• The CS said teaching should strictly be conducted for six hours between 8am and 3.45pm to allow learners to engage in co-curricular sporting activities.
• Basic Education Regulations of 2015 provides that public and private institutions should conduct lessons from 8am to 3.30pm for class hours from Monday to Friday.
Image: FILE
Education CS Ezekiel Machogu's directive that teachers should conduct lessons for a maximum of six hours evoked excitement and condemnation in equal measure across the country.
The CS said teaching should strictly be conducted for six hours between 8am and 3.45pm to allow learners to engage in co-curricular sporting activities.
He said education should be natural and not forced.
Many saw this as a new directive which some criticised saying it would open an avenue for teachers to resort tuition which the government previously banned saying schools used it to exploit parents.
But in actual sense, schools are by law required to conduct learning activities for only six hours per every 24-hour cycle.
Section 84 of the Basic Education Regulations of 2015 provides that public and private institutions should conduct lessons from 8am to 3.30pm for class hours from Monday to Friday.
The directive, which is applicable to boarding schools, excludes breaks and lunchtime, translating to six hours of learning.
"No day institution of basic education and training shall require learners to report earlier than 7.15am," the regulations state.
The regulations additionally require schools to conduct co-curriculum activities like soccer, theatre, dance, swimming from 3.30pm to 4.45pm, excluding weekends.
"5pm to 7.30pm are for students' self-directed activities," the regulations say.
Preps should be undertaken from 7.30pm to 9.30pm and thereafter students should get to bed from 9.30pm to 6am.
However, supervised routine activities in boarding schools should be from 6am to 8am.
"No boarding institution should send away an unaccompanied learner later than 9am," the regulations add.
It further states that the latest reporting time for learners to a boarding institution should be 5pm.
National Parents Association charmian Silas Obuhatsa said the body was not in a position to comment on the matter since they needed to consult relevant stakeholders to get proper information on the government directive.
"We feel the ministry has reasons why it came up with the directive and therefore NPA may not be in position to make any comments for now. With time, NPA will carry out its investigations and release a comprehensive statement,"Obuhatsa said.
"We need to take time, listen to other stakeholders including parents TSC, KESSHA, KEPSHA, KNUT and KUPPET on what the government has put in place."
He said they, however, believe the ministry had conducted a proper research before coming up with the directive.
"As parents Association, we believe that the ministry might have done research to find the pros and cons on the same and realised that there is need for the directive to be put in place," Obuhatsa said.
In a phone interview with the Star, a headteacher from Rift Valley said teachers appreciate Machogu's directive on the reduction of class hours.
However, he urged the government to reduce the workload in order to enable them complete the school syllabus.
"We appreciate the directive by the CS. However, six hours will not be enough to complete syllabus. This might affect learners' education. The the workload should be reduced in order for teachers to complete the syllabus," said the headteacher.