Knut in fresh push for junior high to be hosted in primary schools

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), will continue pushing the government to have the Competency Based Curriculum’s (CBC) junior secondary education, hosted in primary schools, KNUT Secretary General, Collins Oyuu, has said.

Oyuu said that existing infrastructure in primary schools can comfortably host the junior secondary without putting pressure on parents and Kenyans at large to put up new buildings.

The Secretary General, who was addressing teachers during the Siaya KNUT Branch Annual General Meeting held at the Central Primary School grounds, at the same time told politicians to stop politicizing teachers and education matters.

Oyuu, who was flanked by the Siaya Branch Executive Secretary, Alex Dunga, said it will be foolhardy to squeeze pupils from 30,000 primary schools into 10,000 secondary schools.

He said the Ministry of Education should consider renaming the two-year junior secondary classes as senior primary and have the students occupy the existing class seven and eight buildings.

“In any case, we have many primary school teachers who are graduates. Some have masters and even PhDs and can effectively handle the classes,” said the KNUT boss.

Oyuu also accused a section of politicians of trying to cause confusing in the education sector, through careless remarks regarding the future of the CBC.

“Some people, while on a campaign trail, told us that they will do away with CBC once they take over the presidency” said Oyuu, adding that the same person later talked of integrating CBC with another system of education.

He said that the two systems of education cannot work and urged the top politician to make up his mind on which system he will implement in case he takes over the mantle to rule the country.

The Secretary General called on those who will be elected to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta, to consider employing more teachers, adding that as things stand now, the existing teachers were overwhelmed by work.

“Implementing CBC has been difficult for teachers who are now forced to handle double or even three times the workload they used to,” he said, adding that the existing teacher shortage stands at 114,000.