...
written by Eric , February 28, 2008

Nation news updates report that the public Universities have increased their intake to 16000.

It is funny how those schools are concentrated around Nairobi and Central province. I think it is high time education centres moved to other parts of the country. Too much activity in Gemaland.

Relocate Schools
written by Johnny B. Goode , February 28, 2008

Nation news updates report that the public Universities have increased their intake to 16000.

It is funny how those schools are concentrated around Nairobi and Central province. I think it is high time education centres moved to other parts of the country. Too much activity in Gemaland.

Are you suggesting relocating the likes of Starehe Boys and Alliance to other parts of the country. Wouldn't it be easier for the schools in those other areas to up their game.

Erick
written by Timothy Wainaina , February 28, 2008

Oginga Odinga and Ronald Ngala studied at Alliance, as did James Orengo, Anyang' Nyong'o, Amos Wako, Joseph Nyaga, Evans Gicheru, Ochilo Ayako, Danson Mungatana, Charity Ngilu, Ayisi Makatiani and God-knows-who-else.

Similarly, Kipruto Kirwa, Moody Awori, Mwai Kibaki, John Michuki, Tom Mboya, Ndingi, Cardinal Otunga and Kituyi attended Mang'u.

Quite clearly, location did not deter these people. I suppose we should be insisting that there is a fairer intake (if there is not one)- what happened to the quota system, and also that there is greater equality in distribution of resources.

It would be dishonest though to deny the effect of good leadership on schools. This is why you find some schools doing very well in certain years, and very poorly in others. Look at Alliance outside the top 5!!!

...
written by Mr. Vikii , February 28, 2008

We read unfairness where none exists. What does Alliance High being in Kikuyu have to do with who joins it? It is a national school.

The quota system is very much in place and that is why we have students from North Eastern there who scored B+ in the national exam.

Timothy Wanaina, good list. It should be enough to send the propagandists to straight to hell.

...
written by pndiangui , February 28, 2008

May be we should revise this article by emmo opoti. On education performance and politics.
Link here
However Raila was categorical when asked about the performance of Nyanza in national examinations; We are not responsible for the poor performance, politicians dont teach primary school classes
May be we wait and see how ODM will shepheard education policy to create a balance?

Elitist and Jamii schools
written by Wuod Aketch , February 28, 2008

I did not attend the best primary school in the country, neither one of those schools that have been top of the charts since time immemorial.
The only feat that the schools I attended performed were that my primary school was the best in the village, my secondary and high school were the best in Kajiado and Kisii districts respectively.
This did not prevent me from doing what I do today and travel the world and the seven seas regularly.
The moral of what I am saying is that the school one attends does not matter if the students do not become beasts of KCPE or KCSE. The schools I attended prepared me to meet many life challenges. Boarding schools really shape individuals. Again Kenya is a country that has allowed many of us to live the Kenyan dream - it has always been a country where "everything was possible".
So long as the so called elitist schools do not put poor and ethnic minority students at a disadvantage, everybody is allowed to join the institution of choice.
Parents who have a lot of money to spend can put their children into those academies. So long as the jamii have their schools that provide them with the necessary education like I got, hakuna matata.

Too bad
written by mkosakabila , February 28, 2008

My old school keeps bombing. Too bad!
What I don't appreciate about our education system is the difficulty (if not impossibility) of changing mid stream. Unless it has changed, it might not be entirely easy for an engineer to switch to medicine or a biologist to switch to political science. Yet such mixes may hold some promise for problem solving in the 21st century.

re: Too bad
written by O\'Hen , February 29, 2008

My old school keeps bombing. Too bad!
What I don't appreciate about our education system is the difficulty (if not impossibility) of changing mid stream. Unless it has changed, it might not be entirely easy for an engineer to switch to medicine or a biologist to switch to political science. Yet such mixes may hold some promise for problem solving in the 21st century.

Right on.

And the way in primo thru seco we sail without knowing what the effing we want to be.

We only think med, law, engineering vile they sound respectable...sasa mtu anang'ang'ana, kumbe they are better suited for education. Thats how we end up with terrible wokers!

It takes time for one to ji-discover!

Schools and Choice
written by Ernest Maina , February 29, 2008

Having grown in Nairobi, I think Eric has a point about the schools. Por me at the time proximity was important and in Nairobi the abundance of choice of good schools was obvious.

