EDUCATION

State blames varsity managements for Ksh56B debt

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KNUT raises red flag over TTCs alarming decline

By Roy Hezron

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) is alarmed over the future of the country’s Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) due to declining enrollment occasioned by policy shift in teacher education.

The Union Secretary General (SG) Collins Oyuu in a February 20, 2023 media briefing said that enrolment has been adversely affected by the revised entry requirements for teacher training in TTCs.

The public teacher training institutions did not admit students in 2019 and 2020 for the P1 course due to the change in qualification policy from certificate to diploma for teaching in primary schools.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) then required all TTCs both public and private to be registered afresh to reflect their new status as Diploma training institutions.

During the year under review, the public TTCs admitted pre-service Diploma teacher trainees and upgraders from P1 to Diploma.

According to Oyuu, the current enrollment in the 34 public pre-service primary teacher training colleges stands at 3,922, which translates to 14.7 per cent with expected capacity being 26,650 students.

This means the total idle capacity in the pre-service primary teacher training college is 22,728, which translate to 85.3 per cent!

Oyuu further stated that the current enrollment at the 3 public Diploma colleges for secondary school teachers stands at 1293 (36 per cent), the optimum capacity being 3,600 students, leaving a balance of 2,307 or 64 per cent.

The KNUT boss has now raised concerns that the entry grade for Diploma in Secondary Teacher Education (DSTE),

Lobby vows to defend hardship allowance in ASAL areas

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By our reporter Education Cabinet Secretary (CS)

Ezekiel Machogu has announced that the Public Service Commission (PSC) has promoted 3,269 trainers to higher job groups.

12 trainers have been promoted to the position of Chief Principal at job group ‘S’, and 317 elevated to position of Senior Principal and Vocational and Technical Trainer I (Job Group 'P').

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Over 3,000

More County Directors moved in mass transfers at

Follow this link to read more... https://tinyurl.com/tsc-directors

TVET trainers promoted in latest move

service delivery.

both Science and Arts, is KCSE C+ (plus); the same as the entry requirement for a Bachelor’s degrees in education.

“This poses a threat to primary teacher education in the country. It technically means in the nearest future there may be no need to have these colleges,” lamented Oyuu.

According to the report of the taskforce on ‘Enhancing Access, Relevance, Transition, Equity and Quality for Effective Curriculum Reforms and Implementation’ of December 2020, the MoE was expected to ensure all tutors in pre-service teacher training are inducted on effective interpretation and implementation of the teacher education curriculum framework and designs.

The taskforce recommended that MoE should raise the lowest level of Pre-Service Teacher Education (TE) to a Diploma in Teacher Education (DTE), the duration at each level taking three years unlike previously when it took two years.

Consequently, DPTE was raised to C (plain) in KCSE or equivalent from previous C-(minus), while DSTE and Diploma in Technical Teacher Education (DTTE) was raised to C+ (plus) in KCSE or its equivalent.

The Union now calls for a change of curriculum to suit the reforms in education under all categories of teaching.

“Teacher training colleges need to match their curriculum with the market needs currently obtaining. Clustering of subjects has given a paradigm shift to training which is affecting training of teachers,” said Oyuu, adding: “It may not be true that the futuristic requirement of teaching in primary institutions of learning is going to be a Bachelor’s degree.”

A 2022 Economic Survey showed that the total number of teacher trainees declined by 8.4 per cent from 17,938 in 2020 to 16,429 in 2021.

In 2021, the number of upgrade teacher trainees accounted for 59.2 per cent of the total trainees, while pre-service teacher trainees accounted for 32.0 per cent of the total number of teacher trainees.

The report further shows that the number of teacher trainees in secondary Diploma teacher training colleges went up by 18.9 per cent from 1,218 in 2020 to 1,448 in 2021 mainly on account of an increase in the number of first-year trainees.

On the transition to Junior Secondary School (JSS), Oyuu urged the government to employ more teachers, and more so the primary school-trained ones.

