2 July 2009
Nairobi — For the two-and-half decades that Kenya has experimented with the 8-4-4 system of education, the programme has been the subject of emotive debate. Unfortunately, the issue has always been lost at the political level.
But the new findings of a study by Steadman presented at the secondary school headteachers conference in Mombasa, should provide fresh impetus. The key finding is that 8-4-4 has had a huge, negative impact on a whole generation.
Parents usually equate investment in education with good grades. But as the study found out, half of those writing Form Four examinations score grade D+ and below, which essentially means failure.
At the philosophical level, education is associated with higher values like social transformation, economic and political empowerment and emancipation, but here too, the system performs badly.
When they responded to the findings, the headteachers highlighted deep contradictions inherent in the system. Children spend too much time in school; teachers work too hard; and parents are over-burdened with fees, but the outcome is failure.
The justification for 8-4-4 has always been that it offers a wide curriculum comprising academic and practical subjects, thus giving children variety, but the result has been disastrous.
Only few progress after Form Four; the majority waste away because there are few opportunities for weak candidates. This mass wastage is manifested in high unemployment rates and runaway crime.
Certainly, the system has had its positives, including introducing new subjects and offering a broad curriculum, but clearly, there is overwhelming evidence that it is fatally deficient.
In 1998/99, the then Kanu government commissioned a team of experts under Dr Davy Koech to collect public views and give suggestions on how to improve the education system. The people said they wanted change. Their voice was ignored.
Today, the people are calling for change but the current political leadership is not budging either. Kenyans must keep pushing for a major overhaul, the only way to save our children from certain ruin.
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Intellect inventors was adviced learning at home and hyper active school fun. http://www.eimpc.info/