But I would argue that the best way to "flatten" the playing field Nationally would be to make all provincial schools National as well. That way whatever a leader makes a new provincial school "just for his people", that action will benefit all Kenyans and will reduce the people who think of ethnicities through stereotypes as they will have friends from other communities much earlier in their lives.

re: Schools and Choice
written by James Macharia , February 29, 2008

Having grown in Nairobi, I think Eric has a point about the schools. Por me at the time proximity was important and in Nairobi the abundance of choice of good schools was obvious.

But I would argue that the best way to "flatten" the playing field Nationally would be to make all provincial schools National as well. That way whatever a leader makes a new provincial school "just for his people", that action will benefit all Kenyans and will reduce the people who think of ethnicities through stereotypes as they will have friends from other communities much earlier in their lives.

I doubt any of this schools are attended by any particular 'people'. In fact if any of the blood thirsty foreign media(notice how we've disappeared from the international news media) wanted to do a piece on ethnic harmony in Kenya, they should have gone looking in Alliance, Mang'u, Starehe Limuru gals and PB Riruta among others. There you have the best poster for how Wakenya are united in joy of achievement.
Does anyone have a list of the national schools? I seriously have no idea which ones they are or how they get elevated to that position.
The only advantage they seem to have is that they get to pick the ripest cherry from the KCPE basket. I don't know whether they get any extra financial help, but I'd doubt it.

The misjudge system
written by Goddy Sandy-AUDI , February 29, 2008

Our Kenyan education system is rotten. Nowadays exam leaks are everywhere and strangely the exam council continues to tell us that they have confidence in it.By the way the older system was better as it was more concrete.If I am 2 offer a job opportunity I better go for a person who had B+ in the older syllabus than one who had an A plain in this system.There is a big difference between this two.

...
written by Eric , February 29, 2008

Judging by the negative ratings my first post on this thread got I think I was misunderstood. I try again;

In spite of the student body, why do we have to have all the national schools around the same place? It is really not just about schools, it is everything. The GoK, commerce and industry, name it and it is in and around Nairobi. Secondly, with such big institutions in Kiambu neighbourhoods, it means that local jobs are created and local businesses and farms benefit. All am saying is, let us share the cake with other jimbos, it would be unfair to keep all the goodies in "Lesotho".

As someone wrote here, our education system is a basket case and no real reforms are coming that way.

re: re: Schools and Choice
written by Ernest Maina , February 29, 2008

I doubt any of this schools are attended by any particular 'people'. In fact if any of the blood thirsty foreign media(notice how we've disappeared from the international news media) wanted to do a piece on ethnic harmony in Kenya, they should have gone looking in Alliance, Mang'u, Starehe Limuru girls and PB Riruta among others. There you have the best poster for how Wakenya are united in joy of achievement.
Does anyone have a list of the national schools? I seriously have no idea which ones they are or how they get elevated to that position.
The only advantage they seem to have is that they get to pick the ripest cherry from the KCPE basket. I don't know whether they get any extra financial help, but I'd doubt it.

Point taken. In Education, Kenyans have never been insular in their thinking. I intended to highlight the regional effects. In Nairobi the 'people issue' was so irrelevant it was laughable. But the advantage of proximity was very conspicuous - like the ability to day-school to a top ten ranked school. That is why I think that some form of regional playing field 'flattening' may be good to make sure that experience in not unique.

national schools
written by gichangi , February 29, 2008

To the best of my knowledge,

Alliance High School.
Alliance Girls' High School.*
Starehe Boys' Centre.
Mang'u High School.
Lenana School.
Nairobi School.
Moi Forces Academy, Nairobi.
Moi Forces Academy,Lanet.*
Nakuru High School.**
Kenya High School. *
Limuru High School.*
Moi High School, Eldoret.*
Maseno School.
Garba Tula Secondary School.
Kabarak High School.**
Loreto High School Limuru.*
Mary Hill, Thika.*

.

* = girls' school, ** = mixed school

The likes of Precious Blood, both Riruta and Kilungu, Friends' School Kamusinga, Kianda, Sunshine, Strathmore, Maranda, Allidina Visram, Mama Ngina, Bishop Gatimu are not national schools. That they excel and do so consistently, underlines the point made by Amir Ibrahim above. The only schools that belong permanently in the top ten are no more than five or six. In the rest of them, the influence of school boards, principals and the faculty is the most defining factor, not facilities or the quality of intakes. It is not more than ten years since Limuru High School was in the 80-90 nationally.

