Meet teacher Babu Owino: MP takes fourth formers through calculus

Class time: Embakasi East MP Babu Owino is teaching fourth formers on Facebook.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino was not shouting Mr Speaker Sir! today.

True to his word days ago, he was, on Facebook, conducting a Math online revision class for this year’s KCSE candidates who are stuck at home as schools are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A first-class degree holder in Actuarial Science, Babu was at home with differentiation. Actuarial Science applies mathematical and statistical methods to calculate risk in insurance, finance, and other sectors.

“Mathematics is the easiest subject on earth,” said the MP in his opening remarks while apologising to students who couldn’t access the internet and don’t have smartphones to access the lesson.

In the first minutes of the study, the young MP started tackling questions in differentiation, a topic that is normally a hard nut to crack for most students.

The hour-and-25 minutes’ lesson proceeded to tackle other topics such as calculus, integration, and trigonometry.

The young parliamentarian’s choice in teaching mathematics on Labour Day was not foolhardy but one of a man taking a path he has mastered.

Babu did his form four examinations in Kisumu Boys and scored an A-minus of 79 points. He would later do actuarial science at the University of Nairobi where he graduated with a first-class honours degree in 2012.

Over the recent weeks, the Embakasi East MP has taken a critical stand on the need for KCPE and KCSE students to be tested only on what has been covered in the syllabus. 

“The Cabinet Secretary of Education Professor George Albert Magoha Omore must submit to my office those exam papers in advance so that I can verify in advance what has not been taught,” said Babu Owino last week. A long shot, you could say.

On April 30 the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development KICD assured parents and candidates that the exams will be set according to syllabus covered.

Education CAS Zach Kinuthia confirmed that learners will recover lost time by reducing the length of the August holiday.

The MP promised that he would be conducting a chemistry lesson next week besides mathematics that will now be organized topic-wise. “We will be dealing with a topic then solving questions on that topic,” said the MP in his final remarks.

Babu’s efforts come at a time when the education system together with other social service sectors have been partially paralyzed by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Even though he may not have reached all students in the country, it is a sign of goodwill to teach when the country struggles with an unemployment crisis.