Interior Cabinet Secretary, Kipchumba Murkomen, has announced that the government has rolled out an ambitious plan aimed at ensuring all learners eligible for Grade 10 transition report to school.
Murkomen said the Ministry of Interior and National Administration was working closely with the Ministry of Education to track down learners who are still at home despite the ongoing transition, which currently stands at about 70 per cent.
“Our responsibility from an administration perspective is to support the Ministry of Education by ensuring that we reach out to all the children who are due to transition to Grade 10, and yet they are still at home,” he said.
Speaking in Kisumu during a tour of the Kenya Coast Guard Service headquarters, the CS noted that lack of school fees and failure to secure placement were among the key reasons keeping some learners out of school, adding that chiefs, assistant chiefs and other national government officers have been mobilized countrywide to address the gaps.
He said local administrators had been tasked with physically following up learners within their jurisdictions and guiding parents and guardians to available support systems, including Constituency Development Fund (CDF) bursaries.
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“Where a child has gone to a day school, school fees are barely Sh10,000 for the whole year. There should be no reason why, with the many bursaries and resources we have in the community, a child should fail to transition,” Murkomen said.
He added that learners who missed placement in their preferred or more expensive schools should be assisted to join neighbouring schools within their communities to avoid missing out on education altogether.
According to the CS, chiefs and assistant chiefs have been instructed to mobilize communities to take collective responsibility in ensuring all children report to school.
“The process is ongoing, and as a ministry we are assisting through mobilization and working with the Ministry of Education to ensure the necessary resources are deployed to enable full transition to Grade 10,” he said.
The government has set full transition under the Competency-Based Curriculum as a key priority, with officials warning that no eligible learner should be left behind due to financial or administrative challenges.
By Fredrick Odiero
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