...
written by Ceda , February 29, 2008

I think Eric has a point. I studied at one of the the top schools in the country located right in Nairobi. However I have also seen schools in my home province of Nyanza, and during tours, Masaailand and coast. The difference between my old school and those in Nyanza, Coast and Masaailand in terms of facilities is stark. This is of course just one of the factors that affects education.

Other factors that affect the rate of success include the level of poverty. It is no coincedence that NE and Nyanza are at the bottom of the performance index while Nairobi and Central are at the top. Another factor is the participation by parents in the education process. Also important is proper management of schools by respective school boards. We have seen many formely top schools almost die out. Cardinal Otunga, Kangaru are just examples.

Student and teacher discipline also determines performance. Of course this is ensforced by the school boards and the headmaster.

While it is OK to say that the top schools are open to all aand sundry, such an arguement misses a vital point, the point that not all students can join these few schools.

We need to ensure that good schools are in close proximity to each and every community. By community I don't mean tribes but a group of people living in the same place.
We need to ensure that wealth is distributed across regions so that parents can afford to keep their children in school and to participate in their education.

Lastly communities must ensure that schools within their areas are well run by voting in competent and clean boards.

...
written by politicalscientist , February 29, 2008

Quick comment; I went to a good school that features on the list posted above and the year that I did KCSE we came in second nationally (toot toot). However even though our lowest grade was B, both students that achieved that score did not get a place in University, and only the top 3 students at our school (keeping in mind that the top 7 students all achieved A grades and were all featured in the Nairobi top 100) got a place in a course of their choice.

This whole idea that Nairobi and Central provinces are favoured has its downside. Positive discrimination at university level may seem like a good choice on paper, but it fails to take into account the students who get scholarships to study at prestigious schools like mine and then end up shut out at univesity level. It happened to a lot of students in my class, and I can almost guarantee that it has happened this year.

We need more and better universities and an admissions system that looks at more than just weighted means which are unfair in and of themselves.

...
written by vic , March 01, 2008

Anyone wishing to relocate a school out of one area of the county to another is not using his/her reasoning substantially. In my opinion, its out of jealousy! The number of schools in those other parts of the country are good, but people dont want to apply to join them. why dont they if they love their homes? Why do those people in other parts of the country keep on applying to go to alliance? why dont they apply for those schools in their areas? Yo can't blame the 'Gemaland' schools for applications

wuodaketch
written by Stephen Wanyama , March 01, 2008

I think and very disappointed with Aketch's comment above.

Happy because for once I have something to agree with him about, but sad because it can only mean that he is a tribalist. Ideologically, that is a very anti-ODM statement he has made above. Now if only we can find a way of winning him over, we may even get to translate our manifesto into French!

The moral of what I am saying is that the school one attends does not matter if the students do not become beasts of KCPE or KCSE. The schools I attended prepared me to meet many life challenges. Boarding schools really shape individuals. Again Kenya is a country that has allowed many of us to live the Kenyan dream - it has always been a country where "everything was possible".
So long as the so called elitist schools do not put poor and ethnic minority students at a disadvantage, everybody is allowed to join the institution of choice.
Parents who have a lot of money to spend can put their children into those academies. So long as the jamii have their schools that provide them with the necessary education like I got, hakuna matata.

.

As I have now been taught to say, and assuming the presence of drinking dens in the banlieue, pewa kitu, mzee wa kazi.

Schools and Choice
written by Ernest Maina , March 01, 2008

Thank you Ceda on eloquently arguing for universal access to good schools. Unfortunately it is very easy to construe such arguments as anti-"gemaland success" but my argument is always this. Education is the surest way out of the hole we are in and having had the advantage of attending good schools that were there even before me, it feels strange that some people may not have the same choices just because of where they were born. Nairobi, which I know well is a special case in that there was largely no "them" - people we were supposed to be against. The boy who used to beat us in the local primary was from Uganda in a school that included wahindi teachers and the whole range of Kenyan rich ethnic heritage. The most qualified teacher (as in loads of degrees) in secondary school was also from Ugandan.

Frankly I see what has happened to our country and I think of Somalia, a country where everybody is essentially the same "people" but the still find enough to gripe about each other and kill. So to me, our bad faith towards each other is just an excuse. I think would still find enough excuses in a hypothetical "homogenous" Kenya to be at each others, and the leaders to cheer us on, if we tried hard enough.

