Kenya to make high school education free

May 02 2007 at 12:54AM

By Jeremy Clarke

Nairobi - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Tuesday promised free public secondary school tuition from next year, following on his re-introduction of free primary education into east Africa's largest economy.

Kibaki, facing a tough re-election campaign before polls set for December, said his decision was part of a greater plan to see Kenya boost its global competitiveness by 2030.

"From January 2008, my government will meet the cost of tuition in all public secondary schools, at a cost of 4.3-billion Kenya shillings (about R450-million))," he said in a Labour Day speech at Nairobi's Uhuru Park.

'This will create a large pool of employable young people'
In 2003, Kibaki's re-introduction of free primary schooling won local and international plaudits and saw the number of pupils jump by 1,2 million in just weeks.

Primary school used to be free in Kenya, but was phased out as Kenya's economy collapsed under the rule of former president - and one-time schoolteacher - Daniel arap Moi.

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Kibaki's latest education push will only cover the cost of tuition, leaving parents responsible for costs like books, transport and school supplies.

Kibaki said his changes will extend basic education in Kenya from eight years to 12 years and focus domestic policy on youth vocational training.

"This will create a large pool of employable young people, while inculcating a strong work ethic in our youth that will serve them and our nation well in the years ahead," he said.

Across Africa parents make proportionately huge sacrifices to give their children basic education, with poor families spending between a quarter and a third of income on education, experts say.

Pippa:

This is wonderful news provided the government does something to insure that ALL children take advantage of the free education. Though there has been free education for primary grades for a few years, many families still do not send their children to school. They need some outreach workers to explain to those parents how very important the education for their children is and help them obtain the necessary uniforms to be able to participate.

We can only keep our fingers crossed that all will take advantage of this important change.

The other side of the article Pippa posted is what I'll post below. Obviously by making free education more available to all children, the country hasn't kept up with supplying more teachers and schools. 80 pupils in one class, and 20 sharing one desk and pencil!!! And our teachers yell when they have 20 - 25.

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Moi now faults free learning
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By Isaiah Lucheli

Retired President Daniel Moi has termed the Free Primary Education (FPE) programme as a total failure.

Following the introduction of FPE in 2003, standards of learning in public schools have been affected owing to an upsurge in enrolment, said the president.

He cited overcrowding of pupils in classrooms, understaffing and lack of basic facilities as some of the constraints facing the system that he said was introduced hurriedly.

"It is sad when you visit our public schools, a teacher is forced to handle over 80 pupils. This has made majority of teachers to despair, leading to poor results in our public schools," said Moi.

The retired president lamented that over 80 pupils are crammed into a classroom meant to accommodate only 40 pupils thus hampering learning.

"Children require special attention from teachers to enable them understand what they are being taught. How can a teacher give a class of 80 pupils personal attention?" he posed.

Moi said the free primary Education has greatly affected the quality of education in the country and was likely to result in poor leadership in future generations.

"Hii mambo ya wanafunzi kujaa ndani ya darasa moja inafanya watoto kurudi nyumbani vile walivyotoka bila ya kujua mwalimu amefunza nini (Most students go home without understanding anything due to the crowding in classrooms)," Moi said Moi after opening a Sunday school sanctuary at African Inland Church in Eldoret town.

Moi appealed to churches in Kenya to provide quality education to groom quality leadership. He accused parents of absconding their duties of educating their children only to complain later.

He criticised some religious leaders for seeking church leadership positions for their own selfish ambitions saying this has hampered the spread of the Gospel.

Present during the occasion included Keiyo South MP Mr Nicholas Biwott and former nominated MP Ezekiel Barng’etuny.