The information age or the
digital era has come with and introduced many interesting concepts, attention-grabbing
ideas and new ways of life. Education before the digital age was ‘manual’-
everything done on paper and to a larger extent activity oriented. However with
the information age, things have changed. The amount of information found on
the online community is immense. In fact in this era, it is almost possible to
find any kind of information online. The online community has become schools for many too. The problem comes when the information retrieved
online is not genuine, or rather not verifiable. Not all information on the
internet is relevant.
Education and resources in Kenya.
Monday
Why the government should consider paying the teachers.
The education sector is at a standstill. Students are at home and the teachers are on the government to pay them. Members of Parliament were the first group to stage their strike and of
course they reaped the best from it. This strike by the Members of Parliament
came only three months after getting into office. Their demands were felt to be
so high and considering the wage bill of the country at the moment, it was
generally felt that the demands of the MPs could not go through. However, this
was not to be when the Members of Parliament awarded themselves a hefty pay
that in essence went even higher than what they demanded.
Friday
How to manage a large classroom.
Large class gives challenges to
teachers especially in most of public schools in Africa have free primary
education. However this doesn't mean that you can’t achieve your class
objectives. The pupils in this class will learn comfortably as we assume for
the small number of a class. Moreover, this large class will give you an
opportunity to improve your teaching make it enjoyable and rewarding for your
learners. What counts most is your quality of teaching.
Reasons why students fail.
Every student should be in school to excel. Parents are sometimes taken by surprise when their children fail to perform well or even perform very poorly in the academics. It is best to understand why this can sometimes happen.
Education for women empowerment.
Education enlightens a person. It
makes life meaningful. It is equally necessary for man as well as woman. One
who does not have proper education leads a miserable life. Women have an
important role in the life of a society and as such they should be educated. It
was only in the past few centuries that women were denied the benefits in
education. Because of this their role in society got confined to their homes.
Girls were not allowed to study along with boys. Rich people got their girls
educated at homes.
Unemployment is real in Kenya.
Unemployment situations in Kenya are and have been an issue to worry about. Every year, many students transit from different colleges and universities in search for jobs. The influx is so great that even the employer is confused on what to expect from the employees or even on who is best to fit some particular vacancies.
The system of education in Kenya has also been criticized on what some say is not a relevant system. Most of the skills that are acquired in schools are not consistent with the needs of the people and this further hardens the search for employment for many youths.
Tuesday
National goals of education in Kenya.
Education in Kenya should:
1. Foster nationalism,
patriotism and promote national unity
Kenya's people belong to
different communities, races and religions, but these differences need not
divide them. They must be able to live and interact as Kenyans. It is a
paramount duty of education to help the youth acquire this sense of nationhood
by removing conflicts and by promoting positive attitudes of mutual respect,
which enable them to live together in harmony, and foster patriotism in order
to make a positive contribution to the life of the nation.
2. Promote social,
economical, technological and industrial needs for national development
Education should prepare
the youth of the country to play an effective and productive role in the life
of the nation.
a) Social Needs
Education in Kenya must prepare children for the changes in attitudes and
relationships , which are necessary for the smooth progress of a rapidly developing
economy. There is bound to be a silent social revolution following in the wake
of rapid modernization. Education should assist our youth to adapt to this
change.
b) Economic Needs
Education in Kenya should produce citizens with skills, knowledge, expertise and
personal qualities that are required to support a growing economy. Kenya is building up a modem and independent economy, which is need of
adequate domestic manpower.
c) Technological and
Industrial Needs
Education in Kenya should provide the learners with the necessary skills and
attitudes for industrial development. Kenya recognises the rapid
industrial and technological changes taking place, especially in the developed
world.
We can only be part of
this development if our education system deliberately focused on knowledge,
skills and attitudes that will prepare the youth for these changing global
trends.
3. Promote individual
development and self- fulfillment
Education should provide
opportunities for the fullest development of individual talents and
personality. It should assist children to develop their potential, interests
and abilities. A vital aspect of individual development is character building.
4. Promote sound moral
and religious values
Education should provide
for the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enhance
acquisition of sound moral values and help children to grow up into
self-disciplined, self-reliant and integrated citizens.
Ill
5. Promote social
equality and responsibility
Education should promote
social equality and foster a sense of social responsibility within an education
system which provides equal educational opportunities for all. It should give
all children varied and challenging opportunities for collective and corporate
social services irrespective of gender, ability or geographical environment.
6. Promote respect for
and development of Kenya's
rich and varied cultures
Education should instil
in the youth of Kenya an understanding of past and present cultures
and their valid place in contemporary society. The children should be able to
blend the best of traditional values with the changed requirements that follow
rapid development in order to build a stable and modem society.
7. Promote international
consciousness and foster positive attitudes towards other nations
Kenya is part of the international community. It is a
part of the complicated and interdependent network of peoples and nations.
