Class Four pupils 'can't do Class Two work'

By Kennedy Murithi

Children in Kenya are graduating from primary schools without necessary reading and counting skills.

According to new research findings released on Tuesday, half of the children in class four cannot do class two work and one out of 10 children in Class Eight today can not do Class Two level division.

The report by Uwezo Initiative, an NGO, shows that seven out of every 10 lower primary school children lack competency to move to the next class.

Uwezo Initiative Regional Manager Sara Ruto says that most of the schools face teacher and pupil absenteeism, a fact that greatly affects the performance.

“Every child has the right to education and there must be a teacher to show them the basics of education for them to proceed to higher classes,” Ruto said.

The report further says the rural areas of the country are the hardest hit with an average teacher shortage of four teachers in every primary school in Kenya.

Also, 13 per cent of teachers in rural areas are engaged in other activities like selling in shops and taking care of their households besides teaching.

However, parents are making an effort to make sure children receive education as they employ one out of every five teachers in every school.

Releasing the report, Ruto asked the Government, through the Ministry of Education, to impact basic skills to children at an early stage to make Vision 2030 a reality.

Quality of education

She said that the future and success of Vision 2030 depends greatly on the content and quality of education the children are impacted with.

“Basic skills should be a base for the realisation of Vision 2030.” Ruto added.

Another significant factor that was found to contribute to lack of learning was unidentified poor eyesight among children whose learning levels are 27 per cent lower than those with good eyesight.  The study, whose report will also be released in Tanzania and Uganda, was carried out in 124 districts capturing 134, 000 children aged between 6 to 10.

According to the report, children from Western Province are worst hit as more than half of Class 3 children cannot read Class 2 stories.

The assessment was conducted using learning materials based on class two level English, Kiswahili and Mathematics.