Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu on Monday, January 30 warned teachers against conducting learning activities beyond the allocated hours.
The CS was speaking at Nairobi Primary school where he led education stakeholders during the monitoring of the opening of Junior Secondary School (JSS) and distribution of textbooks for grade 7.
He lamented that he encountered, at times, students waking up at 4 am to prepare to get to school for remedial classes.
Machogu thus imposed a ban on teachers conducting early morning and evening classes for all students.
“With the resumption of the education calendar, the government will be vigilant on reporting time of students. Classes should start at 8.00 am and end exactly at 3.45 pm,” the CS stated.
“You will meet students walking in the streets before dawn so that they can make time for remedial classes. We will not allow that, and we will also take action on schools that ferry students home as late as 10.00 pm,” the CS warned.
However, some parents had a different view of the CS’s remarks.
“The little children are the ones who should be allowed to start learning at 8:00 am and end at 3:45 pm. According to me, those beyond Grade 5 can start learning at 7:00 am,” said one parent.
Another parent said pupils should be monitored and engaged in productive and meaningful activities to maintain their physical and mental well-being and to support their personal and academic development.
Additionally, the Kenya Primary Heads Association (KEPSHA) urged the Ministry of Education to hire more teachers to realise the new directive.
“There is an acute shortage of teachers in public primary schools, making it hard to finish the syllabus in the stipulated time”
“We request the Ministry to train and employ more teachers so that it will be possible to adhere to the released school calendar,” KEPSHA remarked.
Currently, the teacher-pupil ratio in public schools is 1:50, according to KEPSHA.
Machogu emphasized the government’s desire to make learning enjoyable and stress-free, with a focus on ensuring that students get enough sleep and have a positive school experience.
He also mentioned that the government is taking a closer look at the subjects that Junior Secondary School students will be covering, with the goal of streamlining the curriculum to ease the burden on students.