I have renewed respect for goodwill towards each other in the Nation, which I always assumed apriori and took for granted.

...
written by Aliosema , March 01, 2008

How interesting to hear that Alliance is in Gemaland....when exactly did alliance move to Meru which is three hours away from Nairobi and why is closer to alliance than Ukambani, rift valley and Masailand. Those claiming that the location of alliance has anything to do with GEMA are simply fishing for straws. The claim has no merit. Conspiracy theories abound. The blame game continues.

That said let me get to the point. If we are saying that government should put in an extra effort to build public schools in other parts of the country, I can agree with that. But relocating a national treasure and historic institution such as Alliance to another part of the country just to fill some quota makes no sense. What makes the school is not the building it is in, it is its reputation which comes with good teachers, good leadership, good management. It is possible to get good teachers, leaders and managers to work in other parts of the country if it is safe to live there - not so true these days. Those who have just finished destroying the reputation of their parts of the country as safe places for other ethnic groups to live will need to work hard to restore this image before a national school - that top students from all over Kenya are able to attend - can be built.

...
written by Ceda , March 01, 2008

Ernest;

I think many of my comments are universal and can be applied to Kenya as a whole or even sections of Kenya. I suppose the part on distribution of income is what sounds anti Gema to you. Redistribution of wealth is really a class rather than an ethnic issue. The wealthy and the political elite of course wants people to believe it is ethnic. This way people are kept preoccupied fighting the wrong cause. Many ethnic Kikuyus and Merus are dirt poor, just like over 50% of the rest of the country.

The Kenya we have now is not one of equal opportunity for each child. The child born in Mathare/Kibera is from the start seriously disadvantage. I dont have the statistics but I believe, in % terms, very few of them will ever realise their full potential. At times such disadvantage has no regional dimension, but at times it does. This is the reality. You only need tour Kenya and see for yourself

I would be surprised if anyone is arguing that good schools such Alliance be relocated. This will not solve the problem. What I proposed is that all schools in Kenya, whether national or local, be properly equipped(with labs, libraries, books, sports facilities, well run and that discipline be enforced at all levels(teachers and students).

Ultimately it is not just the students from places like NE that are losing out , but Kenya as a whole. Who knows, our Einsteins, inventors, creative businessmen etc may be locked out of education because of the current set up. We as a nation are not harnessing and utilising the to the maximum the only natural resource that Kenya has, brainpower.

re:
written by Ernest Maina , March 02, 2008

Ernest;

I think many of my comments are universal and can be applied to Kenya as a whole or even sections of Kenya. I suppose the part on distribution of income is what sounds anti Gema to you. Redistribution of wealth is really a class rather than an ethnic issue. The wealthy and the political elite of course wants people to believe it is ethnic. This way people are kept preoccupied fighting the wrong cause. Many ethnic Kikuyus and Merus are dirt poor, just like over 50% of the rest of the country.

The Kenya we have now is not one of equal opportunity for each child. The child born in Mathare/Kibera is from the start seriously disadvantage. I dont have the statistics but I believe, in % terms, very few of them will ever realise their full potential. At times such disadvantage has no regional dimension, but at times it does. This is the reality. You only need tour Kenya and see for yourself

I would be surprised if anyone is arguing that good schools such Alliance be relocated. This will not solve the problem. What I proposed is that all schools in Kenya, whether national or local, be properly equipped(with labs, libraries, books, sports facilities, well run and that discipline be enforced at all levels(teachers and students).

Ultimately it is not just the students from places like NE that are losing out , but Kenya as a whole. Who knows, our Einsteins, inventors, creative businessmen etc may be locked out of education because of the current set up. We as a nation are not harnessing and utilising the to the maximum the only natural resource that Kenya has, brainpower.

Ceda:
I have consistedly selected Nairobi as an example to debunk the distracting Idea that we must take resources "group A" so as to have something for "group B", even when it comes to education, except for the slums the groups are too mixed for that. Or "region A" is homogenous and exclusive to "group A", that is why things work there - kind of arguments, even when they are sugar coated.

With the rob-peter-to-pay-paul premise in mind, people read that it is "gemaland doing the giving" in any universal access Ideas for Kenya. I think It does not have to be so. I know the government knows how to go about it because relatively new efforts such as Moi Forces Academies and Kabarak National schools rose in Ranks right before my very eyes. I do not know how they did it but I am sure they have equipment, facilities, teachers and all. We can do the same for every province, if we can pay the MPs as well as we do.

