The report of the special investigation team on school unrest in 2016 found teachers have devised many ways to get more money from parents
The team chaired by Clare Omollo found out that in most schools, the daily routine was stressful and too demanding on the students. It found out that in boarding schools, lessons start as early as 4.30am against regulations of the Ministry of Education. The routine was congested with academic programmes leaving little or no time for co-curricular activities and recreation. The report shows that students have no time for specialized studies since in some cases they had lessons over lunch, between 4pm and supper and even at night. The report found out that teachers now don’t teach during the regular hours but have lined up activities to milk funds from parents.
The teachers ask for money to teach during the morning and evening preps. Because they are paid the extra money computed in terms of hours, they make sure that the preps spread to hours so that they get more money. The programmes for the whole term were also composed of too many examinations baptized opener, continuous assessment tests (CATs), random assessment tests (RATs), end term, supplementary and joint mocks. This is replicated over the weekends and school holidays.
The report also shows that schools charge money for motivating teachers, school trips and celebrating classes that have emerged tops in exams or co-curricular activities.
Courtesy of The Standard
