How Education ministry can resolve issues in the new system

Three issues in education have dominated discussion over the last month: The intake of students into tertiary institutions; the realisation that there is little preparation so far with a short time before the first cohort of Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) students join Junior Secondary Schools (JSS); and the saga about validity of degrees of certain presidential and gubernatorial candidates in the forthcoming General Election.

But let us get to some historical evolution of education. Thirty-three years ago, Prof Charles Handy, in The Age of Unreason, wrote about the need for what he termed as “upside-down thinking” in education.

He asserted that “new ways of thinking about familiar things can release new energies and make all manner of things possible”.

Soon after the book was published, I noticed a pattern, in which a number of potential university entrants opted to take up diploma courses at medical training colleges and other tertiary institutions, such as Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges emerged. The trend has gradually taken root.

On June 20, Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha revealed that “the number of students who shunned degree courses for TVETs was 5,278, signifying a rising preference for these courses”.

This is confirmation of a seismic shift in attitudes in favour of technical education. It is also in tandem with Prof Handy’s observation of new ways of thinking about familiar things.

This trend should be deliberately encouraged by the government through greater investment in tertiary colleges and parents encouraging their children to be realistic about their career choices.

Positive development

But amid the positive development, the nation has been gripped with the saga of several presidential and gubernatorial candidates desperately struggling to prove that they possess degrees.

This has been an embarrassment to the country on two fronts. First, at the international level, it is an indictment to Kenyans that its leaders are suspected to go to any length to ascend to high office without the requisite qualifications.

Why would this be so? Can such leaders be trusted with the power and influence the offices come with?

Secondly, it speaks volumes about poor record keeping and lack of bio-data of senior citizens. The financial and non-financial resources that government agencies, the litigants and candidates have expended on a straightforward matter is unacceptable.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) should urgently seek to amend the relevant law to require individuals who acquire higher academic qualifications to provide copies of the relevant certificates to it within six months of qualification to create a reference data bank.

I would suggest that political parties tap into this data bank to ensure that their candidates are qualified.

The awareness that secondary schools will face immense challenges in January, when there will be a double intake of students, has gripped the education sector.

This coincides with appointment of a new set of members of Boards of Management (BOM) in all schools. To me, these members will make or break CBC as they have been appointed on three-year terms—the same as JSS period.

This is the foundation of not only secondary but also tertiary education: It is at JSS that learners prepare to take specific professional-oriented pathways.

Areas of concern

The main areas of concern to the boards should be facilities for teaching and learning.

Speaking and listening to stakeholders, I get the impression that, come January, the Education ministry will direct schools to take double the usual intake and insist that boards have a delegated duty, by law, to provide education at that level.

The success of boards will largely depend on which will have spawned ideas and prepared for this eventuality in the six months.

Those who will wait for solutions from Jogoo House won’t cope with the situation. They should emulate private schools, which are building facilities in readiness for January.

There is, however, one solution the ministry need consider taking seriously. It may need to reduce JSS by a year and domicile it in primary schools and increase Senior Secondary School by the same period—without changing anything in the syllabus. That way, the infrastructure challenge will dissipate.

Mr Sogomo is an education expert and a former TSC Secretary. [email protected]. @BSogomo