A war is simmering between the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Ministry of Education over proposed structure and management of junior schools.
While appearing before the Senate plenary on 11th March, to respond to a series of questions from senators regarding the management structure of Junior Schools, the integrity of the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results and the implementation of government-supported talent development programmes, Education CS Julius Ogamba has insisted that junior schools are and will continue to be part of primary school management as recommended by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER).
The questions were raised by Nairobi Senator, Edwin Sifuna, and Kisumu Senator, Tom Ojienda, who sought clarification on the administration of Junior Schools within primary institutions, concerns over alleged misreporting of the 2025 KJSEA results, as well as the status of extracurricular and talent development initiatives in Kisumu County.
Responding to the question by Sen. Sifuna on the domicile and management of Junior Schools, CS Ogamba explained that the matter had been comprehensively reviewed by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform, which engaged multiple stakeholders including teacher unions and members of the public.
He noted that 93 per cent of submissions recommended hosting Junior Schools within existing primary schools, while only a small fraction proposed locating them in secondary schools or establishing them as autonomous institutions.
The CS told senators that the decision to domicile Junior Schools in primary institutions was informed by psychosocial, logistical and cost considerations. He explained that younger learners would face integration challenges if placed in secondary school environments and that utilizing existing primary school infrastructure, particularly classrooms previously used by Standard Seven and Eight learners, was more cost-effective than constructing entirely new facilities across the country.
Consequently, he said, the Government adopted the recommendation that Junior Schools operate within primary schools under a unified administrative structure.
“Primary and Junior Schools operate under one Head of Institution and one Board of Management to ensure effective governance, coordination and smooth transition for learners,” he said.
His latest remarks is likely to spark protests from junior school teachers who were already warming up to TSC proposal to make junior schools independent institutions separate from primary schools.
The Commission has proposed to make junior schools independent both in administrative and structure.
In the proposals junior schools will have its own management headed by a principal similar to those in senior schools.
The proposals which were presented to Parliament before the National Assembly Committee on Education, will see junior schools break away from joint leadership with primary schools.
Under the new structure junior schools which comprise of Grades 7, 8 and 9 would operate independently, no longer under primary school heads who have managed this section for the past three years.
The latest reforms by TSC would allow junior schools to appoint substantive principals and deputy principals.
Mitei who had appeared before the Committee defended the proposals saying the move is intended to strengthen leadership, accountability, and service delivery in junior schools, which are currently managed jointly with primary schools.
“In a bid to streghten leadership and governance in junior schools, there is a proposed policy change to provide a new administrative structure,” Mitei stated.
She added that the reforms are necessary to support effective curriculum implementation and ensure proper succession management within schools.
However CS Ogamba is opposed to TSC’s arrangement which he says will be costly and disruptive.
While addressing concerns over separate financial accounts for Junior School operations, the CS clarified that the arrangement does not imply administrative independence.
Instead, he explained, it reflects different capitation allocations, with primary school learners funded at Ksh.1,420 per learner annually while Junior School learners receive Ksh.15,042 per learner annually, necessitating separate accounting frameworks for financial planning and accountability.
On the question of teacher supervision and career progression, the CS noted that the Teachers Service Commission regularly conducts capacity-building programmes for Heads of Institutions to strengthen their administrative and instructional leadership roles.
He added that all teachers deployed to Junior Schools are trained graduate teachers qualified to deliver secondary-level curriculum under the Competency-Based Education system.
CS Ogamba further informed senators that Junior School teachers fall under the Secondary School Career Progression Framework established through the Career Progression Guidelines, 2018, which were developed following a comprehensive job evaluation conducted in consultation with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and anchored in the 2017–2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement with teacher unions.
Turning to the question by Sen. Ojienda regarding alleged manipulation of the 2025 KJSEA results, the CS stated that the Ministry was not aware of any cases of misreporting or manipulation and affirmed that the results released by the Kenya National Examinations Council were accurate and had been used to guide learner placement into Grade 10.
He explained that the KJSEA is a competency-based summative assessment administered at the end of Grade Nine to identify learners’ strengths, aptitudes and interests rather than to rank students through aggregate scores.
Learner performance, he said, is categorized into levels such as Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Approaching Expectations and Below Expectations, each subdivided into bands to provide more precise evaluation.
The CS also outlined the structure of learner assessment under the Competency-Based Education framework, noting that final performance is derived from 20 per cent from the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment at Grade Six, 20 per cent from School-Based Assessments in Grades Seven and Eight, and 60 per cent from the KJSEA examination.
He further told senators that multiple quality assurance mechanisms are in place to safeguard the credibility of national assessments, including pilot testing of examinations, automated scoring systems, deployment of supervisors and invigilators during examinations, and validation of scores before results are released.
CS Ogamba added that all schools access the Competency-Based Assessment Portal, which enables the management of School-Based Assessments and provides a digital platform for reporting learner performance, supported by scoring rubrics and verification mechanisms to ensure uniformity and compliance with national assessment standards.
Responding to a separate inquiry by Sen. Ojienda on government-funded talent development programmes in Kisumu County, the CS said the Ministry continues to promote co-curricular activities as a key pillar of holistic education under the Competency-Based Education framework.
He informed the Senate that 617 public primary schools and 232 secondary schools in Kisumu County participate annually in structured co-curricular activities coordinated through platforms such as the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association, the Kenya Primary and Junior Schools Sports Association, the Kenya Music Festival, and national science and drama competitions.
According to the CS, the county has recorded notable achievements between 2022 and 2025, including the participation of more than 500 student-athletes in regional training camps organized by the Kenya Academy of Sports, as well as representation at national and East African competitions in sports, performing arts and creative disciplines.
He highlighted several success stories, including learners from Kisumu securing sports scholarships at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, participation of female athletes in the Harambee Starlets development programme, and advancement of schools from the county to regional and East African competitions.
Despite the progress recorded, the CS acknowledged that challenges persist, including limited sports infrastructure, unequal access to opportunities for learners in remote schools and coordination gaps among stakeholders such as community sports clubs, county governments and national federations.
To strengthen transparency and oversight, he said the Ministry has introduced digital athlete registration systems integrated with the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) to address integrity issues previously associated with manual registration processes.
CS Ogamba concluded by reaffirming the Ministry’s commitment to strengthening inclusive talent development frameworks and ensuring that learners from all regions, including marginalized communities, have access to opportunities that nurture their abilities and support their progression into national and international platforms.
