Now that schools have closed for Christmas, there is a need for deep introspection on the part of education authorities ranging from the ministry, the Teachers Service Commission, unions and parents. This is because things are not going well in the sector, a state of affairs that has almost become permanent. Secondary school students have been burning boarding and catering facilities in every corner of the republic, and even where such protests have not been as destructive, deep resentment bubbles just below the surface.
The authorities know all too well the reasons for this seemingly infectious ferment but the responses so far have been knee-jerk, banal and quite predictable, yet such unrest occurs every year without fail. The main reason for this should be placed at the door-step of the authorities who seem to be so overwhelmed by their duties they are unable to think of fresh solutions to old problems. They have instead preferred to ram unpopular policy decisions down the throats of everyone without seeking broad consensus or listening to alternative solutions. The over-reliance on the findings of one commission after another and then implementing only those that favour their preconceived solutions is not only ill-advised but myopic.
I would advise Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha to get down to earth and seek to know what ails his docket and he can only do that by talking to the people who matter.
These are not the Jogoo House mandarins or their representatives in the counties, they will only tell him what they think he wants to hear. Nor will talking to their counterparts in Internal Security be enough. Arresting these brats or fining them huge sums of money after they run amok is not enough deterrence. It is just another form of punishment for the long-suffering parents who will be forced to pay. The answer lies in pre-empting such turbulence by talking to the teachers and the students themselves to find out why they are misbehaving.
The students are chafing under a rigid timetable that leaves them fatigued and unproductive. Why, for instance, was it found necessary to allow students only a one-week Christmas break after a 10-week second term? This is the season when most families get together with their kith and kin. It is the time when the young ones get to meet their heart-throbs and the older ones their future spouses. And it is also the season for everyone else to make merry without remorse.
Extremely congested set-up
What do the education bureaucrats think they are achieving by refusing to give these youngsters a well-deserved break? It is high time the much-reviled timetable was revised to make sense. Catching up with the syllabus is not a life and death issue. We must watch out lest we end up producing nerds who have no idea how exhilarating a well-played game can be or how refreshing to the spirit an occasional dance with a fellow student can be.
Recently, I had occasion to visit a neighbouring secondary school run by a competent management team and overseen by a responsible board. At the gate, I came upon a bunch of forlorn-looking parents, their restive wards in tow. When I looked at the boys, only one or two looked like budding criminals, yet they had all been sent home to fetch their parents after stoning the school block and breaking windows. It turned out that the students merely wanted to go home because they were tired.
And this is not the only problem. In its single-minded pursuit of the 100 per cent transition rate, the ministry seems to have overlooked the fact that these students must study in well-appointed classrooms in which the desks are not crammed together, and those in boarding schools must sleep in well-ventilated dormitories with adequate personal space unlike now when a hostel meant to house 40 souls has to accommodate 100. Also, feeding the multitudes has become a huge challenge.
Let’s face it. The whole set-up has become extremely congested. Quite beside the accommodation and feeding issues, the academic programme is bursting at the seams and it does not allow any time for recreation and co-curricular activities. It does not allow the students opportunities to pursue individual interests and hobbies. As a result, schools have become extremely boring and learning a tiresome chore.
Indeed, in many instances, the poor students lead a very Spartan existence. Those from the well-to-do families are especially hard hit by the fact that schools do not allow digital appliances which they are used to at home, and no proper guidance and counselling. Others suffer from inadequate or non-existent parenting. Things are changing and while in the past most students wanted to remain in school and avoid the home environment, today the opposite is true. And don’t tell me that doing away with boarding schools is the answer. That’s a cop-out. BY DAILY NATION