Ministry of Education Issues Interim Guidelines for Junior School Co-curricular Activities

The Ministry of Education has released interim guidelines for Junior School co-curricular activities for the 2024 calendar year.

According to Hassan Duale, the ministry’s director in charge of field coordination and co-curricular activities, the Kenya Primary Schools Sports Association (KPSSA) will oversee these activities on an interim basis.

Duale emphasized that the Junior School events will be independent, with KPSSA managing the transition. They will collaborate with field education officers at each level to provide coordination and support, including technical officials, referees, and umpires.

In the 2024 Term One calendar, junior schools will participate in athletics, cross country, handball, swimming, and basketball 5×5. Term Two games will feature football, volleyball, basketball 3×3, and netball.

Education officials at sub-county, county, and regional levels are tasked with incorporating teachers managing Junior Schools as officials of activities, such as team managers, coaches, chaperones, and referees, alongside primary and secondary school teachers and officials.

According to a circular on Junior School co-curricular coordination and management, education officials at different levels will nominate current elected and serving KPSSA committees to manage the activities. Sub-county directors of education (SCDE), county directors of education (CDE), and regional directors of education (RDE) will provide oversight and coordination at their respective levels.

“The SCDEs, CDEs, and RDEs are advised to select separate serving officials for each activity, as primary and junior activities will run concurrently in two different venues in Nyeri and Machakos respectively,” said Duale.

At the national level, the director of field coordination and co-curricular activities will coordinate activities with KPSSA.

The nationals for Junior School Term One Games are scheduled to be held in Machakos in April.

Duale mentioned that the Ministry of Education will provide guidance on the constitution of committees through elections based on junior school co-curricular activities. The constitution is currently under development and will be operationalized starting from the 2025 calendar year.