Cabinet Secretary for Education, Ezekiel Machogu, has announced that Early Childhood Development (ECD), primary and secondary schools will open for the first term of 2024 on January 8.

In a statement issued on Monday, CS Machogu noted that Form One students will report to their new institutions on January 15.

“All field officers of the Ministry of Education have been advised to report to their duty stations on all working days to assist parents with necessary preparations regarding the 2024 School Calendar,” the education minister said.

Machogu at the same time urged parents and guardians to exercise utmost parental responsibility to appropriately guide their children during the festive season.

“Particularly, parents must caution their children against the dangers of drug and substance abuse that are most prevalent in some parts of the country. More importantly, parents and guardians should embark on the task of preparing learners to ensure they are ready for the 2024 school calendar,” he said.

On Friday, the Ministry of Education announced a raft of changes in the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) following recommendations by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms.

Learning areas for lower primary were reduced from 9 to 7 while upper primary will have 8 learning areas down from 10 as learners in Junior Secondary School (JSS) undertake 9 subjects as opposed to the previous 14.

Under the new structure, there will be no optional learning area for JSS with the total lessons per week reduced to 41 from 45.

The new structure will come into effect beginning January 2024.