Piecemeal education reform won't work - the government needs to consult

What you need to know:

  • Coincidentally, last week, university chancellors gathered at the Safari Park Hotel to reflect on where we have come from and make proposals on where we need to go. 
  • Speaker after speaker acknowledged the fact that we have, to a large extent, failed in what is referred to as the classical role of the university.
  • When my friend was asked 13 multiplied by six, he simply said, ‘We have not been taught that number yet’

Following recent reforms at the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC), education in Kenya is in the limelight once more. 

What was initially celebrated as a move in the right direction has opened up a can of worms however, and it is now clear the rot in the sector will take a long time to clean up. 

Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive master plan for this sanitation. In the past few weeks there have been many far-reaching reform proposals, as can be deduced from the following newspaper headlines: “Primary School exams to be scrapped”, “New system to be implemented”, “University Service Commission to be established.”

These policies, if indeed they are policies, have not been officially communicated. What is worth noting is that they betray a neglect of the constitutional principle of public participation in policymaking.    

We need to interrogate every policy proposal before it is implemented because education is a key Sustainable Development Goal and an emotive issue in Kenya.

Coincidentally, last week, university chancellors gathered at the Safari Park Hotel to reflect on where we have come from and make proposals on where we need to go.  There was no doubt that higher education in Kenya needed some serious reforms. 

Participants proposed a raft of proposals ranging from financing to institutional arrangements.   These were noble ideas, considering the fact that in the past few years education in Kenya has gone through tremendous governance challenges. 

As expected, it was not going to be an easy exercise. Some may eventually resist any changes arguing that all is well except for a few rotten apples.

DEPENDENT ON THE EXCHEQUER

At the moment, most people just want to see where the debate is heading to before putting up a fight, but while it is indeed normal for people to protect their territories, the time has come to disrupt the current systems at our universities.

Speaker after speaker acknowledged the fact that we have, to a large extent, failed in what is referred to as the classical role of the university.

It includes repository of knowledge, through maintaining and securing crucial knowledge for present and future generations; research, or the generation of new knowledge; teaching, or transferring knowledge to the next generation and transferring knowledge to society or research dissemination.

Whilst universities in other parts of the world have reduced their dependence on government, universities in Africa have become more dependent on the exchequer, even as demand outstrips supply. 

Research activity is lowest in Africa, with less than two per cent of global research, with high concentration of research in South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt. 

The contribution of universities to economic development is virtually zero. 

In South Africa, however, universities play an integral role in advancing economic growth and pursuing socio-economic goals.   

Africa has a long way to go to make universities central to economic development. 

Since my main reason of writing this blog post was to highlight the need for a comprehensive Master Plan, let me begin with what I think is of great importance - the foundations of education.

PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE

In my view, we need to debate the future of our education, beginning from Early Childhood Development (ECD) through to university, with specific objectives at every level. 

ECD is the most critical stage of education, yet we continue to flout the standards as county government roll out the program.  It is in ECD that most of the learning takes place especially languages, physical, emotional, social and intellectual development. 

This is the level where children seek to acquire personal independence, develop a positive and balanced self-image and increase their affective capabilities.

To achieve those objectives, ECD requires skilled teachers but unfortunately, it has never occurred to county leadership that they need highly trained personnel for an effective ECD program. 

When we fail at this level, we create lifelong problems, where individuals become dependent on others or institutions. 

Perhaps this is why you see an adult whose spouse has taken off due to his or her inappropriate behaviour asking that serikali isaidie (the government helps) bring back the spouse. 

It is in everyone’s interest to get it right from the beginning in order to develop personal independence which is important to the overall success of a nation. Reforms here will require removal of the current crop of teachers, replacing them with properly trained staff who understand the objectives of ECD. 

EVERYDAY LIFE

Primary education in virtually every country has its own, common objectives.  Some of the most common objectives are to attain basic literacy and numeracy and develop social and cultural norms, with emphasis on moral and religious standards.

In Kenya there are 13 objectives for primary education but only a few are observed, and hardly any teacher knows them.

On math, for example, teachers are supposed to ensure that a student has basic math skills and can engage in problem-solving that requires the completion of elementary operations of calculation, geometric knowledge and estimates, as well as being able to apply them to everyday life situations.

Unfortunately, instead of students learning to apply knowledge in everyday life, they are taken through rituals of rote learning. 

Having gone through primary education in rural Kenya, I can report my experience with the system. In math, we simply memorised the multiplication table covering one to 12.

Whenever I was asked a question like 12 multiplied by eight, I had to quietly start from ‘12 times one, twelve’, till I hit ‘12 times eight’ to give you the answer, 96. When my friend was asked 13 multiplied by six, he simply said, ‘We have not been taught that number yet’.

FOUR DAYS EVERY MONTH

In high school, we were never taught the application of math even though we did many things outside class that were mathematical. In trigonometry, which had many geometric applications like roofing, we memorised TOASOHCAH meaning 'tangent is equal to opposite over adjacent, sine equals to opposite over hypotenuse and Cosine equals to adjacent over hypotenuse'.

The proposed replacement of KCPE with a continuous assessment testing mechanism would help many young people get an education.  Research has shown girls perform well early in their lives. When they get to puberty, their lives are turned upside down as many cannot afford sanitary towels. 

This forces them to miss class for at least four days every month, leading to poor performance in national exams. This problem would disappear with continuous assessment.  

There must be regular inspections to assess whether students have attained learning objectives.  There is no point of taking children through an eight-year program only to realise that students never met the policy objectives.

Like in other levels of education, we have great objectives on paper, like developing the ability for enquiry, critical thinking and rational judgment, and enhancing enjoyment in learning, but rarely do we aspire to deliver on these objectives.

The focus at this level, given what we have seen in KCSE, is on passing the exams and everything comes last.

Unfortunately, there isn’t going to be time and capacity to understand and deliver on all the other objectives.

SOUND JUDGEMENT

Our focus should be on finding or training good teachers who will ensure that the objectives have been met. 

Critical thinking should be a core course in all training facilities. Training must continue even after formal education and made compulsory as continuing professional education. 

We cannot hope for people who can solve problems, make good decisions, and use sound judgment if that kind of capacity building is not encouraged.

Although the debate on the future of the universities has started in earnest, we must make decisions that are informed by research.  For a start we can leverage Prof. Tiyambe Zeleza’s 2016 book, The Transformation of Global Higher Education, 1945 - 2015, which details the challenges and opportunities in higher education.

The question, then, is where we go from here.  A successful, inclusive reform program will require a comprehensive road map, debated by all stakeholders. 

It may not be an easy exercise but that is what it takes for reforms to be accepted across the board.

The writer is an associate professor at University of Nairobi’s School of Business. Twitter: @bantigito