While the Ministry for Education might think they have, through the new intake system for form one selection created equity, the Ministry is in actual sense perpetuating discrimination and their latest policy is not a solution to the perennial lack of enough places for students who sit standard 8 examinations.
The solution to this problem lies in a holistic approach to providing enough places for all students; be they from Public or Private schools. First and foremost, the assumption that all children in private schools are from rich families is a fallacy just like assuming all children in public schools are from poor families. A check at Aga Khan Primary(Nairobi), Visa Oshwal Primary, Nairobi Primary, and Hospital Hill Primary among others will give you the picture. These are schools part owned by City Council, in essence public schools yet the upper middle class drive their children to these schools every day. On the loop side are "Private Academies" in the villages which cannot compare to these "public schools". They are "mabati and mud walle structures" whose only serious facility is the name Academy to show for it. Many do not even produce pupils with 300 marks. "Academies" are even found in Kibera and Mathare. Does Ole Kiyiapi and Ongeri know this or they have never been to Mathare and Kibera? Many in these slums charge Ksh. 200 per term fees!!!
With this background, the good Professors have created more discrimination than solving anything. Their starting point should have been the following strategy;
1. Increase chances for admission into secondary schools by encouraging more private secondary schools in the interim as the government improves the public primary schools to measure up to performance of private primary schools.
2. Ensure Free Primary Education billions is well spent to improve public schools to standards of the said private schools. There has been no serious tracking of how FPE funds are used and none other than the Minister for Education has acknowledged in public diverting FPE funds to his own political backyard.
3. Ensure all public secondary schools are provided funding that makes them competitive and attractive. Why should over 450,000 students be competing for just less than 18,000 places in National Schools each of which gobbles funds that could sustain 50 District Schools? This scram for places in National and Provincial Schools would become a thing of the past if District Schools are made attractive and equally able to provide quality education.
4. Review the exam system to ensure students sit exams of their abilities. This calls for a General Papers and Extended Papers. This way, fear of failure will become a thing of the past and cheating will reduce. Because we have over emphasized grades against skills, what is achieved from our education systems are grades and not skills, the reason our children are good at cramming and not reasoning.
5. That policies and not made for populist reasons but for posterity, the Ministry for Education should strive to make our education system trusted, by lowering marks for public schools intake, the message the Ministry is sending out is that mediocrity is what thrives in public schools and they actually condone the same.
The Ministry should realize that the parents who have opted to take their children to Private schools have in their own way tried to mitigate the crisis of our education system. The emergence of private schools is a symptom for run down education policies and standards. Why would one pay taxes which are used for FPE and again pay Academy fees? It is because the public school system has broken down and the emergence of Private schools was a response to this situation. Double taxing and then punishing such parents, many of whom are only rich in the fertile imagination of the Professors is not only callous but insensitive. Many are sacrificing, like the story of one Beatrice Odero who wrote in these forums. Many a times she walks to work, skips lunch and hardly has the luxuries of life to ensure her child gets good education in a private school.
This is what we expect the good Professors to address.
Otieno Sungu.
Chair-Vugu Vugu mashinani.
Email-Chair@vuguvugumashinani.or.ke
website: www.vuguvugumashinani.or.ke
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