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Past Issues

Why do girls drop out of school?

Written by Ndung’u Kang’oro | | Print | | E-mail

( 6 Votes )

Ndung’u Kang’oro looks at the root causes that lead to high female school dropout levels in Kenya.

It’s now clear that 48,192 high school graduates who scored mean grades of E and D- in last year’s examination will not be able to join any recognized Certificate level courses since such grades are not acceptable for admission to recognized certificate courses . This excludes students whose results were cancelled by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) for exam irregularities. According to Education Minister Sam Ongeri, this can be attributed to the high number of students joining form one.

Since the introduction of FPE (free primary education), the number of student joining secondary schools has been on the rise. But now the question is, “Who is to blame for poor results? Is it the schools, the government or the exam body KNEC?”

If we look at schools; schools have become areas for multi billion business for unscrupulous investors taking advantage of the high number of students who do not have access to public schools. These unscrupulous investors have been ‘creating’ schools at an alarming rate. Indeed, the number of schools in the country has risen by 70% from the year 2003, when there were 4,071 secondary schools nationwide, to 6,971 last year. And in the year 2010, more of these are bound to rise. In most of these schools, the learning environment is not conducive for candidates, with some schools failing to cover the curriculum fully. This leaves many questions unanswered, like how are candidates supposed to sit for national examination and pass when they are half baked?

Also, most of these schools have no capacity to provide the necessary learning facilities such as textbooks, laboratories, libraries and other learning equipment like computers. But the government still awards them a license to run like fully equipped schools.

In addition, many of these schools lack qualified teachers to guide students or prepare candidates for exams. The available teachers are more vocal on the issues affecting them like wanting their pay hiked, than on the issues that affect proper learning.

The Kenya National Examination council, KNEC, is not fair too. One may argue that the way exams are set is not fair. For instance, it may not appear to be a level playing field for a student in a National school like Starehe Boys’ Center or Alliance High School, to sit for the same exam as a candidate in Mirere Secondary School in Matungu district or a candidate in Garissa. One may argue that that they have been learning the same curriculum, but the truth is that one student is more prepared than the other because the schools are run in different environments. Students in Starehe have access to a well-equipped library, laboratory , computer lab and extremely qualified teachers, therefore the students here have an upper hand in exams as compared to those in lower end schools and it is very unfair to test these two students in the same way. This scenario was evident for example in last year’s exam when sterling performance was recorded in National and Provincial schools as compared to other level schools.

It is also worrisome to note that lower end schools have been enrolling a high number of students as compared to good schools despite the fact that they have good facilities. There is therefore need to close this gap between high performing Schools and lower category schools that enrol bulks of students.

It’s high time that the government invests heavily in secondary education especially in these lower end schools to stop this widening equality between schools in the country.

For good quality and equality in the education sector, the government needs to do a thorough inspection in schools and use the inspection report to level education in lower end schools. The government should also stem out unscrupulous investors who are out to make a killing in the education sector.

In addition, there is also a lot of bureaucracy in the management of schools and a lot of misuse of resources that has eroded the capacity to aid schools, most of which are overcrowded. The government has also shown little or no support to equip them. Thus the government should be in the fore front in equipping and building more schools to ease congestion in schools. Indeed, literacy is the key to realizing vision 2030, so I call on the education sector to pull up its socks to make sure there is balance in the sector.

It’s now clear that 48,192 high school graduates who scored mean grades of E and D- in last year’s examination will not be able to join any recognized Certificate level courses since such grades are not acceptable for admission to recognized certificate courses . This excludes students whose results were cancelled by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) for exam irregularities. According to Education Minister Sam Ongeri, this can be attributed to the high number of students joining form one.

Since the introduction of FPE (free primary education), the number of student joining secondary schools has been on the rise. But now the question is, “Who is to blame for poor results? Is it the schools, the government or the exam body KNEC?”

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Code Of Conduct & Ethics for Teachers

Written by Dauglas Mwanga | | Print | | E-mail

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( 1 Vote )
Did you know that the Education system of Kenya is charged with the responsibility of nurturing the growth of moral and spiritual attributes and abilities? Indeed, the teacher is always a key person in imparting knowledge, skills and attitudes that are necessary for the development of the country.

These ethics are always meant to establish standards of ethical conduct and behaviour for the teachers and all other employees of the teachers service commission (T.S.C.) Teachers are required to maintain the highest standards of integrity, dignity and aristocracy while executing their duties besides the code of regulations that they must adhere to.

EI carried out a survey to determine whether teachers really adhere to this code of conduct and ethics. But according to this survey, nothing seemed to be a right answer to this question as each teacher interviewed was defensive to what he called best practice. Well, many teachers believe that as a teacher, one should practice high levels of professionalism as well as role model and create a credible ground to work on.

