High schools have been urged to share laboratory facilities with Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) within their neighbourhood.
Joseph Kagwiru, a teacher at MCK Upper Mikumbune Day High School said junior secondary schools in the country lack laboratories and will need assistance from high schools to access such facilities.
In order to tackle the existing challenges in education sector especially on new curriculum, Kagwiru has introduced mobile laboratory services to several far flung junior secondary schools.
The laboratories are equipped to offer science equipment for practical use to the learners.
On this project Kagwiru said more than five neighbouring Junior Secondary Schools have benefited with the project since a number of them lack laboratory facilities.
“I urge high schools to share laboratory equipment with neighbouring junior secondary schools within their neighborhood.
But some of these schools are not located near any high, the reason we have introduced mobile laboratories,” Kagwiru said.
“The laboratories are equipped to offer science equipment for practical use to the learners. So far five junior secondary schools have benefited from the project,” he added.
The mobile laboratory facilities will help the government solve JSS curriculum challenges faced in primary schools.
The government has promised to construct 16,000 classrooms to accommodate Grade 9 learners in primary schools in 2025, but construction is yet to begin the same as equipping primary schools with laboratories.
A shortage of teachers prompted the government to hire 30,000 new tutors during the first term, with 21,000 of them deployed to Junior Secondary Schools.
On average, each junior secondary school currently has between three to four teachers, with those in populated areas being forced to take extra workload.
The Kenyan government introduced a new system of education, the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) after phasing out the old system which was largely knowledge based curriculum, 8-4-4.
After collecting views from Kenyans, the Presidential Working Party on Education recommended that junior secondary schools be domiciled in primary schools.
