Expectations Ahead Of Junior Secondary School.
Parents of students entering Junior High School (JSS) have reason to be happy after the government guaranteed assistance in providing teaching materials in all subjects.
According to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), which is responsible for the evaluation and procurement of all curricula, JSS students in all public schools will receive textbooks for 12 compulsory subjects and four optional subjects.
According to KICD Chief Executive Officer Charles Ongondo, the government will ensure that teaching materials are ready before schools reopen on January 23.
“The government will provide one book for each student from January 30,” said Prof. Ongondo.
Although the government will buy these books, schools will not have compulsory textbooks, he said.
“Other books will be available for student purchase because the other approved books are good.”
“As a protective measure for parents, we encourage schools to buy only one textbook and use it as a reference to draw from that curriculum line if they need more.”
He said the government selects the lowest candidates in each subject to provide public schools across the country.
According to Ongondo, the book will include a teacher’s guide and be modified for students with special needs.
The 12 core subjects for secondary school are Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Integrated Science, Home Science, Fine Arts, Performing Arts, Social Studies, Religion and Foreign Languages.
Ongondo is of the opinion that the distribution of textbooks for class one is the place of JSS.
Publishers have been paid by the government to deliver the books until the end of January, he said. “KICD will distribute books based on the list of schools and students belonging to the Ministry of Education and Culture.”
During the transition period, some students may move from one school to another, he said, and urged teachers to provide proper information on time.
“Student mobility in school is sometimes difficult because teachers delay our meals by changing the number of teachers so that they can change the number of books,” said Ongondo.
Go to public school
He also stated that the agency was unable to obtain accurate data due to the displacement of students caused by the overcrowding of public schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oxford, Spotlight, Mountain Top Publishers, EAEP and Moran Publishers are the publishers whose work is selected for English.
Four novels by EAEP, Moran, Pezi and Kenya Bureau of Literature are recommended for Kiswahili readers.
For earth sciences, three publications are offered: Mountain Top Publisher, Bedana, and Moja.
Eight books selected from KLB, Jomo Kenyatta Foundation (JKF), Evangelis, MTP, Moran, Pezi, Spear and Story Moja will be selected for agriculture in schools.
Integrated Science will include eight texts, including Pezi, EAEP, Bookmark, Distinctive Publishers, MTP, Narrative Moja, Oxford and Malaysia.
There will be five textbooks on Life Skills, six textbooks on Mathematics, Religious Education, and two textbooks on Visual Arts, Physical Education, Social Science, Performing Arts, and Pre-Technical Studies.
Computer Science will have three, Health Education four and Business Studies five.
Visual Arts students will use recommended texts from KLB or JKF. The textbook is recommended for French and physical education and sports students only.
Two books will be published for general study.
Health Education majors will have a choice of four textbooks, while Performing Arts has three recommended textbooks and Business Studies has two.
There are two textbooks recommended for technical subjects.