How our children perform in KCPE is nearly
always predictable. Invariably, children from private schools outclass those
from public schools.
However, we are reluctant to engage in the important
conversion about the achievement gap between public and private schools. We are
numb to the shameful reality that about 70 percent of the places in topflight national
and county secondary schools will be gobbled children who come through private primary
schools.
In many middle and upper middle class families,
a place in an elite public secondary school is considered a birthright to their
privileged children who ace KCPE. Hence, to deny their children a spot in the
best public schools would be a violation of their constitutional right. Reason;
they sacrificed everything to take their children to better resourced private
schools and must not be punished for making such a choice.
With very few exceptions, public primary
school is synonymous with poor quality education. And the market has responded
robustly to meet the hunger and demand for quality education. We probably have
the most competitive private primary school market in East Africa. As a matter
of fact, most teachers in public primary schools send their children to private
schools.
Why is the quality of learning outcomes so
deplorable? There are complex and related reasons for poor learning outcomes in
Kenya’s public primary schools. Moreover, we seldom pay attention to data and
research evidence when we make consequential policy choices. A recent service
delivery indicator report by the World Bank offers very interesting insights –
based purely on school factors – into why private schools consistently perform
better than public schools.
The report reveals no significant difference
in teaching equipment – functioning blackboard, chalk, pencils and notebooks –
between public and private schools. Similarly there was no real difference in
the quality of infrastructure – well-lit and ventilated classrooms, and clean
toilets – between private and public schools.
However there were significant differences
between public and private schools. The student to book ratio in public schools
was 4 to whereas only two children shared one book in private schools. The rate
of absenteeism from the classroom among public school teachers is nearly 50
percent, compared to 30 percent in private schools. Teachers in private schools
spent 33 percent more time in teaching hours compared to their public school
counterparts. Teachers in public primary schools have to teach and manage class
sizes twice as larger than class sizes in private schools.
What the report says about teacher quality
is horrifying. We have bad teachers in our schools. Over 60 percent of all teachers, in public and
private schools, do not have the minimum content knowledge required to teach.
Content knowledge is evaluated based on basic reading, writing and math at primary
4 level. However, teacher quality was somewhat better in private schools, where
49 percent of teachers had the minimum content knowledge compared to only 35 percent
in public schools. Similarly, a study conducted by the African
Population and Health Research Center in 2009 revealed that teachers scored an
average of 47 percent in a standardized primary 6 math test, with the lowest
scoring 17 percent.
What does the data tell us? Although teachers
in private schools are not phenomenally superior, they have smaller class sizes,
they have more contact hours with students who have far superior access to text
books compared to students in public primary schools. These factors interact
with non-school factors in complex, non-linear ways, to determine
student-learning outcomes. I am mindful that association is not causation.
It is obvious, what we must do. Close the
achievement gap between private and public schools. Teacher training colleges
are currently the option of last resort. It is hardly surprising that 65
percent of teachers in public primary schools can’t read at the level of a
primary 4 pupil, which also speaks volumes about the quality of high school
education. We must attract, recruit train and retain high quality teachers in
public schools.
We need to increase the ratio of books and
teachers to students. Hence we need to employ teachers and put a book in the
hands of every child. We must make sure that teachers have the tools and
resources they need to get the job done, including a investing in professional
development and continuing education for teachers in service. Only when this is
done can we hold teachers accountable to learning outcomes.
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