The Ministry of Education has asked parents not to enroll their children in holiday tuition at this time that learners are at home for a two-month break.
According to the Education Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Julius Jwan, there are some schools asking parents to take their schools for tuition – in the name of completing their syllabus.
But speaking when he presided over the distribution of Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination materials in Uasin Gishu County, the PS said the time allocated for each term is sufficient to complete the syllabus.
“The time that is allocated for the academic year is adequate for the coverage of the syllabus as stated by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). Normally in a term, we have between 10-14 weeks. Within that period, the schools should be able to cover the syllabus without any stress,” said Dr. Jwan.
Learners are currently on a break to allow for the 2021 national examinations that were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A new academic year is set to start from April 27, 2022, and the Education PS says rest for the learners would be important, considering the upcoming tight calendar.
“Last year was very squeezed. We did the 10 weeks and people were feeling that there was a lot of pressure on the learners. As we head to the next academic year, we are going to have an intensive program of 10 weeks in a term and we want learners to rest at home,” said the Education PS.
He points out that should there be a need for extra learning, it should be done within the home environment to allow a learner to take a break from the school environment.
But even as such a program can be accommodated, Dr. Jwan says no parent should pay a school anything.
“Nobody should charge any parent that they are calling learners to go back for tuition in the name of covering the syllabus,” insisted the PS.