So I agree with universal access and have a problem with other respondents misrepresent the universal acccess to education problem as a take something-from-Gemaland problem. In the extreme the government can borrow teachers from the East African region and pay them well, like they have in the past.

The access to quality education problem existed long before the current crisis but it will be the part of the solution that keeps giving for many years when/if it is implemented.

...
written by Ceda , March 02, 2008

I cant rule out some of the fears raised by you such as some people using an ethnic prism to analyse the exams/education system. Tne world is full of all sorts of people. I think though that the issue is more of poverty than ethnicity. Usually the uper & middle class areas perform much better than poeverty stricken areas, irrespective of which ethnic groups reside in those areas. Few exceptions such as the well managed Olympic Primary, but then again, it was full of children from middle class families.

I don't think quality of teachers is an issue. Most of our teachers are competent. Other than good facilities, what is lacking is really discipline on the part of teachers and students. I am sure you have seen cases in the past where change of a headmaster changes the fortunes of a school, yet the ver same teachers remain. Some schools such as Nairobi school, Lenana have the very same facilities as Starehe, Strathmore & Alliance, yet they have not consistently posted similar results. I think the difference is in management and discipline.

I am sure one may want to argue that only the very best students join Alliance, Starehe, Strathmore etc. Starehe, curiously does not admit students just on the basis of academic score. They always insist on taking students from each and every district, no matter what the scores were. This translates to students from places such as NE gaining admission with much lower scores than the average student from major urban centres in Kenya. Yet at the end of the day, they are still able to ensure that a majority of their students score well enough to place them at or near the top.

Similarly Strathmore admission is skewed in favour of its primary students. This has not hindered Strathmore from being at or near the top.

Kenyans should ensure that all schools are equiped in the same manner as Alliance, Starehe and Strathmore. Just as you pointed out the Kenyan people can participate by providing funds for schools in their localities. The government must step in wherever/whenever poverty prevents the communities from properly equiping schools. This should ensure all children enjoy same quality education.

This should add meaning the term "universal and free" access to education.

re: Well put
written by Nyabs , March 02, 2008

How interesting to hear that Alliance is in Gemaland....when exactly did alliance move to Meru which is three hours away from Nairobi and why is closer to alliance than Ukambani, rift valley and Masailand. Those claiming that the location of alliance has anything to do with GEMA are simply fishing for straws. The claim has no merit. Conspiracy theories abound. The blame game continues.

That said let me get to the point. If we are saying that government should put in an extra effort to build public schools in other parts of the country, I can agree with that. But relocating a national treasure and historic institution such as Alliance to another part of the country just to fill some quota makes no sense. What makes the school is not the building it is in, it is its reputation which comes with good teachers, good leadership, good management. It is possible to get good teachers, leaders and managers to work in other parts of the country if it is safe to live there - not so true these days. Those who have just finished destroying the reputation of their parts of the country as safe places for other ethnic groups to live will need to work hard to restore this image before a national school - that top students from all over Kenya are able to attend - can be built.

The forced majimboism that we have experienced the last 2 months goes to show the stupidity of zoning out regions as belonging to certain people. With experienced professionals not feeling safe in certain places, the quality of services offered in those areas is going to suffer.

We may build the best schools in the Rift Valley, equip them with the best facilities, but if teachers feel that they are at risk, do not belong to those areas, cannot buy land and build houses in those areas, then none from other communities will go there. The only hope for such schools is if they have adequate "acceptable" manpower that they can tap into. If not, then these regions will begin, in years to come, to feel the effects of this very misguided ethnic cleansing policy.

Leaders from the regions that were worst hit by ethnic cleansing do need to work overtime to build the confidence of other communities to come back and provide services, otherwise all the Universities in Rift Valley and Nyanza will largely become mono-ethnic, as no staff or students will be willing to risk their lives studying there, with negative consequences on national building and the local economies.

Right now, ethnicity is a key factor in deciding which staff will be posted into which location. More details on the economic consequences of our maiden foray into ethnic cleansing can be found here:Link here

...
written by kboit , March 02, 2008

Perhaps have these 'traditionally top performing' schools (national, private and provincial) establish sister school relations to help poor schools in Nyanza, NE or anywhere in Kenya. Ultimately you wouldn't want to take anything away from Alliance/Mangu or relocate the schools (why mess with something that works).

Ideally, we want to have the administration and teaching bodies of these schools reach out and help develop recipes of success at other schools - For example, the former principal of Alliance, Chris Khaemba is now inaugural dean of the New African Leadership Academy in South Africa - a school that is a brilliant idea that hopes to develop leadership talent of potentially exceptional students from across Africa see here

HONESTY
written by Brian Kamadi , March 02, 2008

I don't believe a school can produce 20 and above As its a lie,this stories of schools getting more As like 100 is a great lie. I'm saying this because I've been a student too and I understand what getting an A means. Let's be frank is it true? Going to those national schools as we call them is not automatically passing they are people who drown with Ds n Cs. These big schools have got exam leakages that is a fact, believe it or not. There are good schools where students learn the hard way and this benefits them unlike the drilling and spoon-feeding done in national and some private school. Mine is to acknowledge those schools who do there best and work hard honestly to produce results BRAVO and KEEP IT UP.

...
written by symple , March 02, 2008

Let me go by the way you have to think to make it.
Who denied you the chance to go to the schools you are naming?

...
written by Ceda , March 02, 2008

Symple:

I dont follow your point. If you read my earlier contribution, I already indicated that I went to one of these top schools. My point is that everyone else should have similar facilities to what I had.

Primary schools
written by Johnny B. Goode , March 03, 2008

I don't think the beef should be so much about the secondary schools but more about the primary schools. If you perform on the primary school level, no one will deny you a chance to get to a national school no matter its location. The most effort now needs to be expended on bringing primary school education standards to the same level across the board.

mr.
written by arfah jimale , March 03, 2008

in the recent kcse released, north eastern made improvement as others around the country are saying KNEC ae failing to provide high standard exams. I also agree with them
this my question? how exams papers were sold on street in the last two years,what was happening in other province otherthan north eastern in all years they were showing a big gab in performance.

...
written by a guest , March 03, 2008

Can I just say while on the one hand we KCSE babies have to work our backsides off to try and achieve good grades, anything over and above a B+ in this educational system is nothing short of impossible. Leakages are part of the daily reality in these big schools; many times the teachers give the students leakages without explicitly stating that it is a leakage e.g. by demostrating a practical two weeks before the exams which coincidentally happens to be the same as that in the final exam. Its not the kids fault though, its an impossible educational system and it surprises me that the stories of people literally losing their minds as they do KCSE haven't gotten back to the minister for education.

re: wuodaketch
written by Wuod Aketch , March 03, 2008

I think and very disappointed with Aketch's comment above.

Happy because for once I have something to agree with him about, but sad because it can only mean that he is a tribalist. Ideologically, that is a very anti-ODM statement he has made above. Now if only we can find a way of winning him over, we may even get to translate our manifesto into French!

The moral of what I am saying is that the school one attends does not matter if the students do not become beasts of KCPE or KCSE. The schools I attended prepared me to meet many life challenges. Boarding schools really shape individuals. Again Kenya is a country that has allowed many of us to live the Kenyan dream - it has always been a country where "everything was possible".
So long as the so called elitist schools do not put poor and ethnic minority students at a disadvantage, everybody is allowed to join the institution of choice.
Parents who have a lot of money to spend can put their children into those academies. So long as the jamii have their schools that provide them with the necessary education like I got, hakuna matata.

.

As I have now been taught to say, and assuming the presence of drinking dens in the banlieue, pewa kitu, mzee wa kazi.

I am afraid to disappoint you, Wanyama, but I studied in Kenya during the nyayo days i.e before the 8-4-4 system - everything was possible then and Luos and Kikuyus lived peacefully.

Objectivity
written by john , March 04, 2008

I am particularly dissappointed that instead of celebrating the fact that KENYA has a national schools the likes of Mang'u,Alliance,limuru,Starehe and others that are a source of brilliant minds open to ALL KENYANS(hence their status as national schools) we are so keen to point out their location and claim inequalities.
I attended one of the so-called elite schools and the location had nothing to do with the performance it was sheer hard work.Ask the likes of kituyi orengo and kirwa whether they are bothered with the location of the schools they attended and they will simply be happy they got the chance to be in a school that made them what they are today.
So my fellow kenyans lets work on how we can improve the facilities of the provincial and district schools to aid with their performances instead of slamming needless tribal propaganda and denying the students who have worked so hard their rightful kudos.