Education should therefore lead the youth of the country to accept membership in
this international community with all the obligations, responsibilities, rights
and benefits that this membership entails.
8. Promote positive
attitudes towards good health and environmental protection
Education should
inculcate in the youth the value of good health in order to avoid indulging in
activities that will lead to physical or mental ill health. It should foster
positive attitudes towards environmental development and conservation. It
should lead the youth to appreciate the need for a healthy environment.
Monday
Teaching as a profession.
Teaching refers the process
of imparting knowledge or skill, it is an activity intended to induce learning.
While these definitions are simply stated --the act or art of teaching can be
quite difficult.
Teaching is a very
professional career where an individual is held accountable through a series of
tests, assessments and tools to gauge the achievement of students and their
learning. Teachers utilize their skills to convey a variety of teachable subjects
to students within the classroom from math, science, history, social studies,
to music, art, and life skills. The list of subjects that are put into the
hands and creative minds of educators could go on for great lengths.
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| Do you respect your teachers? |
Teaching is a partnership
between schools, community, and parents to help children succeed in their
academic careers. Each time a teacher has exposure to a student, they have the
opportunity to provide building blocks for students to take with them to new
studies and plateaus.
Teaching is such a rewarding
and challenging career, as teachers reach outside the box, and often outside
their range of knowledge to help students overcome academic, social, and
emotional challenges to ensure success. It is incredibly rewarding when
individuals have worked diligently with success in reaching students and
allowing them to reach their potential growth. It can be a struggle to know
that we are planting seeds in the youth that we are influencing and not see
cultivated change but know that the changes will come in the near future.
Teachers are a valuable
resource to communities worldwide, nationwide, and community-wide. They provide
an essential role of helping provide the best possible means of education to a
group of students that they possibly can. In becoming a teacher, individuals
learn a variety of tools in their education. Aspiring teachers have a criterion
of classes that will help shape their knowledge base to become outstanding
educators.
Saturday
Former Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo is dead.
It is with grief that the country has learnt about
the death of former education Minister Hon Mutula Kilonzo. According to some
latest news from the family, the current Makueni Senator died at around one p.m.
at his home. The cause of his death according to sources from the family is not
yet known but they say that he has not been sick.
The Machakos county senator will be remembered for
different professional handling of issues he has always shown and especially
being a lawyer and for the directions he has always stood on as a minister in
the education sector.
He is particularly known and celebrated as one of
those Kenyans who worked tirelessly in documenting the new constitution.
Leaders have started sending their messages of
condolence to the family of the late.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi said
that the country has lost a great legal profession and a committed leader
especially in reforming Kenya.
Mudavadi
said, “It is with deep sorrow that I have learnt of the untimely death of my
friend and former cabinet colleague Senator Mutula Kilonzo of Makueni.”
Mutula was one of the key leaders in the CORD
coalition through which he was elected the first Machakos senator. May his soul rest in peace.
We will keep you informed on the latest news on the
same issue. Stay tuned.
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Friday
Are laptops for primary school children a priority?
Today, there are questions and analyses of whether the
government’s initiative to bring in laptops to primary school is a good idea or
not. My questions are;
1.
Will free laptops improve learning in primary
schools?
2.
Are the laptops really a priority in this time?
3.
Are the laptops accommodative?
It is without doubt a very good move towards achieving the
goal of embracing technology in the education sector, but we have to first face
the problems that we face as a nation first before we get to other complicated inclusions.
Education experts argue that the best initiative by the government
could be to introduce even free textbooks for every child and provide good
learning environment before the laptops arrive. Moreover, with the challenges facing the education
sector in the country, it could be better if those problems are dealt with
first. For instance, many public schools have no good classes, inadequate
teaching staff, and lack of enough books among other challenges.
The other question is whether these laptops will improve
learning in schools. This to some extent may be so but what about the reality
of the fact that even teachers are not computer literate and hence may have
some difficulties implementing this program? This kind of initiative will also
encourage individual and not group learning which is encouraged in the early
levels of education.
The cost of implementing this plan is also a factor of discussion.
Many people argue that it would be fair to distribute this money in other
projects before the laptops come in.
The truth be, implementing this project twill be a reason to
bring confusion in the education system and it would d be fair to first listen
to other pressing needs in the education sector before this luxury come in.
Solutions to education challenges in Kenya.
Kenya’s
struggle for independence
served a major foundation
for her educational
development and change. The
Kenyan government had
to take quick
action after independence
in 1963 to
develop a new
educational policy and
strategy to satisfy
individual and national
needs. In pursuit to
attain a suitable educational system, education in
Kenya has faced
a lot of challenges and
some are yet to be
solved today. Its important
therefore to explore
these challenges and
suggest some of
the possible solutions
to them.
