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Education Newsbyte
###Court Saves TSC Deputy CEO Kennedy Mulunda After Sack
Justice Monica Mbaru of the Labour and Employment Relations Court on Thursday, December 1, ordered the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to reinstate former Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kennedy Juma Mulunda who was sacked in July over allegations of abuse of office.
Justice Mbaru ruled that the commission had erred in the process of removing Mulunda from office in what she described as a premature and unfair procedure.
“Whether the investigative committee was right or wrong, subjecting him to the motions of the law would have given him an opportunity to defend his employment. Such lapse resulted in unfair termination of his employment,” reads the ruling in part.
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Big win for MPs as AG Muturi okays disbursement of Sh44bn CDF funds
Treasury to disburse KES 2 billion weekly NGCDF tranches from December 9 following AG Muturi advice that Supreme Court ruling only applies to CDF law.
In all, MPs will get Sh44.289 billion in 23 weeks, with the first disbursement on December 9, 2022.
In a communication to the House, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula said Attorney General Justin Muturi had okayed the disbursement.
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Grades 7,8,9 to be domiciled in Primary School – Gov’t announces after CBC review
The government has now declared that the Grade 6 Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) will not be used for placement in junior secondary schools.
State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed on November 30, 2022, said in a statement that the assessment will instead be used to monitor learning progress and provide feedback to education sector players on areas that require intervention.
Similarly, he said that the Junior Secondary School (JSS) comprising Grade 7, Grade 8 and Grade 9, will be domiciled in the existing primary schools.
“The Ministry of Education will provide the necessary guidelines on how this will be done,” Hussein said.
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Grade 6 exam not to be used in Junior Secondary placement
The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) will be used to monitor learning progress.
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Junior secondary to be domiciled in primary school- Government directs
The CBC task force has recommended that junior secondary learners are domiciled in existing primary schools.
The report submitted to the President on Thursday further directed that the ministry adds additional classrooms and a laboratory.
“The construction of laboratories will be given priority within the next one year. Members of Parliament are asked to work towards providing support for the extra facilities,” the report reads.
The Committee has further advised that summative assessment should not be used to place the learners in JSS.
“Instead, it will be used as an assessment to monitor learning progress and provide feedback to education sector players on areas that require intervention,” the report reads.
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Teachers Service Commission will now hire additional teachers to primary schools.
The Presidential Working Party on Education Reform has directed the hiring of additional 30,000 teachers for the junior secondary category.
This is because the learners will be domiciled in primary schools and not secondary school.
“MOE, KICD and TSC will work on modalities of fast-tracking retooling teachers to ensure the country has sufficient numbers who are compliant with CBC,” the report reads.
The teachers will be employed by January, 2023.
“Government will recruit an additional 30,000 teachers by January 2023 to facilitate the transition and bridge the teacher shortage” the report adds.
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A Candidate Writes KCPE Exams In Hospital Bed
A 14-year-old candidate from Bumamu primary school in Butere Sub County is sitting for her exams in a hospital bed after delivering a baby boy.
Area Deputy County Commissioner Mohamed Hassan who was speaking yesterday at his office in Butere Sub County said the pupil will sit for all of her exams in the hospital and arrangements were put in place to ensure she takes the exams.
“We had a few challenges here and there like that one of the young pupil giving birth but all in all the exercise is going on well,” said Hassan.
He further noted that security in the area has been beefed to ensure the exams are done without any hitches and in a peaceful environment.
“We are well prepared to ensure that this exercise goes on smoothly until they finalise their exams,” he said.
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Girl Sits For KCSE In Labour Ward
A Form Four girl from Sir Alex Ruchu Girls High School in Kandara, Murang’a County is sitting for her KCSE national exams in the labour ward at the Thika Level Five Hospital, after developing labour pains.
Thika Sub County Director of Education Maurice Sifuna said the girl was in serious pain before she was admitted at the hospital and is close to delivering.
