The government will abolish boarding in primary schools for Grades One to Nine as from January next year.
While announcing the policy during the official opening of the Kenya Primary Schools Head Teachers Association (KEPSHA), the principal secretary for Basic Education Dr Belio Kipsang said the learners need to be close to their parents and guardians.
The move was lauded by head teachers who insisted parents must take up the responsibility of raising their children.
“The real reason we want to do away with boarding schools is to make education affordable. On average of parents pay up to Sh45,000 per year in extra county schools and Sh53,000 in national schools,” Kipsang explained.
Kipsang’ said that parents have the primary responsibility as first educators to walk with their children and ensure that they acquire the right values they desire them to have.
“We cannot outsource our responsibility as we parents, we only co-parent with teachers but we cannot outsource parenting from the teachers,” Kipsang’ said.
The policy that Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) be domiciled in the existing primary schools was recommended by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms and presented to President William Ruto.
The government will also not allow private schools to register boarding sections for junior secondary schools.
Registrations for new private primary schools seeking to have boarding facilities will also not be approved.
