To scrap or not? Debate on 8-4-4 system rages

Business

By John Oywa

The 8-4-4 system of education is back on the dock. Its accusers are pressing for more charges in a case that could push it to the annals of history and herald a new dawn in the education sector.

The complainants want the system either subjected to a radical surgery or scrapped altogether.

Toasted as a milestone in the country’s education sector, and a solution to the unemployment crisis when it was launched in 1985, the system has stocked controversy throughout its 26-year history.

There are hardly any classrooms in various parts of the country and pupils are forced to learn in the open under the vagaries of weather. They memorise subjects. Some analysts say the 8-4-4 education system equips learners more for exams than anything else. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

The debate also found its way in Parliament with some MPs saying it had failed to serve its intended purpose.

Former Kitutu-Masaba MP, the late George Anyona, fired the first salvo in Parliament on June 30, 1993, when he moved a Motion, seeking a review of the system – a pet project of the Kanu regime.

Anyona said children were not getting quality education.

Then Juja MP Stephen Ndicho – another firebrand – said the 8-4-4 system was producing half-baked university graduates.

System under attack

Mr Ndicho claimed that undergraduate engineering students from a certain public university were denied admission for an MA course at the University of Nairobi "because they did not even know the meaning of calculus mathematics." He was ruled out of order and the Motion was defeated.

Today, the education system that was introduced on the assumption that it would promote self-reliance skills among school leavers remains under attack.

Stakeholders are firing the same old salvos, with some describing it as a failed experiment.

A task force appointed recently by Basic Education Minister Sam Ongeri to gather views on the viability of the system is still at work.

The Director of the Kenya Institute of Education, Lydia Nzomo, who oversees the development of schools curriculum, hinted that all was not well with the system.

Ms Nzomo called for radical reforms in the education system to conform to international standards.

"Most countries have reduced the time in primary to six years. We need to adopt such a trend for purposes of benchmarking our education system," she said.

Nzomo spoke in Mombasa, as it emerged that even Canada – from where Kenya borrowed the 8-4-4 system – had changed its education format by reducing primary schooling to six years.

It has also emerged that Kenya is the only country in East Africa where pupils spend more time in primary school. Uganda and Tanzania have the seven-year primary education format.

Ripe for change

Participants at an education conference convened by Elimu Yetu Coalition lobby last week supported calls to overhaul of the 8-4-4 system.

The coalition’s chairman, Andiwo Obondoh who sits in the task force, said the education sector was ripe for reform.

However, Obondoh wants the task force to seek the views of retired President Daniel arap Moi who oversaw the birth of the system.

"Perhaps the retired President could shed some light on the philosophy behind the education system. We need to talk to him," he said.

Experts’ views

Moi has defended the system but calls for reviews and upgrades to make it relevant with the current trends in education.

But critics say the 8-4-4 system failed to orient youth towards technical and vocational careers or equip them with appropriate living skills.

They claim the growing popularity of private schools offering the British GCE system of education locally and the high number of parents sending their children to schools in Uganda and other overseas colleges could be proof that Kenyans have lost faith in the 8-4-4 system.

The current debate comes barely three months after an abortive attempt by Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni to have the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education scrapped, alleging it prevented many children from pursuing higher education. Most experts who spoke to The Standard On Saturday are however calling for caution in the rush to dump the system.

Sammy Kubasu, the chairman of the Universities Academic Staff Union, says the shortcomings of the 8-4-4 were symptoms of an ailing education sector.

"When we speak of the 8-4-4, we appear to limit the problem to primary education yet the woes facing our education system runs through to university. There is need for a wholesome review of the education system," said Prof Kubasu.

He added: "The 8-4-4 system is not useless. It has some good components and its weakness has been that it emphasises passing of examinations instead of holistic learning. We need to engage experts to scrutinise the system, discard what we do not need but retain relevant aspects."

Kubasu says primary education years should be reduced to seven, and more emphasis placed on secondary and university education to help equip the students with relevant skills.

Education scholar Daniel Sifuna is among experts calling for a review of the system. Prof Sifuna of Kenyatta University recently told the launch of a National Assessment in Literacy and Numeracy Initiative in Nairobi that the system should be reviewed to cater for the needs and expectations of a dynamic society.

"We must change that curriculum; find out what in every subject can be applied daily life. It is not just a question of reading and writing," he said.

Sifuna said a good education system should prepare students for self-employment.

But the Kenya National Union of Teachers national chairman, Wilson Sosion warns that scraping the 8-4-4 system could plunge the country into a crisis.

"Let us not politicise the system just because we associate it with some individual. What alternative do we have?" asked Sosion.

He added: "I am a teacher and I know that the system is good. Adopting a new system now will be costly. We must debate this issue soberly. We should use a professional telescope and not a political mindset to interrogate the system."

Sosion said the 8-4-4 graduates were doing well in the market and were on high demand in other countries.

"Those asking us to revert back to the old 7-4-2-3 system should know that it was a colonial thinning process to control the number of Kenyans getting into universities," he said.

The chairman of the National Parents Association Musau Ndunda says most Kenyans want the system overhauled.

"I am a member of the task force and the mood is that we should do something about the 8-4-4 system of education," he said.

A Kenyan educationist working in Germany, Timothy Wachira, sums it up: The people who introduced 8-4-4 system meant well but something terribly went wrong during the implementation."

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