He said though she comes from a different county, they have worked closely with the hospital and her home school to facilitate the candidate in doing her exams safely.
“She is through with her first paper and is in the process of doing the second one. We have ensured that she sits for the exams safely,” Sifuna said.
The officer at the same time said three more candidates for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) are admitted at the same hospital suffering from different and undisclosed complications.
Two of those admitted are boys from Thika West Sub County while the other is a girl from the neighbouring Kandara Sub County.
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Legislators Raise Concern Over High Number Of Teenage Mothers
A section of Narok Members of County Assembly (MCA) has raised concern over the high number of teenage mothers sitting for the national examination in the county.
This is after the office of County Commissioner announced that some 248 girls; 140 being in primary school and 108 in secondary school were among the candidates sitting for their national examination in the county.
The MCAs called on parents to take the parental role of guiding their girls during this holiday so that they do not engage in retrogressive cultural practices that affect their education.
Led by the County Assembly majority leader Dominic Lemain, the MCAs blamed the parents for not taking their role seriously, asking them to spend quality time with their children during this holiday.
“Retrogressive culture like Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and teenage pregnancies take our society behind. We need to shun these practices and embrace modernity,” he said.
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Workers stopped from using savings to purchase houses
The High Court has stopped workers from accessing up to Sh7 million or a maximum of 40 percent of their retirement savings to buy their first residential houses, dealing a blow to the plan aimed at boosting home ownership.
Justice Anthony Ndung’u found changes to the law that allowed early access to pension savings for home ownership was not subjected to public participation in breach of the Constitution.
The change was introduced through the Tax Laws Amendment Act 2020, which came into effect on April 25, 2020.
The clause allowing contributors to access 40 percent of their savings ahead of retirement was expected to free tens of billions of shillings for home ownership given that Kenya’s pension schemes control more than Sh1 trillion spread across property, cash, shares and government bonds.
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Mandera: 3 pupils found with phones in exam room, headteacher arrested
A headteacher in Mandera County is behind bars after he was arrested over exam malpractice after three KCPE candidates were found with mobile phones in the examination room.
Confirming the arrest, Mandera CIO Benedict Kigen said the Tawakal Primary School headteacher was arrested after three phones were confiscated Tuesday at the school located in Mandera town.
“We have arrested Tawakal Primary headteacher and are interrogating him on how three of his candidates accessed the examination room while in possession of mobile phones,” said Kigen.
According to Kigen, the three were fed with answers by accomplices in a neighbouring primary school.
“We suspect the answers were sent from a neighbouring exam centre. Once confirmed, we will also arrest the headteacher of that school too,” said Kigen.
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Parents In Rural Towns Worried Over Video Game Kiosks Targeting Children
The proliferation of video gaming kiosks in rural towns in Kenya is becoming a major concern – and parents fear that their children no longer get enough sleep, are irritable when not in front of screens – and are becoming more withdrawn.
According to a parent who spoke to Wananchi Reporting, video gaming is the new fad in most rural towns.
Reports indicate that children as young as five years old in these village towns are spending long hours in front of the screens with no one to control their activities and interactions.
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Governor Wanga orders probe into death of KCSE candidate shortly after delivery
The governor directed that the investigations be conducted by the County Department of Health and the Curative Services Committee of the board at the hospital.
Both teams will work separately and come up with answers that will enable the devolved unit to address cases of maternal and infant deaths that are still high.
Ms Wanga’s administration was criticised on Monday when news about the death of the student identified as Velma Anita Ochieng broke out.
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Ruto’s Cabinet to forgo a month’s salary in solidarity with drought combat efforts
All members of the Kenya Kwanza Cabinet will forgo one-month salary in solidarity with Kenyans affected by the ongoing drought.
According to the Despatch from Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, the members agreed that the funds would be channeled towards ongoing drought mitigations across the country.
“All Members will forgo one-month salary as their individual and collective contribution towards the ongoing State interventions that support all the Kenyans affected by the drought,” the despatch noted.
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