He's done good, but Matiang'i's proposal may water down quality of schools

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has told national boarding schools to prepare to have day streams.

Dr Matiang’i spoke at the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) conference in Mombasa and noted that day schooling would be critical to improve the education sector and enhance access.

However, I do not agree with the minister as this is likely to interrupt normal programmes in these schools, which will in turn affect performance. While we appreciate the reforms Dr Matiang’i has been implementing in the sector, we must be careful not to water down quality even as we seek to enhance access to education for many. Let us have day and boarding schools and equip them properly. Fred Shisia

The proposal to have day scholars in boarding schools is ill-advised.

It is these day students who will used to bring substances to their boarding counterparts. One of the reasons a good number of day students are badly behaved is because of their constant association with the surrounding society. Matiang’i said students who preferred to stay at home while attending big schools should be allowed to do so. However, he should remember there are reasons why we have day and boarding schools.

The CS should respect this. Instead of promoting day schooling, the CS should concentrate his efforts on ensuring that there are more boarding schools. After all, the home environment is not always conducive for learning. Fred Chuanya.

I support Education CS Fred Matiang’i’s new policy to introduce day school streams in our boarding schools.

This is the way to go. As a matter of fact, we need to phase out boarding schools at both primary and secondary levels. The Government should have a master plan to make all schools day institutions except in a few nomadic areas so that education is not interrupted when their parents move around in search of water and pasture for their livestock.

The huge sums of money we spend on boarding schools, including feeding our children, should be used to put up excellent classrooms and laboratories to boost quality. Robert Kilimo