The government has allocated Sh. 25 billion
to fund a signature campaign pledge; free day secondary education starting
January 2018. This is perhaps the strongest demonstration by the government
that a high school education must become a birthright to every Kenyan child.
Ordinarily, this would be absolutely
laudable, eliciting universal praise across the land. But the wider society and
education professionals have not received the announcement with celebration or
praise. Many are disappointed that the policy minders both in the Ministries of
Education and Finance have allowed themselves to be wagged by politicians. They
have failed to demonstrate professional grit buttressed by evidence.
The evidence shows that the introduction of
free primary education has been associated with over enrollment and a
disastrous teacher pupil ratio. Some public schools are hovels; lacking walls,
desks, toilets and water. Moreover standards in numeracy and literacy in public
schools have collapsed. Studies show that only 3 out 10 children in standard 3
can read and add at the level required in standard 2.
While enrollment rates in standard one have
shot up in some counties, both retention and completion have been atrocious
with just about 70 percent of every standard one cohort completing standard 8. This
is disconcerting and complicates the path to 100 percent transition to
secondary school for every standard one cohort.
What have we learned in the course of
implementing free primary education? Can we make free day secondary education
work? Keep in mind that day secondary schools are where the children who barely
made it in KCPE go. Also keep in mind that these children come from poor
families who mostly are rural farmers/pastoralist or employed in the informal
sector in small towns and cities across the country.
We also must not forget that a majority
these students barely made it in KCPE. Admission into public secondary schools
is merit based and most public day secondary schools are at the bottom of the
barrel. Ideally such students need great teachers, excellent facilities, and
literally all the support they can get to succeed in high school.
Will the noble intentions of free day
secondary education falter and fail under the weight of poor sloppy
implementation? Have we learned any lessons from free primary education that
continues to hemorrhage hard precious and scarce public funds? Is this another
round of Russian roulette with the future of Kenya’s less privileged children?
I suggest that our experience with
government-funded education has not been great. In fact it has failed. I would
suggest that we try something different this time. How about conditional grant
transfers to public schools to incentivize teaching excellence, retention and
completion rates?
Are we committed to preparing our children
for a brutally competitive knowledge-based economy? Not any quality of
education will do. We must invest in teacher training; pay teachers well and
hold them accountable. We must invest school infrastructure and eliminate the
boarding school bias and ensure that 100 percent transition is buttressed by
measureable competence at every transition grade.
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