Criticism
on the curriculum.
For
a long time, the
Kenyan Institute Of
Education has not
had qualified curriculum
developers. It has largely
depended on the
expertise of school
teachers who do
not necessarily understand the
theory of curriculum
development. They also lack confidence
to innovate and
have resorted to
importing curriculum packages
and modifying them
to suit Kenyan
education. This may lead
to irrelevance of
the curriculum as it may not
meet the interests
of the Kenyan
nation. This problem may
be solved by
initiating a course on
curriculum development both
in diploma and
degree level which will go
a long way in
training curriculum developers
to meeting the
needs of curriculum
development.
There
has also been widespread dissatisfaction
with the existing curriculum. The
curriculum has been
criticized to contain
a lot of
irrelevance of much
of what is taught and
learned in schools. Its narrow in scope and overemphasizes
on passing examinations. Interviews
on a wide
variety of people
such as teachers
and parents especially
on what should
be included in
the curriculum and
in the course
of preparation of
books will ensure
a suitable curriculum
is developed. Rapid changes
on the curriculum
also undermine teachers
and pupil confidence
in it. The curriculum
should be therefore
not be changed
regularly and there
should be curriculum
diffusion at all
levels including parents
and politicians.
Criticism on the 8-4-4 system.
The
8-4-4 has been
often criticized for
being burdensome to
pupils and teachers
as teachers and
pupils require many
books and physical
facilities. Further still it
has been criticized
of not being
able to equip
learners with immediate
life skills. The ministry
of education should
be therefore reduce
the curriculum offering
to ensure effective
learning takes place
and also make it
adaptable to national
needs and developments.
Gender
disparities.
For
a long time, education in
Kenya has witnessed
a lot of
gender inequalities in
enrollment of pupils. Enrollment of
the girl child
has been considerably
low in primary, secondary and
university levels. This disparities
may be attributed to
social and cultural
believes that favor
education of the
boy child. Further still
it may suggest
that when confronted
with constraints of
limited opportunities or
resources, parents favor education
of the male. Educating people
on the importance
of educating the
girl child and
launching affordable or
free compulsory education
to all Kenyans
will go a long
way in bridging
the gender gap.
Challenges
of free compulsory
education.
In
the year 2003
and 2008,the Kenyan
government launched the
program of free
primary education and
subsidized secondary education
respectively. This program was
to go a
long way to
ensure everybody could
access education in
Kenya regardless of
their economic and social
differences. True to its
goal the education
sector realized an
explosion in enrollment
of students in
both primary and
secondary levels. As a
results of the
high enrollment numbers
the free education
has faced a multiple
of problems that
has affected its
efficiency . Some of these
problems include; delays in disbursement of
funds, mismanagement of
funds, lack of funds
overcrowding of classes, lack
of enough teachers, overworking of
teachers and lack
of instructional requirements. All these
problems have affected
performance in public
schools and hence
should be addressed. For instance
the government should
disburse funds in
good time to
ensure school activities
run well. It should
also ensure the
funds are managed
appropriately through supervision
and auditing of
financial records. The communities
should also work
in hand with
the government raise
funds in aid
of constructing enough
classrooms for students. More teachers
should also employed
to suit the
higher numbers of
students and be
highly supervised to
ensure effective performance.
Unsatisfactory performance in mathematics and
sciences.
There
has been poor
performance in mathematics
and sciences in
national examinations over
years. This can however be attributed to the measure of staffing
situation. Primary level teachers
lack adequate background
and find the
subjects very difficult
or lack motivation
to teach. At secondary
level output of
university graduates is
low and not
all take up
teaching professions and
those who do
the retention rate is
very low. Bachelor of
education degree in
science and mathematics
education for both
primary and secondary teachers
should be introduced
to train competent
teachers and a
science education centre
on teachers in
service units should
be established in the universities
and Kenya Institute
of Education both
adequately equipped and
staffed.
Lack of homogeneity
as a result
of multiplicity of
languages.
Use of
vernaculars especially at
elementary levels as
a teaching media
has undermined homogeneity
of education in Kenya. The
use of vernacular
languages as much as they
may be beneficial
to Kenyan communities
instill tribalism among children at
a tender age. Hence the
ministry of education
should eradicate use
of vernaculars as
teaching aids in
schools to ensure
uniformity and the
children should be
encouraged to view
themselves as Kenyans at
an early age.
H.I.V/A.I.DS Pandemic.
H.I.V/A.I.DS has adversely
affected education in Kenya. Loss of
manpower in education
can be highly attributed to
these pandemic. Many students
have lost their
parents too through H.I.V/A.I.D.S
that has become
a national disaster. To
reduce the effect
of these pandemic
that continues to claim
more lives, there should
be wide spread
education of masses
on prevention and
control of the
disease. A lot of attempts
should also be
made by scientists
to ensure a cure
for H.I.V is
found.
