The government has moved in to address infrastructural challenges in secondary schools following the 100 percent transition policy that has left many schools grappling with congestion due to limited capacity.
Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed told the National Assembly Education committee that the ministry has received Sh1.5 billion from the Treasury and the funds will be disbursed to all secondary schools for infrastructure development.
Ms Mohamed told the committee chaired by Tinderet MP Paul Melly that the bulk of the money will go to sub-county and county schools which have mostly been affected by the transition policy.
According to the figures presented to the committee by Ms Mohamed, some 31,337 candidates were selected to join national schools, 128,838 to extra county schools, 148,215 to county schools, 722,318 to sub-county schools and 1,626 to special needs institutions.
CAPITATION
Ms Mohamed said on top of the Sh22,844 capitation that all students are entitled to, the ministry will give each student in a day school Sh6,000 while those in boarding schools will get Sh8,000 for infrastructural development.
Of the Sh22,844 capitation money, 25 percent (Sh5,711) is meant for infrastructural development.
“The money we have received from the Treasury will target mainly ‘small’ schools. Schools with up to 1,000 student population will receive Sh6 million every year for maintenance and improvement of infrastructure,” Ms Mohamed said.
She was hard-pressed by MPs to explain why the government has insisted on 100 percent transition without first developing requisite infrastructure in secondary schools.
QUALITY
The MPs — Ms Eve Obara (Kasipul Kabondo), Mr Zadoc Ogutu (Bomachoge Borabu), Mr Japheth Mutai (Bureti) and Mr Wilson Kago (Chesumei) — argued the policy will affect the quality of education the new curriculum is designed to achieve.
“We are converting many facilities in the schools for the purpose they were not intended for. Quality is the key factor in the new curriculum but that is now being compromised,” Mr Ogutu said.
“It is a complete mess. The schools are overcrowded and in some instances, students even share beds. The sanitation is compromised,” Mr Mutai added.
“We have seen some schools with a capacity of 300 admitting over 400 students under the new system. We appreciate the 100 percent transition but what about the quality and capacity of schools?” Mr Kago posed.
EVALUATION
The Chesumei MP claimed some schools in his constituency have converted dormitories into classes due to the high number of admitted form ones. “I’m a worried person if we are doing all these at the expense of quality,” he said.
Ms Mohamed said education quality assurance teams are already on the ground and will the give the ministry a report on the schools to be given priority in infrastructural development.
“Nothing caught us by surprise. We were aware of this and we are doing something. Our team is on the ground and we will act,” Ms Mohamed said.
However, Ms Obara questioned the ministry on how they have equipped the quality assurance officers, especially those in rural areas, to ensure they do their work properly based on the increased number of students.
TEACHERS
The 1,052,364 candidates who sat the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination in November last year are expected to join the more than two million students already in secondary schools.
In a report to the National Assembly last November, Auditor-General Edward Ouko said most secondary schools in the country do not have enough dormitories, libraries and teachers.
Teachers Service Commission officials raised concerns over a possible crisis in education this year unless close to 70,000 teachers are recruited to support the growing student population.
The CS also defended the National Education Management Information System (Nemis) that was used for Form One admissions, saying it ensured all candidates had an equal chance of getting selected to their preferred schools based on merit, equity, choice and affirmative action.