allAfrica.com: Kenya: Free Secondary Schooling Policy Faces Testing Times (Page 1 of 2)

When Kenya's government introduced free primary schooling in 2003, vast numbers of additional pupils were brought into the education system overnight, putting it on a steep learning curve.

A dearth of teachers, scarcity of textbooks and inadequate facilities were amongst the problems that made for a bumpy ride as primary schools went from educating about six million children in 2002 to the current total of eight million. And five years on, questions remain about the quality of basic education that is being provided to Kenyan children.

Arguably, these experiences should have proved an excellent dress rehearsal for the introduction of free secondary education earlier this year. But, were the lessons of the primary schooling initiative taken into account? Responses to this question are mixed, not least concerning the matter of facilities.

Too few classrooms, again?

Last year, there were 1.2 million children in Kenya's high school system. Some 400,000 students entered secondary school in 2007 -- about 60 percent of those who sat the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education -- a number expected to have risen by 200,000 this year with the introduction of subsidies to cover tuition and certain related costs.

According to certain estimates, at least 4,000 new classrooms, the equivalent of 250 schools, are needed to accommodate the 1.4 million pupils expected in public secondary schools during 2008 (learners returned to class Jan. 14). Kenya currently has 4,478 public high schools, many of which are in a state of disrepair and lack essential facilities.

"Perhaps before introduction (of the secondary schooling initiative), the whole of last year should have been used to prepare for the programme by building extra classes and hiring teachers -- but this was not done," education consultant Gilbert Obuna told IPS.

Education Secretary Karega Mutahi maintains that existing schools can accommodate the increase in secondary learners: "There are some schools which are under-utilised while others are congested. Our insistence...is to ensure balance in all schools."

Moses Ikiara, executive director the Nairobi-based Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis, also believes more efficient use could be made of the facilities at certain schools.

"What the government should have done was to have incentives to attract students and teachers to such schools. Experienced teachers and a tradition of good performance attract parents to schools. Perhaps the government should post trained teachers to such schools," he told IPS.

However, the issue of teaching staff is itself problematic.

The Teachers' Service Commission, the governmental agency that employs instructors, has told IPS that there are plans to take on 4,000 extra teachers to cater for the additional high school students -- essential in light of the education ministry's limits on class size. Schools must have a minimum of 40 and maximum of 45 students per class to receive money under the new initiative.

But presently, authorities have frozen the recruitment of additional teachers, only employing staff to replace those leaving the 235,000-strong service. So, is the experience of free primary education -- certain teachers having to deal with overly-large classes -- being repeated in high schools?

Last year, the average teacher-pupil ratio in Kenya's secondary schools already stood at one to 45.

"With larger class enrolment our workload is more. This makes our members do more. The government should either employ more teachers or compensate our members for taking more lessons," Arthur Waweru of the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers said in an interview with IPS.

Concerns about quality

A lack of facilities at schools, busier teachers What do these trends spell for the quality of education in Kenyan secondary institutions?

Indications are that many public high schools are already struggling to perform well in national examinations, a situation that could be worsened by pupils entering institutions that are ill-equipped to receive them.

"It is obvious that quality will be compromised," Judy Achoka, head of the education planning and management department at the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in western Kenya, told IPS. "The government was not ready."

Notes David Aduda, chairman of the African Network of Education Journalists: "Getting children through secondary school without providing quality education is not good enough. Secondary education should properly prepare children for their careers and future life; without passing well in national examinations one's career choices are limited."

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