THE CRISIS IN KENYA`S BASIC EDUCATION SECTOR.

The report by the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) is a serious indictment on the mathematical competency of primary school teachers in the country. This study adds to a similar one jointly conducted by the Ministry of Basic Education and Kenyatta University which was released almost the same time last year. The latter decried the competency in the use of the English language among primary school teachers.

Cognizant of the fact that there has been a greater display of lackadaisicalness in the management of the basic education sector, the nation is faced with some difficult choices of conscience. We can either bury our heads in the sand as we are wont to or start acting in the best interest of our children. Unfortunately, the cost of inaction would turn out to be more than we can afford except by mortgaging our children`s future. It is for this reason that I wrote an opinion article titled “Revamp teacher training programmes” which appeared in the Standard Newspaper August 25 2009 on page 16) in which I stated that it was incumbent upon the government to fast-track the implementation of Sessional Paper No. I 0f 2005. This paper had a raft of proposals paramount for the enhancement of the capacities of teachers.


To begin with, it recommended the strengthening of regular in-servicing training for pre-primary and primary school teachers. But over and above this, it is my opinion that teachers at this level must, at the very least, complete a three year diploma course undertaken in a recognized institution to ensure that one has a thorough command of at least one teaching subject apart from a broad background of general education, as well as professional preparation that includes the psychology of children or adolescents, the principles and techniques of teaching, and the historical foundations of education.

Secondly, it highlighted the need for restructuring of high school teachers` training programmes by making them more intellectually rigorous. High school teachers were to subsequently undertake post-graduate training in pedagogy or extend the Bachelor of Education programme to five years.

For the above programmes to be successful, the government has to regulate teacher training institutions more stringently to curtail the possibility of training standards being diluted. Here, I am in full support of the recent directive by the Higher Education Minister which indicated that bogus middle level colleges are to be closed down.

Furthermore, and in line with the government`s objective to enhance monitoring and evaluation of the teaching work force, the Ministry of basic Education in conjunction with TSC must move with great speed to entrench performance contracting which ought to be applicable to all teachers irrespective of their scheme of service. TSC must also put in place career ladders for outstanding teachers apart from making it a lot easier for incompetent teachers to be axed. Teachers must be subjected to mandatory aptitude tests where they must show mastery of competencies and be at or above minimum competency levels in order to be rehired. The new teachers to be recruited must be subjected to thorough competency tests.

Most importantly, the government must seriously think of motivating the contracted teachers. This requires the establishment of competitive salaries as a matter of priority. The current pay is, for lack of a better term, debasing. This pay has seen highly qualified and experienced teachers exiting for lush professions. How can one expect teachers to love their profession when a Matatu tout with little or no basic education at all earns triple what a teacher earns? It need not surprise us that, under such circumstances teachers perform dismally. Perhaps the situation can only get worse.

TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis