Education System

In terms of the education system – I am still reading up on this – in 2003, the government put in a change where primary education (2 years of kindergarten and 8 years elementary) were going to be provided for all children. It is part of the Children’s Education Act that got put into place in 2001. Before, if you could not afford education, you did not get it. They basically use the British system here. This is fantastic, but it have now put a huge strain on the secondary system – as there a lot more children graduating into high school and not enough resources – they need more schools. I have been told to expect a class of as high as 50 students. Teachers are not well paid here in Kenya. A huge portion of the population still lives on less then a dollar a day. The average salary is 1500 to 3000 shillings a month. In general, it is about 50-65 shillings to the Canadian dollar. So, it is still a very poor country. But as I said in my earlier e-mail – you don’t get that sense from the people – most likely because this is all they know – but there is happiness in the people and a huge sense of decorum. They are very polite – always introduce themselves. If I say “hi” they reply “fine, thank you” as if I have asked them how they are. The children are adorable – some of them very shy, but others so approachable. They wave and smile at me when they see me. I can’t wait to get teaching! It seems I will be teaching English and working with the Department Head. I have still yet to see a syllabus or curriculum –hope to get this, this week … so planning lessons is a bit tricky! All the children wear uniforms to school – usually a nice bright colour. I have seen girls in blue or purple pinafores … boys in green or red jerseys. Some of the schools are same sex, some are mixed. On the bus ride up from Nairobi – I passed many schools – or at least signs for them. So… the schools are there …. but depending on the region, the quality of teacher will vary – as I said, they don’t get paid very well here. However, my hosts, who grew up in the system, say that in the cities or peri-urban schools the education is exemplary with very high standards. When I explained to them some of the routines in our schools, the “no child left behind” policies… they said that it would be unheard of a child not doing their homework or handing in an assignment late etc… it just is not done. If a child does hand in an assignment late, they would be given another one to do as well – I will know more of this once I get started. I asked about integration – ie. For special education students, students with disabilities and they said that for the most part they would go to separate schools – I am sure this varies depending on the region. According to the document, there are many assessed children with needs who stay at home and don’t go to school – this may be more prevalent in the poorer regions. Many children however don’t go to school for various reasons. There are huge challenges in the rural areas or areas where nomadic tribes live. The document I am reading talks about Non-Formal Education opportunities run by NGO’s in the country. These are trying to target life skills for at risk children of which there are many. I hopefully will get a chance to view some of these programs at the orphanages that I would like to visit. Also – there is huge emphasis on balancing out gender issues with regards to education. In the formal system it is being addressed, but yet again… in various regions, there is sure to exist disparity in the percentage of girls getting education. I also asked, in light of the fact that the cell phone is VERY popular here (it is quite cheap in comparison to the plans in Canada – phones can be very expensive, but you can also get ones for very cheap – but the actual phone plans are very inexpensive – having said that.. I highly doubt anyone in the shambas/rural areas would have one) but anyway, I asked what the policy was about phones in schools etc… and they said it would be unheard of a child using their phone in school. They just would not do it – and if they did, it would be confiscated. I get the sense that the teacher is very much boss in their system. They have clubs after school – so I hope to get involved in some of them. But they have very limited resources – they use copy books and pencils. At Maseno University – the kids had computers in their rooms, but they were all using copy books to study – not binders with three ringed paper and I did not see too many printers in sight – though I am sure they can print things off at the IT centre. My hosts explained that students are very serious about their studies when they get to University as it is very hard to get in – high competition – and very expensive for many of them to attend. The student who gave me a tour on the weekend – was the only person in his family to have attended university – and you can be sure that his parents saved greatly to put him there. I asked about scholarships – and he said you could only apply for them once you had an undergraduate degree and they were awarded to people who had extremely high marks. In order to become a full fledged professor here – you obviously need a PHD which takes MANY years (it takes up to four years to get your Masters – very rare to get it in two) , then you need to teach for many years before you can even apply to become a professor and only if a position becomes available – so I guess that bit is similar to here. The student said that many of the professors have gone overseas to do post-doctoral work in the meantime.

So – overall –it seems that a lot is being done to improve the education system here in Kenya and the pre-service training for teachers. However, many obstacles still exist. My hosts have explained that corruption is high in the country – so not all funds targeted by the government for various things get to their final destination. A prime example would be the roads! :>