A total of 572 Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) classrooms have so far been completed and ready for commissioning, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha revealed yesterday.

 Speaking in Mombasa where he commissioned a CBC classroom at Aldina Visram Secondary School, Magoha  said construction of 6,470 classrooms was ongoing in the first phase of the project.

The government intends to deliver at least 11,000 new classrooms by the end of the year ahead of the Junior Secondary School rollout.

He said State officers were doing an excellent work in the implementation of the project and urged them to continue with the same spirit to ensure the project is completed within the stipulated time.

“For those naysayers and I dare say busybodies, who claim we are constructing single, useless and sub-standard classrooms, I would like you to compare this classroom and any of the existing ones and state whether they are comparable,” he said.

Magoha directed the immediate payment of the money owed to local contractors, adding that the government has prudently utilised the funds budgeted for the CBC classrooms project.

“We have reduced the price of each classroom from Sh1.26 million to  Sh788,000 including taxes and if we are at 56 per cent completion rate that tells you something. Kenya is not a poor country and we shall get value for our money. We should not be afraid if it is done in the best interest of the citizens,” he added.

The minister singled out Coast, North East, Nyanza and Eastern region’s officers in the ministries of Education and Interior for a sterling performances in the implementation of the project.

Elaborate measures

“I want to thank my officers in the field for great work in the above areas l have mentioned. In terms of ranking, there are four regional directors of education whom I wish to name and that is not to say others are not working. May we continue to encourage ourselves to do our work better,” he added.

On the national examinations, the CS said Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination is ready to be administered next month. He assured candidates and parents that the government has placed elaborate measures to ensure registered candidates sit the final primary school examinations without any hitches.