The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) will make its portal open for Grade 6 learners to choose Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in preparation for placement.
According to Prof. George Magoha, the cabinet secretary for education, selection for admission of students into JSS will be based on merit, including performance on the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), equity in students’ school selection based on recommendations from parents and teachers, and institutional declared capacity.
“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. In compliance with the 100 per cent transition policy, all learners will be placed in Junior Secondary School institutions,” Magoha noted.
He made the remarks as he commissioned the KNEC Headquarters at the new Mitihani House in South C.
For standalone JSS, only those that are registered will be eligible for selection and placement.
Magoha said learners will be offered placement in all existing registered public and private secondary schools while public secondary schools which share a compound with a public primary school will utilise the available classrooms in the primary school as additional learning space.
The existing registered private secondary schools will be available for learners whose parents will pay the fees charged by the private secondary schools;
He said that the existing registered public and private secondary schools will not require re-registration to offer JSS education.
The Ministry will, however, undertake registration of all JSS established as stand-alone institutions established from existing private primary schools as long as they have complied with the minimum requirement of classrooms and have a fully equipped laboratory.
The CS said the transition of learners to JSS under CBC, will be guided by the assessment outcomes of the KPSEA and will be a combination of the learners’ scores attained from the School Based Assessments (SBA) administered in Grade 4, 5 and 6 and the National summative assessment to be administered in November.
The portal shall be opened from mid next month.
