LEST WE FORGET WHAT EDUCATION DOES TO OUR CHILDREN
Lest we Forget, There are Widening Disparities and Inequalities between Private and Public Schools
Is the FREE Primary Education, FPE providing results commensurate to the resources invested in the national exams? With the 2018 registering the highest number of candidates in the last decade, did the government increase the resources to cater for this increase? I do not think so.
Almost a 100% of the celebrations are happening in private schools, owned by individuals, partnerships or religious organizations.
Something is wrong with most of our public primary schools ranging from poor and unconcerned management, demotivated and unfocused teachers, absent and ignorant parents…leading to slow learning and poor teaching that cannot give quality nor normal curve performance.
The government spends billions on administration of exams but cannot commit to improvement of infrastructures, supervision and quality assurance, human capital as well as timely disbursement of funds; which are then mismanaged in most cases.
Now with the K.C. P.E out, how many kids from public schools will miss national and extra county schools (I do not intend to mean that other categories don’t perform, this is only for this context). They won’t miss because they cannot make it but because they have been taken up by private school candidates…sasa makosa ya mtoto ni gani? They become victim of circumstances and this in 10 or so years will widen the gap between the rich (relatively) and the poor. You are asking how?
a.Frustration due to difficulties in some harambee secondary school leads to social ills.
b. Performance in KCSE takes the same trend, national schools and top tier extra county schools where most of the students are from private schools end up getting most of their students to public universities. They will not have to pay a lot since the government subsidies will be in place. Those who didn’t manage to go to ‘good’ schools end up with kawaida or so-so grades with few exceptions of the strong ones. They will have to choose between raising money from menial jobs, harambees and relatives to go to college or to miss it…
c. Missing college or technical training will limit their opportunities with them unable to be competitive and sellable. This may lead to social vices or inherited poverty, and the cycle repeats itself with their sons and daughters.’
Lest We Forget, Nothing free is free.
Nowadays, I tend parents meetings in public schools, both primary and secondary and it has stopped being a surprise that a ‘whole’ parent cannot support any initiative from the school administration that requires an addition coin. When the same parent goes to a public hospital, he or she is ready to go and buy drugs as prescribed by the doctor. Parents in both public primary and secondary schools must learn or at least be aware that the government works with a budget and it is not in the business of marketing itself; they do not invest in luxury unless for personal gains. Lest we forget, Parent must avoid ignorance if they want to see the fruits of their children’s education. They ought to uphold objective opinions on various issues regarding the education of their sons or daughters. It is a pity that most for them take the government word as the gospel truth without putting it in a context. Why should parents not go an extra mile to do for their children what the government can’t do for all the children?
Why is it that most, if not all teenage pregnancies (won’t call them early) happened in public primary schools and are now happening in public secondary schools? Are you not worried that we no longer getting the updates as if they only gave birth the first 2 days? Kenya that is sensational and forgets. Lest we forget, teenage pregnancies is a sign of uninformed or misinformed community of teachers, learners and society…where hope is less thus so many hopeless cases. It is a problem of the poor Wanjiku.
If we can rally for 2/3 gender rule as part of affirmative action to help women rise in POLITICAL leadership; we ought to think about affirmative action for public schools or the government makes the situation better and more competitive. Why do they assume all is well? I tend to think it is because their children are beneficiaries of a cooked and crooked system of examination.
Now they are talking of 100% transition to secondary schools and this looks like a good deal to the citizens. Is it? After 4 years in secondary schools, what will the 100% take home? Another 100% to tertiary institutions? Other early pregnancies? Better grades? Disillusionment? Better characters or bigger bodies? Lest we forget, we must rethink if we do things guided by reason or political and streetwise rhetoric.
Is it about Elimu Bora ama Bora Elimu? The government must tell us. Affirmative action must not be applied selectively. We should also not punish the kids from parents who have invested in their children education. An objective and more inclusive way of placement in secondary schools must be thought about before this time bomb explodes.
The failure of the government should not be used to dilute the quality performance of privately owned schools. The education ministry must wake up and see this reality. As John Stossel says in his book ‘No, They Can’t: Why Government Fails-But Individuals Succeed’, the government has the habit of providing the basics ONLY. He has also said that reality teaches us that teachers unions want what’s best for the union. In matters education, the government must now force itself to go the extra mile and give more than the basic. Just having the basic of something is usually not very far from not having it. If it continues doing this, we may end up having a wider gap and this will make schools that are stable and sound be a preserve of the ‘able’ or for the few who strive to PAY for the education. We should not expect the unions to fight for the rights of the children.
By Samuel Kanja
Educationist, Trainer & Life Coach
samuelnkanja@gmail.com
