A child mis- educated is a child lost. That is one of JF Kennedy’s famous quotes and when I look at our education system, surely something must be done to recuperate it. we are mis-educated!
We need education system that can line up with the current generation and able to help people to solve problems in real life experiences. Our education system has been a mess as we are taught some subject which we can't apply anywhere as far as real life situations are concerned.
It’s not wrong to ape how some countries are achieving excellently but one must consider whether the system he wants to import will work effectively.
If I reminisce back in lower primary, our teacher used to send us bananas and fruit samples and during the lesson, she could eat them while asking a question; “class, what is the teacher doing?” then we could shout, “the teacher is eating the banana.” Up-to-date I wonder how the lesson was relevant but come standard four; we were introduced to rounding off figures and estimations. The key figure here is that we were never told not to round off elections results something which people under-estimate leading to political mayhems and loss of life.
Can someone think to give us education system that can help tap the talent? During my upper primary we had some boys who could dismantle radios and then proceed to mend them. Some could repair watches. These boys have never heard of electronics lessons nor could they define that word. Yet Kenya is importing cheap electronics up-to-date. With ambition of driving to vision 2030 we need education system incorporating workshops where students can exhibit their various talents.
Take a country like Singapore for example. It has revised its education system from 1981, 1992, 1994, and 1999 for the content to focus on technical details rather than conceptual understanding that is no longer relevant in real world practice.
They have rather involved thinking skills and integrated the use of information technology in lessons. The system has been revised to mainly develop citizenship skills and values in the Singapore context. Again there was a need to bring in hardware and software technology in schools and lastly for critical thinking purposes.
That is why we must question when someone terminates subjects like art, craft and music which in real life circumstances have helped individuals to earn a living. Bring education system that can help individual to think and start something extraordinary to earn a living. It’s not morally good to see a university student lying useless in the village that even a school drop-out who makes bricks for sale is living comfortably. This even kills the morale of young people who want to pursue higher learning as some villagers term education to be useless.
Unlike in Kenya where an A or B+ will give you a straight ticket to university, in America, university admission officers demand an application from high school students showing they have participated in
extra curriculum activities as an indication that such students have learned valuable life lessons like team work, leadership or civic responsibility.
That is not enough; there is a reasoning test during final year in high school which is a must for a student to gain admission to university. Students again are required to write an essay as part of application process each admission office determining the length.
Again, if Kenya wants to reform the education sector, let them bring subjects which incorporate our culture. We must not forget our culture and copy everything from the West. Singapore education ministry works hand in hand with ministry of tourism to enable sell their culture as well as enabling students to study their country.
Also on reformation, let the ministry think of improving infrastructure and pay the teachers well. Our students are studying in house dangerous even for animals to take shelter in. Many are teachers involving in busy business that you wonder when they finish their syllabus.
