Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya has warned the national government
against rushing the implementation of the new education system.
Oparanya addressing a forum for heads of primary and secondary
schools in Kakamega that triumphed at last year’s standard eight and
form four national examinations said the ministry of education was
repeating mistakes that characterized the implementation of the 8-4-4
system of education.
“When replacing the 7-6-3 with 8-4-4 system, they used flattery
language…promising well equipped workshops, laboratory for a system
that would impart skills to learners but that was quickly abandoned
and replaced with theory, which is the systems main undoing,” He
observed.
He said education in the country is facing serious challenges but
regretted that the ministry of education was in a hurry to experiment
with a new system before addressing obvious challenges in the current
system that are likely to spill over.
He challenged education administrators to prepare the trainers first
for a new curriculum expected with the system before roll out. He said
the government must relook at issues of planning and financing if the
system is to succeed adding capacity of teachers’ who constitute an
integral segment of the teaching process needed sharpening.
The county government rewarded Kakamega School, which score a mean of
7.81 with Sh.1 million for merging top in KCSE in the area last year,
while Sacred Hearts Mukumu Girls High scooped the girls’ school
category and Sh.500,000.
St. Peter Mumias Boys Primary school and St. Annes Girls primary,
Mumias warn Sh.100,000 each for their triumph in KCPE last year.
Addressing the meeting Kenya secondary schools heads association
chairman Godfrey Owori warned that schools were operating on budgetary
deficits, which affect quality and performance in the exams this year.
He said fees ceilings and delayed disbursements of free schooling
funds means that schools must offload teachers employed by boards of
management, retrench workers, cut down expenditure on internal exams,
technical subjects and sports which are not funded by the exchequer.
He said fees restriction meant public schools face a bleak future that
might see ongoing projects stall, school buses attached and auctioned
and an increase in court cases over default in payment to suppliers.