According to the Code of Conduct and Ethics, a public officer referred to as a teacher in this article and who is registered with the Teachers Service Commission of Kenya shall always, in carrying out his duties, respect, protect, and promote the human rights and freedom of students without discrimination on the basis of race, tribe, political opinions, colour, creed, sex, disability, social status or culture.

A teacher practicing this career shall also maintain his professional aptitude. He shall not convey, or allow others to convey the impression that anyone is in a position to improperly influence him.

This means that a public officer shall not engage himself in any sexual activity with a student regardless of student consent or not. In this case, he shall not even make any request to, or exert pressure on a student for sexual activity or favours.

As if that’s not all, a teacher shall always be punctual and meet his deadlines in executing his duties. In his/her evaluation of students, a teacher shall be honest and judge only on the basis of performance. He shall endeavour to ensure that examinations are conducted fairly and without cheating. On this point, a question arises: How many cheating cases have been witnessed in the past of teachers aiding in the cheating of exams? This implies that teachers do not take seriously the code of conduct.

There have also been cases of teachers getting involved in the use and supply of illicit drugs in schools; especially in the coastal region. Did you know that the teachers’ code of conduct states that a professional teacher shall not supply illicit drugs or assist a student in obtaining access to illicit drugs? He should ensure that any school he works in is free of illicit drugs.

Those are just but a few of the most frequently broken codes of conduct by teachers. It is impish for teachers go against expected standards and while this code should be adhered to, it should be noted that severe reprimand is given for those teachers who breach the code.

Did you know that the Education system of Kenya is charged with the responsibility of nurturing the growth of moral and spiritual attributes and abilities? Indeed, the teacher is always a key person in imparting knowledge, skills and attitudes that are necessary for the development of the country.

These ethics are always meant to establish standards of ethical conduct and behaviour for the teachers and all other employees of the teachers service commission (T.S.C.) Teachers are required to maintain the highest standards of integrity, dignity and aristocracy while executing their duties besides the code of regulations that they must adhere to.

EI carried out a survey to determine whether teachers really adhere to this code of conduct and ethics. But according to this survey, nothing seemed to be a right answer to this question as each teacher interviewed was defensive to what he called best practice. Well, many teachers believe that as a teacher, one should practice high levels of professionalism as well as role model and create a credible ground to work on.

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Why Pregnant Women Should Listen to Classical Music

Written by EI Team | | Print | | E-mail

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( 0 Votes )
Music has a very positive effect on our lives; for most people, music plays different roles. It can be a soothing therapy for a stressful day, or a non-aggressive release for pent-up emotions. Music has affected human emotions for many years; it has also affected the culture and has a direct connection and relationship with political views in our country.

Recent studies show that music affects the brain in various ways and can significantly improve abilities both in adults and children. Much research has been done on the effects of music on the physical, emotional and intellectual development of babies and children. One recent study demonstrates that children exposed to classical music in the womb show a positive change in their physical and mental development after birth. In this experiment the fetuses were exposed to non-stop classical music during the last weeks of pregnancy. When reviewed six months after birth, these babies were more advanced in terms of LINGUISTIC (relating to language or the study of languages) MOTOR (relating to muscular movement or the nerves activating them) and INTELLECTUAL (possessing a high level of understanding or intelligence) development, than babies who received no musical stimulus during pregnancy.
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Cross Borders: What to Do When Your Boy Prefers Football to Books

Written by Kevin Ngala Jilani | | Print | | E-mail

( 0 Votes )

Many parents have in the recent past been keen on maximizing their children’s concentration on school work so that they can have a better future. As a result, children are now reading more and more books so as to enhance their chances of success in life. But as a parent, has it occurred to you that a talent could be a good career for your child? Many children have been denied the chance to discover their talents early and even fail to know their strong points. Most of them have been tuned to the fact that in books, lie their future and as a result, they’ve been forced to forget about the gold they are sitting on – their talents.

But for Brian, standing tall to make sure that he achieves something from what God gave him as a talent is a must. He is only 13-years-old and a form one student at Lukenya High school but is currently building a strong foundation of what could likely brighten his future in the next few years. Strongly attached to football, Brian has made sure that he is doing his level best to keep the fire burning in his quest to achieve his dream of being a celebrated footballer in the country. Brian who has in recent days toured different parts of the country and even out of the continent has never ceased to amaze many with his clever football tactics and dribbling techniques that have raised eyebrows and surprised many.

Education Insight paid a visit to Brian’s home in Valley View estate along Mombasa road where we found his parents: Geoffrey Munyoki and Josephine Mumbua who comprehensively narrated to us the ups and downs of their youngster’s journey of being a football superstar.
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Parent's Digest

Why do girls drop out of school?

Ndung’u Kang’oro looks at the root causes that lead to high female school dropout levels in Kenya.

Code Of Conduct & Ethics for Teachers

Why Pregnant Women Should Listen to Classical Music

Cross Borders: What to Do When Your Boy Prefers Football to Books