Junior Secondary School definition
Junior secondary means a school providing post-primary education of a level lower than School Certificate level or equivalent school certificate level. It can also be defined as a school that provides a three-year post-primary course of full-time instruction suitable for pupils between the age of twelve years and fifteen years.
What will be taught in junior secondary school?
Junior Secondary education will take three years – Grade 7, 8 and 9 for learners aged between 12 and 14 years. The Junior secondary curriculum will include twelve core subjects some of which have been retained from the 8-4-4 system, the subject includes mathematics, Kiswahili, English, life skills, health education, social studies, integrated science, business studies, religious education, agriculture, life skills, sports, and physical education.
Subjects that remain from the previous system are: English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, Social Studies, business studies, agriculture, life skills and Religious education (Christian Religious, Islamic Religious, or Hindu Religious Education)
In Junior secondary, subjects such as Integrated Science, Health Education, and Pre-Technical and Pre-Career Education have been added as basic subjects. Students at this level are also required to enroll in a minimum of one and a maximum of two courses that match their career goals, personalities, skills, and interests.
Visual and performing arts, Arabic, home science, Foreign languages, Kenyan sign language, native languages, and computer science will all be optional in junior secondary, All subjects will use Information Communication Technology (ICT). For students who have a hearing impairment, Kenyan Sign Language will be used in place of English and Kiswahili.
Will primary schools host junior secondary?
Yes, the primary school will host Junior secondary, according to the latest report from the government, 2,300 public primary schools have been selected to host Junior Secondary Schools come January 2023. According to the education cabinet secretary, Prof George Magoha reported on Wednesday the selected primary school are those sharing a compound with secondary schools. The sharing of compounds will make it easier for the junior secondary to share physical resources with the high school.
Who will teach junior secondary in Kenya?
The Junior secondary classes, Grades 7, 8, and 9, will exclusively be taught by trained high school teachers, according to a TSC report. In order to get ready for the implementation of junior secondary, TSC stated that at least 60,000 high school teachers will have received training by March and April 2023.
Teachers from public, private, regular and special needs schools will start training for junior secondary, The teachers will teach Grade seven to nine. A statement recorded from teachers service Commission Nancy Macharia confirmed that training will focus on all the subjects at junior secondary, The first training will focus on pure sciences, applied sciences, mathematics, languages and technical subjects.
Six teachers from each school will get subject-area training. They will be divided into groups during the training based on the departments they belong to. In Junior secondary, teachers who teach the pure sciences will receive training on key topics which are: biology, chemistry, physics, and health education. Applied sciences will concentrate on computer science, agriculture, and home science.
For one to qualify to teach junior secondary they are required to have scored at least C+ at KCSE and also C+ in the subjects they are willing to teach. the teachers who scored C in KCPE and to universities for training are also not qualified for deployment to junior secondary.
