Kilonzo issues tuition warning

Education minister Mutula Kilonzo has warned that holiday tuition remains illegal and those who disobey the directive will be prosecuted.

Mr Kilonzo said extra tuition often practised when schools are closed would no longer be tolerated because it violates the rights of children.

“Our children deserve to rest and spend time with their parents. Clearly, anyone going against this does not understand that the Constitution has given our children direct rights.

"We are going to abolish it so hard that anyone violating it will be punished by the law,” he said after

after opening an education workshop in Nairobi Monday.

Holiday tuition is furthered by teachers and schools who see it as an avenue to complete their syllabi in time or help in revision.

There are some private tutors who also advertise this service to cash in on parents who want their children to stay in class during school holidays.

Disregard ban

The practice was banned in 2008 by the then Education Permanent Secretary Karega Mutahi. However, schools have continued to disregard the ban with some claiming normal terms are usually too short to complete syllabi.

On Monday, Mr Kilonzo told reporters he has proposed stringent laws in new education Bills that would help punish the culprits.

“It is a big mistake not to let children be children, to deny them a chance from school to go and play, be with their parents and even sleep enough. When I was in school, truly, I never went to class on a Saturday.

“These were days meant for debates or games such that people developed other talents. With today’s methods (of teaching), it is difficult to understand what children are learning.”

Nurture talents

Mr Kilonzo told the delegates that school goers should be allowed to nurture other talents.

He made the remarks during the opening of the National Policy Dialogue Forum at the Intercontinental Hotel Nairobi.

The two-day conference has been organised by the Ministry in collaboration with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) to help educationists discuss how education can be used to avert conflicts in Africa.

Kenya is among the countries in Africa once considered stable but this changed following the 2007/08 post election violence.

On Monday, participants argued that changing the curriculum to include aspects of national traditions, culture and other diverse forms of teaching would help Kenyans avoid future clashes.