Revise the Curriculum
written by New Day , March 04, 2008

I agree with John-Obectivity.

In addition, the KNEC and Education planners need to re-look the current curriculum and suit it to the present day market and society needs. What is the value of paper education when it does not model the candidates to fit and enjoy working in their environments. Our curriculum, if not moribund, at least needs to be constantly checked.

Information Technology has earned a big quota of global preoccupations, and need to be inserted into a much earlier level within the sytem to enable students to internalize and comfortably use IT for productive purposes/ research.

Foreign languages also need to be given consideration at primary school level (French, German and Arabic). It does not matter the location of an institution (unless it is a business entity out to seek clients). A school like Alliance developed,not out of ethnic obsessions, but for noble purposes.

Education
written by Peacemaker , March 04, 2008

I am curious about majimbo and national schools. Under the jimbo system, how and who would manage the schools? The jimbo or the central govt? If it's the jimbo, what would that mean for the national schools? Would that meaning downgrading from a national to a federal status? If federal status it is, would the schools still be required to maintain a national quota?

Ceda
written by Peacemaker , March 04, 2008

Ceda (or whoever), when you say "redistribution of wealth", what exactly do you mean? Since this is a socialist and communist policy, are we talking about a hybrid model to coexist with capitalism. Or is the intent for Kenya to move away from the capitalist model? With capitalism, even with wealth redistribution, significant social inequalities will still creep up. This is the hallmark of capitalism. Just look at our US (international daddy) model: 10% of the population own 70% of the wealth, top 1% control 38% of the wealth. What exactly are we trying to do in Kenya? Come up with an alternative to capitalism or a one-time redistribution of wealth and hope for a miracle? What should we do when the significant inequalities creep up? Revisit redistribution again?

Would this be voluntary or forced (property redistribution, taxation, regulation and such flavors)? Would the target be general population or the super rich? Or is the target the general population? Or is the focus only contentious land redistribution?

Do we know all the factors behind the skewed distribution of resources? Are there studies identifying such factors? What are the preferred economic policies or models to use in redistribting the wealth? And what will prevent this process from changing into a burglar process where one party just beats up on the other and takes their money, instead of an economic exchange process?

I am just trying to educate myself here on what some of this campaign slogans really mean.

Why Educate
written by Ernest Maina , March 05, 2008

Education as competition: That is what we understand well and in our minds there is a hierarchy - Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals. And then the multitude of losers. The game was fair, they should not complain. Work hard next time!!

Education as a Development tool: The government has x growth target and y funds. To effect these it needs z qualified hands. The government needs to maximize all those variables.

What can we learn from other countries with small populations, punishing climate but who good success even without the black gold.

Elitist education is good, every "Einstein" gets his chance, but as National policy, having many more good schools, essentially closing the gap between the best and the worst schools trumps even free crude oil. This in turn means that there are not only good schools that you can relocate to, but that there are also enough enough of them such that there is one in your neibourhood, wherever you may reside.

The OECD test top three are Finland, Hong Kong and Canada. In plain terms this means if you picked out a guy on the street in any of the above countries at random, you probably have a Kibaki, Kituyi, or Kirwa. They have very many of them. That is what I think we need. By the way, the US is far behind in this regard so it is not the best model for Kenya.

This is my dream for Kenya. We have the have among the highest rates of literacy in Africa but that is not enough. "Lack of discipline" cannot explain away bad education policy. I am pretty sure some Finish students experience sagging motivation from time to time!

Take a look at the case for Finland.

...
written by Ceda - Ernest & peacemaker , March 06, 2008

Ernest,

I think we have closed the gap between us. I agree with many of your comments.

Peacemaker:

May be I should use the word inequality instead. The country must tackle the enormous income inequality that exists. You used USA as an example of a good capitalist system. Many people, including Ernest above, will disagree that USA is the most successful country except for its military. On many performance rankings, they barely make it to the top. The US is an extremely unequal society, inspite of this, they are way better than Kenya. In Kenya, conservative estimates indicate that over 50% of the population are poor, as defined by $1 a day subsitence. I think even those who live on $5 a day are poor, but thats my own opinion.

With so many people living below poverty, something must be done to to tackle the income inequality.

