By Amoto Ndiewo
As transition to Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) is expected to attract learners of a tender age, teachers are worried of the challenges the incoming JSS learners will face mingling with more mature secondary school students.
In the 8.4.4 education system that is being faced out, learners joined secondary schools at the age of 14 while the incoming JSS learners are joining secondary schools at the tender age of 12 years.
“The marriage of two systems in a physical environment with students of various social psychological integrations will have to put the teachers especially the head teachers on a challenging sport,’’ Caleb Alembi, a teacher at Mororo primary school in Tana North Sub-county has said.
According to Mohamed Dure, the head teacher of Yathrib Primary School in Garissa, the big issue is the need for a broad stakeholder engagement as real life challenge will spring about in the management.
Alembi worries that some secondary school managers could spew a feeling of low grading of their primary school counterparts.
“Such sibling rivalry which a times is very normal could be a teething problem to derail CBC, especially in disciplinary issues,’’ remarked Alembi.
However, the chairman of Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) Peter Ndori has other worries as he says that being in the 21st century with easy and accessible internet, parents should worry more about than a real or imagined sibling’s rivalry.
While talking on a Television show recently, Ndori cited the on-going sexual assault allegations at Aquinas Secondary School in Nairobi as a cause of great concern to any parent and education stakeholders.
His sentiments came after Prof. George Magoha told education stakeholders that students involved in such cases ought to be kept out of boarding schools.
