Teachers allied to Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) have differed with their counterparts from the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) over where junior secondary students should be hosted.
While making their presentation to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) task force formed to review the roll out syllabus, KNUT officials argued that the junior secondary level should be domiciled in primary school.
The union's secretary general Collins Oyuu noted that most students transitioning to Grade 7 were aged between 11 years and 14 years - deeming it too young to proceed to high school.
He further demanded that the name of the level be changed from Junior Secondary school to intermediary level.
"Junior Secondary be domiciled in Primary Schools and we shall refer to it as intermediate because questions are lingering on why we have senior coming in after Junior. We are saying, 'Don't refer to this as Junior Secondary School,'" stated Oyuu.
In their presentations, however, KUPPET officials led by Secretary General Akelo Misori maintained that the students were old enough to transition.
Misori argued that secondary schools had already prepared the requisite infrastructure and developed proper curriculum to handle the transition.
"Junior Secondary is a secondary school curriculum and in that respect, it is best placed in the secondary school. It is also premised on the fact that secondary schools are already preparing to have them. Our primary schools don't have the necessary competencies.
"Someone who is going to Grade 7 is a very old person. Personally I went to high school when I was 13 years old," stated Misori.
The two unions, however, agreed that should increase school staff and handle the upcoming Grade 6 National Examinations transparently.
The Ministry of Education announced that the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KEPSEA) exam will be done in thee days starting on Monday, November 28, 2022 and end on Wednesday, November 30, 2022.
The grade six students will sit the exam in preparation for transition to junior secondary school in January 2023.
Once complete, the task force headed by Prof Raphael Munavu will hand over the recommendations to the Head of State for implementation.