice for their JSS education. Parents shall meet the cost of learning in private schools as is the usual practice,” said Prof Magoha.

Meanwhile, learners with special needs pursuing the Stage-Based Pathway will also be placed and will transition to JSS based on their performance in the  Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA).

During the grading of the grade six assessment that will facilitate the transition to grade seven, KNEC in their guidelines revealed that they will factor in the results of both the formative and summative assessments.

The summative assessment will contribute to 40 per cent of learners’ scores while the formative will contribute to 60 per cent drawn from assessments administered in grade four, five, and six. At every stage, they will amount to 20 per cent, totaling 60 per cent.

KNEC will assess the 13 subjects offered at upper primary level using five papers.

They include Mathematics, English, Kiswahili/Kenyan Sign Language, Integrated Science which comprises of Science and Technology; Agriculture; Home Science; and, Physical and Health Education, and Creative Arts and Social Studies which combines four subjects among them Social Studies; Christian Religious Education/Islamic Religious Education/Hindu Religious Education; Art and Craft and Music.

The overall score will be reported as a summation of the scores in the five papers and will be out of 500 marks.

The credibility of School-Based-Assessments (SBAs) is expected to be upheld with relevant measures put in place.

“KNEC is administering the final Grade six SBA to the 2022 cohort between July 18 and September 9,” he said.

Grade Six learners will sit their final assessment from November 28 to November 30, 2022.

Meanwhile, as opposed to the examination certificate issued by the Exam council after candidates completed their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) Examination under the 8-4-4 curriculum, they will now be issued with a transition report for the KPSEA.

A total of 2,512,467 learners are expected to join secondary school education in accordance with the government policy on 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary schools.

They include, 1,268,830 learners enrolled in Grade 6 in 2022 who will transition to grade 7 under the CBC and 1,243,637 Standard 8 cohort of 2022 who will transition to Form One under the 8-4-4 system.