Lorraine Anyango
27 August 2008
Nairobi — Secondary students want the current syllabus to be overhauled and replaced with one that lays emphasis on careers.
The students who met under the umbrella of Youth Agenda, where students air their views, claimed that the syllabus did not give them a chance to pursue subjects that were relevant to future jobs.
The students also complained that some punishment was not proportional to offences committed. They gave examples of some schools where students were sent home for two weeks for speaking Kiswahili.
The students also complained of sexual harassment of girls by male teachers, while prefects were accused of serving the interests of the administration, as opposed to being a bridge between the teachers and students.
The students supported the decision to bar students from carrying mobile phones while in school as this could interfere with learning.
The complaints by students come in the wake of a wave of unrest in schools that led to destruction of property and the death of one student at a city school.
Students from the affected schools were sent home.
Youth Agenda will visit six other towns in Kenya after which a report on what the students want will be forwarded to the Ministry of Education and then tabled in parliament.
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