Constant strikes of teachers.
Recent years has witnessed constant and prolonged
strikes by teachers. This is as a
result of low
wages, delays in teachers’
salaries poor working
conditions and bridge
of contracts agreed upon by the
teachers unions and
the government. The result
of these constant
strikes is the
disruption of education
activities which automatically
results to poor
performance. Failure to honor
teachers demands also
dehumanizes the teaching
profession. Hence there should
be better and
well outlined salaries
and working conditions
for teachers and
the government should
respect and honor
teacher’s grievances.
Insecurity.
Insecurity is
one of the
current problem facing
education in Kenya. Ethnical clashes
witnessed in 2007-2008
post-election violence and
Tana River in
2012 greatly affect
educational activities.
Students and teachers
in some parts
of the country
such as North
Eastern Kenyan that
are prone to
insecurity are always worried
of their safety. The
Kenyan government should ensure
a safe learning
environment for teacher
by providing enough
security. Kenyans should also
be educated to
identify themselves as Kenyans
and not according
to their ethnic
communities.
4.10
Lack
of a Clear Professional Identity.
A profession is
an occupation, practice or
vocation requiring mastery
of a complex set
of knowledge and
skill through formal
education or experience.
The teaching profession
has often criticized
for lacking a
clear professional identity. This is
because of a lot
of untrained teachers
or quacks who
enter the teaching
profession and leave
at will without any control.
To curb
these problem, the ministry
of education should
establish a strategy
to protect teaching profession and to also monitor
private schools. A lot of
teachers should also
be trained to
ensure there are no
shortages that would
result to the
inclusion of untrained
teachers in the
profession.
Natural Calamities.
Natural calamities such
as droughts and floods affect educational activities. Methods of
land reclamation, agro
forestry and irrigation
in areas constantly
faced by famine
will ensure there are no constant
droughts. Migration from areas
constantly faced by
floods and near
rivers will also ensure
that these calamities
do not affect
educational activities.
Monday
KCPE results 2012
The 2012 KCPE examinations that were released on Monday 28th are an indication of just how Kenyan education system is rising in terms of performance.
For those students who sat the 2012 KCPE examinations, here is how to check for your results:
1. Send an SMS of your Index Number to 5052 to get 2012 KCPE Results on your phone instantly.
2. Check the knec website for the results.
The page is currently not available. Once it is active, you will get an information on the same.
You can also check here for more.
For those students who sat the 2012 KCPE examinations, here is how to check for your results:
1. Send an SMS of your Index Number to 5052 to get 2012 KCPE Results on your phone instantly.
2. Check the knec website for the results.
The page is currently not available. Once it is active, you will get an information on the same.
You can also check here for more.
Challenges that face girl child education in developing countries.
Education in emergencies is a critical intervention in the promotion of gender equality. It can create opportunities for girls and women for cognitive development and individual empowerment that may not have existed before. Beyond this education opportunities can help to improve the status of women and girls in society. Women and girls participation is critical in post-emergency recovery, reconstruction and peace-building efforts and gender-responsive education programmes that give girls opportunities to learn new skills & develop their confidence help to have the way in this process.
When schools are destroyed and children have to fraud long and possibly dangerous distances to attend the nearest function facility, girls are more likely to stay at home.
When schools are damaged or just not maintained and no sanitary facilities exist, girls and especially adolescent girls are disproportionately affected; they may have to miss school during menstruation.
Boys may be at risk of abduction and forced to recruitment by fighting forces at school or on their way to and from school, but girls may also be at increased risk of abduction and sexual violence and exploitation.
In emergencies, there are usually for fewer women who are able to volunteer as teachers and girls are disproportionately affected when schools are dominated by men.
Where parents are unable to pay school fees and buy the necessary supplies, boys may be more able- and it may be safer for them-to go out and engage in income-generating activities to pay their own school fees than girls.
For refugees, IDPs and other affected by crises, the symbolic power of education as a force on change and as passport to a different and better life is particularly strong; children often want to go school, whatever the costs.
Girls who are desperate to attend school and to get good grades may have to engage in transactional sex with older men-and even teachers in order to pay their fees, cover the costs of supplies and ensure good guides, thus exposing them to higher risks of STD’s and HIV/AIDS infection.
Children who are separated from their families and living in temporary condition with relatives or foster families, may lack the support and encouragement to continue their education. These are especially the case on girls who are expected to do household chores and have no time to study.
Teenage pregnancy rates are often very high in refugee and IDP camps, and girls with their own babies may not be able to attend school because of exclusion policies, social stigma, no extended family to provide childcare, lack of appropriate facilities.
Girls who are disabled, disfigured or severely mentally affected by the crisis are likely to be kept at home, possibly even hidden from outsiders and very unlikely to be able to go to school.
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