Following the long awaited KCPE results released yesterday, there are various reviews going around about the balance of success between private and public schools and also the distribution of resources when it comes to the running of schools.
In a discussion about the practicality of the new curriculum vs. the 8-4-4 system that is being phased out. Kennedy Echer a lecturer said “Are you aware that posting of teachers in this country is another form of cartel? Some schools keep receiving teachers year in, year out while others are understaffed.”
This begs the question if there is already a disparity when it comes to staff in our public schools vs. private schools who have more resources to divide students, classes, and teachers accordingly; how can we move from where we are as public schools to where we are supposed to be?
Dr. Otiende Amollo, MP Rarienda, whilst congratulating KCPE pupils from his county in an interview said, “It is to be noted that the private schools have done much better, but that’s not new, I think in the recent decade it’s true that private schools have always done much better than public schools. The disparities is something that needs to be focused on moving forward.”
Still, on the same point, it is agreed that there is a deficit between private schools and public schools; MP Richard Onyonka, says “There is the deliberate attempt by the government to make sure our education system is run professionally. I hope that we will have continuity. When you look at the secondary school exams they will also be done effectively and hopefully like with the Kenyan student, like it used to be, once someone graduated and went to any university in the world they actually performed well.”
The issue of public schools being equipped enough, having enough staff and facilities is one that we should not take for granted. This is especially because there are the demands of the CBC curriculum that is still being fine-tuned, with some public schools complaining about lack of staff and resources to facilitate the nature of the new curriculum.
