Kenyan
youth have no qualms about taking or giving a bribe and 30 percent believe
corruption is profitable. Over 50 percent believe it does not matter how one
makes money as long as one does not end up in jail. About 60 percent of Kenyans
aged between 18 and 35 think it is not important to pay taxes. Do you wonder
how the youth got here?
We all
have friends, relatives or acquaintances that have made odious wealth not
through hard work but gaming the system by evading taxes, obtaining lucrative
government contracts through ethnic patronage or by paying a bribe. Some of us
bribed to get the jobs we hold. Some parents have paid a bribe to have their
children admitted to public schools. And yes, some parents and teachers have
paid bribes to have national examination papers leaked to students.
Our
houses of faith are not spared. Religious leaders sell miracles and other forms
of divine intercession. The public perceives the police, Judiciary and Lands
ministry as the most corrupt. In 2015, the Public Accounts Committee of the
National Assembly was disbanded over following allegations of corruption,
extortion and blackmail.
The
succinct description of the state of Kenya’s values came from President Uhuru
Kenyatta. During a state visit to Israel in February, President Kenyatta
described Kenyans as whiners, expert thieves, ethnic bigots who relish trading
insults and perpetuating other evils.
There
is no doubt we have a crisis. Corruption and dishonorable conduct in public and
in private has become the norm. Impunity and grotesque entitlement is no longer
frowned at. Decency, honesty, integrity, patriotism and hard work have become
hollow and unworthy ideals, which are ridiculed in national conversations.
Our
society is falling apart. A society is bound together through a shared positive
core values and inspired leadership that provide a framework and vision for a
cohesive, moral and ethical living. Can we raise a new generation that could
redeem our society?
Some people
believe the radical reform of the school curriculum provides a unique
opportunity to align education with Chapters two and six of the Constitution.
Various articles in these chapters, for example, Articles 10 and 73 provide a
basis for creating a national vocabulary based on fundamental principles of
citizenship, public and private ethics.
Consensus
is emerging around the idea of a values-based education as response to Kenya’s
ethical and moral collapse. A values-based education locates the search for
meaning and purpose of life in the learning process. It means the development
the whole person beyond literacy and numeracy. It means civilizing an
individual’s life purpose, refining their moral and ethical acuity.
Kenya
sorely needs honest men and women who can be trusted in public and private, who
are willing to be drum majors for integrity, justice, equality, national unity
and common decency. We need a new generation that will put the interests of
Kenya above parochial ethnic or personal interests. A values-based education is
a good place to begin and we must try.
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