NAIROBI: Even though education forms the solid foundation on which a lot rests, it remains one of the most unequal things in Kenya; giving undue advantage to a few well to do in society and allowing them to run away with the trophy year in, year out.
Over the last few years, I have written about it and fervently await the fulfillment of my cherished dream; affordable quality education for all.
Education matters have in the last decade or so, been left to fall in the hands of mercenaries. Professionals have been shunted aside by individuals sporting powerful political connections, yet without the slightest clue on how a holistic education system operates, or what it entails.
The number of schools in the country may have grown exponentially since 1963 as speeches read to us on each passing Madaraka day denote, but what value addition have they made when nearly half the students who join Form one don’t make it to form four owing to prohibitive fees and other levies?
The government and ministry of education have seemingly lost control over schools which operate like private entities with a very loose organisational structure that is neither binding nor enforceable.
The fact that Deputy President William Ruto has since last year been cautioning head teachers against arbitrary fee increases, yet they impudently disregard his executive authority without fear, serves to confirm that the government is given to empty rhetoric, but lacks the commitment and will to bring matters under control.
Whereas gazette notice No 1555 of March 2015 has not been revoked, there are many 2016 school fees structures that openly defy it.
What proof, then, does the government need prior to charging defiant head teachers in a court of law? Harmless, monotonous and perfunctory threats will not suffice; the government must show its resolve through serious action.
It takes two to tango and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) took to the dance floor with such gusto and enthusiasm it has completely perplexed intransigent teachers unions. TSC has engaged the Kenya National Union of Teachers and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers on their own terms; in the courtrooms.
Having teamed up with the government to rein in teachers, every indication is that TSC will most likely have the last laugh. The government too, must exert its authority and allow parents some respite and peace of mind; they cannot continually be held hostage by some unscrupulous head teachers.
The determination of salaries should remain the preserve of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC); teachers are not exempted. Teachers may not approve of it, but like all other public servants ought, in accordance with laid down regulations, sign performance contracts and be held accountable. A situation where an employee dictates the terms of engagement to the employer is unacceptable in the maintenance of sanity and order.
Former Education Cabinet Secretary Prof Jacob Kaimenyi had the courage and goodwill to streamline educational matters by implementing recommendations made by previous government appointed commissions; the latest being the Kilemi Mwiria led commission that was appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta early last year.
Prof Kaimenyi implemented the ban on holiday tuition and gazetted affordable fee structures through the aforementioned gazette notice, giving a majority of young Kenyan learners a fair chance to get an education.
Some of these recommendations had been gathering dust on shelves in government offices for many years because they ran counter to the aspirations of the merchants who have hijacked the education sector.
Mr Kaimenyi’s bold move rubbed private school owners, head teachers and their unions the wrong way. They vilified him, called him an enemy of education and demanded for his sacking. The government obliged them; a betrayal to the majority poor whose only recourse is their government. This year, many schools have unilaterally increased school fees without authority from the ministry or discussing it with the concerned parents.
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It was an ambush laid out to fleece parents. The new Cabinet Secretary for education Dr Fred Matiangi has his work cut out for him. When he was Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communication and Technology, he threw the media industry into a spin and forced digital migration. In that same vein, Mr Matiangi is expected to exert the same zeal in bringing order to the education sector.
After schools opened their doors for first term, and only after a public outcry, did Mr Matiangi call an urgent meeting with stakeholders in the sector.
The meeting resolved that school heads must adhere to the gazetted fee structures. It is in the coming days that parents shall be able to establish the government’s commitment to affordable education in its bid to eradicate illiteracy.
Many of the levies charged are catered for by the government. As such, when schools charge them afresh, the money ends up lining a few individuals’ pockets. Corruption does not only pervade the corridors of power, it is alive and kicking in secondary schools as well.
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