Your suggestion about robbing one group is at best a laymans way of thinking. In addition no government can have such a policy. It is only economic policies that can correct these issues.

Examples of economic policies that the government can pursue include:

lowering taxation on lower income group and offseting the lost taxes by raising tax on wealthy, and goods consumed by the wealthy

creating the right enviroment for creation of middle class jobs. These will include, jobs in service industries, manufaturing jobs and other jobs requiring skilled labour

improving access of education system for the poor and ensuring poor and rich children have equal opportunity to succeed in school and that it is intellect rather than wealth that determines who succeeds.

The trouble with Kenya is that many people who are ranked in the richest 5% made their wealth either through outright looting of public resources or through political patronage. This is not really capitalism at work but grand theft. On the other hand many of the super rich in US have done so through either creativity, such as the founders of google etc, or through transformation of of previously existing industries (such as Bill Gates).

Can you think of a few Kenyans that can be compared with Bill Gates?

re:
written by James Macharia , March 06, 2008

Ernest,
I think we have closed the gap between us. I agree with many of your comments.
Peacemaker:

May be I should use the word inequality instead. The country must tackle the enormous income inequality that exists. You used USA as an example of a good capitalist system. Many people, including Ernest above, will disagree that USA is the most successful country except for its military. On many performance rankings, they barely make it to the top. The US is an extremely unequal society, in spite of this, they are way better than Kenya. In Kenya, conservative estimates indicate that over 50% of the population are poor, as defined by $1 a day subsistence. I think even those who live on $5 a day are poor, but that's my own opinion.

With so many people living below poverty, something must be done to to tackle the income inequality.

Your suggestion about robbing one group is at best a layman's way of thinking. In addition no government can have such a policy. It is only economic policies that can correct these issues.

Examples of economic policies that the government can pursue include:

lowering taxation on lower income group and off-setting the lost taxes by raising tax on wealthy, and goods consumed by the wealthy

creating the right environment for creation of middle class jobs. These will include, jobs in service industries, manufacturing jobs and other jobs requiring skilled labour

improving access of education system for the poor and ensuring poor and rich children have equal opportunity to succeed in school and that it is intellect rather than wealth that determines who succeeds.

The trouble with Kenya is that many people who are ranked in the richest 5% made their wealth either through outright looting of public resources or through political patronage. This is not really capitalism at work but grand theft. On the other hand many of the super rich in US have done so through either creativity, such as the founders of Google etc, or through transformation of of previously existing industries (such as Bill Gates).

Can you think of a few Kenyans that can be compared with Bill Gates?

This a less then a dollar a day thing does not take into consideration that a vast percentage of our population lives in the rural areas. By many estimates between 60 and 70%. The Cost of living in this areas is extremely low. Granted the people are poor, but they are not desperate as the image conjured by that statement.
link here

I think the best economic system is the social capitalism as practised in some European countries like Germany. This system establishes a minimum threshold below which no man or woman should be allowed to fall. The benefits are that the streets are pretty safe. The downside is that the working have to drag the non-working along. The cut on one's income is considerable. The system is most effective when as many people as possible are employed. This is balanced by the fact that anyone can fall into the situation have no work.
You'll never create a society in which all men are equal and satisfied and competition is healthy for a productive society. Creating a society where a minimum standard is kept is beneficial to all and I think a pretty good model to follow.

inequality
written by Stephen Wanyama , March 06, 2008

Someone above has pointed out that rural poverty is not always as desperate as is made out, it is much easier to tackle than is urban poverty. The second part of this is the fact that rural poverty causes nation-wide poverty, it results in extremely debilitating urban migration.

The Kibaki government is on to a very good thing, and part of it I have spoken of in my previous post. The solution to inequality for me is not better distribution as that is punitive and remember capital and goodwill migrate!! The more important goal is the empowerment of the poor, as Kibaki has done with improving coops, raising farm prices and improving lives in the rural areas, i.e. for example rural-electrification, access to markets and social amenities and so on.

We congratulated Kalonzo's tax-breaks for the lower middle-class before the election, but I believe we have to channel that increased dispensable income towards greater investment- more home ownership, more business start-ups, more employment (maybe industries should get tax-breaks for each employee hired). Empower, don't hand-out, we simply do not have as big a tax base to afford a welfare system.

not fair
written by yasin , March 04, 2009

hi;your not fair to the children of kenya coz of tha way ur marking exam. u have to improve in that en also care about our children