The data recently released by the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) was unbelievable — more than 100,000 students each listed either Alliance High School, Alliance Girls High School, Mang’u High School, Limuru Girls’ School or Loreto High School, Limuru as their first choice.

Never mind the number of national schools has gone up substantially from the original 17. I have no data on student choices in the previous years, but as the number of national schools goes up, so does the popularity of the original 17 national schools.

 Brand and prestige

That should not surprise us — increasing the number of national schools diluted their brand and prestige. That raised the prestige and brand of the ‘original’ institutions.

We derive part of our identity from the schools we went through. School identity competes with other identities like tribe, church and family background. Once you go through a school, that label follows you throughout your life. A good label is an asset that makes a big difference in the job market, to your ego and even long-term dreams.

The same brand dilution has led to the great economic interest in Nairobi. Noted how the city has become vibrant? The traffic jams cannot entirely be blamed on cheaper petrol. The rural-urban influx did not end with devolution.

As counties got their capitals, the prestige of Nairobi increased because there can be only one national capital. To stand out, you go to the city.

Back to schools. It seems another alternative to ranking based on student performance is the popularity of the school — that is, how many students applied to the school as a first choice.

Other countries got there before us. The only difference is that in most countries, top high schools are private. A few examples: UK has Eton College, a high school established in 1440, the US has St Philips (1781), South Africa has Grey College (1855) and Japan has Azabu High School (1895).

Kenya is unique in having top secondary schools as public institutions. This is a legacy of our history. The good schools students are fighting for were among the first to be set up, mostly by missionaries, who set a culture of excellence based on Christian religion.

When they left, they seem to have left with the culture of excellence. That is how some great schools disappeared from the radar (I’m sure you can name some).

It is surprising that student choice did not become a subject on social media or among policy makers. Yet, the number of applicants to Alliance Girls was more than the population of Nyeri or Kitale towns!

These choices indicate a serious shortage of good schools. And why not. After the great wave of harambee schools some years after independence and during the Moi era, few new schools have been built.

Look at all the apartment complexes coming up in Nairobi, any schools attached to them? We build supermarkets, and other commercial enterprises, but not schools.

It is all economics; supply and demand. The demand for good schools has gone up, courtesy of the rising population and more discerning parents. The supply of good schools has remained the same or reduced, courtesy of mismanagement.

 School mismanagement

But headmasters are products of our societies. They reflect our values and aspirations. Lots of school heads may not have got those positions on merit and have no incentive to improve the aspirations of the next generation. Add the fact that very few teachers in Kenya pursued a bachelor of education degree as their first choice.

How are head teachers selected, since there is no voting? The mismanagement of secondary schools is another topic altogether, and a serious one.

Investors in education have shied away from this sector. Those who have tried have not replicated the success of the missionaries, except Moi High School Kabarak. Other well-performing schools like Strathmore School and Mary Mother in Laikipia still have a strong church influence.

So where do we go from here?

It is very traumatising to have children perform so well and not get into schools of their choice. The solution is simple: let us increase the number of good schools by ensuring they are well managed and traditions are retained. With many good schools, we shall not have more than 100,000 students applying to one school with only 300 vacancies.

Now that ranking has been abolished, is it not time to remove quotas in admission to high schools for private schools?

Can the Government give incentives to investors in private education to satisfy this demand? That could include giving free education money to pupils in private schools and letting parents top up the difference.

Interestingly, there are lots of reports on the performance of county governments, but not county schools. What happened to the idea of centres of excellence?

We talk about Singapore and other shining examples of economic transformation, do we bother to find out the role education played?

 Social stability

Some observers have noted that Kenya’s affluent long gave up on public education and now take their children through private schooling from elementary to university, and then channel them to work in the private sector.

That widens the class divide and is not good for social stability. That is probably why you meet Asians and wazungus in the supermarket, but not in classrooms.

We cannot be talking of a scarcity of good schools 51 years after independence. Was uhuru not about improving on what the mzungu left us?

If we cannot take care of our most precious resource, our children, then we ought to be ashamed as a nation.

The writer is a lecturer, University of Nairobi.

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