It’s the year 2023. Specifically, July. The coldest month this year so far. A year where public primary education is ‘free’, not only by thought but anchored in our law. That it’s a right. An effort to end illiteracy in our beautiful Kenya. A year where Public Primary education is the government’s development agenda. A year where the world is in agreement that education is not only a human right, but also a platform for equity and equality. A year where Kenya is preparing to give a report on one of the goals for vision2030 and the international SDGs report as we approach the year 2030.
Yet still, it is the same year where all the newsrooms and print media scream with headlines of teacher shortages, untrained teachers on CBC, inadequate supply of books, inadequate funding, delayed funding, salary wars, crowded classes, no libraries, no labs, and now CBC infrastructure calls for either the parent to go back to their pockets, or the teachers to transform overnight into serious creatives, or geniuses if you like. You then decide to go around the schools, maybe for work or for other engagements, and wish you could scream some more. You somehow agree with fellow Kenyans, that we rarely have primary schools worth the name, but mere polling stations. You sit and wonder, what is an ideal public primary school in Kenya?
You turn to Google to ask that question and the only thing available is the list of the best-performing schools and directions to a school with that name. From there, you find more lists of schools with the same name, but this time, in almost all provinces in India. You feel that Google has not understood your question well and you rephrase your question to see if you will get better answers and examples. This time, you wonder, do we have public primary schools in Kenya, with fewer problems than others in this country and if yes, what is their secret?
Do they get more money? Do they have more teachers? Do they have better Headteachers? Do they have richer Alumni? Or better still, richer parents? Do they have rich sponsors or do they come from the CSs for education backyard? You sit and listen to most conversations on our media and wonder, who do some people speak for? Have these people been to a school with falling toilets? Have they been to a school with fewer classes? Have they been to a school where classes have open windows and no doors? Have they been to a school where teachers have no staffroom but one class they took and acts as the office? A room that holds the teachers, chairs, improvised tables, women’s bags, books, plates, tea flasks, and files in one falling table? Have they been to a school where learners still don’t have food for lunch or shoes on their tiny cold feet? Have they been to schools where learners, this July don’t own sweaters but still brace for the cold for education? Have these boardroom bullies been to a school with no access? Have they been to counties where learners have no bridges to access their schools? Schools where rain means a bad omen for months?
If it’s true an ideal public school ought to have a Human capital-recommended ratio of 1:26 for Pre Primary, 1:56 in Primary, and 1:41 in tertiary institutions, and yet you go to schools with 1:70 and even 1:100 in JSS, if it’s true, writing and reading materials should be 1:1, if it’s true there are schools at 1:5 for reading materials, if it’s true funding delays even to the red, if it’s true CDF has not been enough for schools, if its true funding capitation is forever inadequate, if it’s true parents have to give more for infrastructure, if it’s true some leaders don’t have schools as their priority if it’s true we are yet to get informal schools right even in places where the cases of existence are genuine, and if it’s true even after 60 years, with the 3rd curriculum in place, we are yet to even come near to an ideal public education system, how then do we still expect an ideal workforce in years to come? A workforce competent enough to not only fit in our labor force but also compete internationally.
After years of the same gaps with the 8-4-4 system, after years of not giving education enough funding for both theory and practical learning, after years of not staffing schools well, after years of not building enough schools across the country, not upskilling teachers as often, we quickly blamed it (8-4-4) for churning out half-baked citizenry. Fair enough. Then came CBC. It’s promising an extraordinary citizenry soon. A citizenry that is all-rounded in principle and in act. Now the question is, will it be the same with CBC? Are we going to do everything possible to make every school an ideal school by meeting all the requirements without fail? Or 20yrs down the line we will desire to make changes to another ‘ideal’ curriculum?
Dear Government of Kenya, can we have a day in our beloved nation where we will have reports of success, from all schools on every front? Imagine every public school having all the required resources. Imagine a public school with enough extra teachers, not from BOM, but from TSC. Imagine all public schools having tapped water, and electricity in every corner. Imagine our public schools getting enough funding and on time. Imagine all public schools where a child does not spend all day without food or is unable to learn because of rain or cold.
That day, we will hail the earthly king and roar in those international conferences as if we are the only species remaining on this side of the planet. That day we will scoop the blessed soil, as a sign of progress and great nationhood. That day, I will finally narrate that story of ripe and unripe as my grandpa narrated it to me.
You must remind me, of that day.