“There are 14 learning areas at the JSS level. Having secondary school teachers in this level doesn’t make sense since they specialized in only two subjects.” He remarked.

Another 1,373 officers have been promoted to serve as Principal of Vocational and Technical Trainers, JG ‘P’. 1,027 officers will now serve as Principal Vocational and Technical Trainers I JG ‘N’ as 231 are promoted to Senior Vocational and Technical Trainer JG ‘L’. Another 309 to serve as Assistant Trainers JG ‘K’.

Speaking at the Kenya School of TVET (KSTVET) – formerly Kenya Technical Trainers College (KTTC) –during a meeting with principals drawn from various TVET institutions across the country, Machogu said the

measures to promote the lecturers was aimed at motivating them for better

By Agnes Orang'o

Maendeleo ya Wanawake chairlady for Matungulu chapter Victoria

Mulalya has expressed concern over the growing number of young boys leaving school to work in the quarries.

Speaking to Education News, Mulalya observed that many school children from Mwisyani and Kalie have disappeared into the quarries in a bid to make money.

She noted that the situation is fuelled by high poverty levels and called upon the government to take action on quarry owners employing underage children.

"Cases of child labour are many in Matungulu and mostly in areas with quarries. Young children are leaving school for these jobs," said

Machogu also promised to deal with issues of staff shortage in TVET institutions especially in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)- related courses.

“The current establishment of trainers in TVET institutions is 6,201, indicating a shortage of 8,817 trainers. This means that we are unable to meet the recommended trainer to trainee ratio of 1:30 for business courses and 1:20 for STEM courses,” said Machogu.

He added that he has been engaging with the National Treasury, which has now approved a phased recruitment of 3,000 additional trainers starting April this year.

Mulalya.

"I would urge the government to prosecute these employers so that our children can go back to school," she added.

She also encouraged parents to see the importance of educating their children as there are numerous cases of dropouts.

"I have rescued several boys and taken them back to school. Some are dropping out in class six, seven, and even high school, more so those in day school," she said.

She also called on the government to provide primary schools with food to ensure these children do not find an excuse to stop going to school as they look for work.

Education News established that many families are unable to afford their children two meals a day.

How learner’s progress will be reported throughout JSS

By Education News reporter

Learners in Junior Secondary School (JSS) will be issued with School Year Report (SYR) at the end of each of Grades 7, 8 and 9.

According to the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) Guidelines for Implementation of Junior Secondary Education released by the State Department for Basic Education in January 2023, the report will provide a complete and comprehensive qualitative and quantitative account of learner’s progress and achievement in all the learning areas in the respec-

tive grades.

The SYR will also contain information on learner’s acquisition of core competencies, core values, participation in pertinent and contemporary issues, and participation in co-curricular activities.

In addition, learners will be issued with Learner Transition Report (LTR) based on pathways to Senior Secondary School (SSS) as well as Stage-based Pathway to Vocational level.

There will also be the result slips and certificates for candidates, which will be a statement of provisional re-

sults issued immediately after results are announced followed by an official attestation document.

Further, there will be a Learner Exit Profile (LEP). Here, learners following the Stage-Based Pathway may exit the formal school programme at any stage due to limitations posed by disability or curriculum complexity to an extent that they are unable to transit to the next level.

This profile will include a comprehensive account of learner's acquisition of pre-vocational skills, communication skills and skills for independent living as well as

One of the quarries in Matungulu. Photo/Agnes Orang’o

Why young boys in Matungulu skip classes to mine in quarries

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu.

Collins Oyuu, KNUT Secretary-General.

Mother of 4 back to school after 13 years

MoE

The Ministry of Education has made more changes on its County Directors of Education through transfers from one station to another...

Promotions lined up for teachers before July 2023

The total number will entail 5,436 primary school teachers who will be promoted from grade B5 (Primary Teacher II) to C1 (Primary Teacher II), a total of 614 teachers from grade C1 to C2, and 5,208 from C2 to C3..

By Roy Hezron

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) plans to promote a total of 11,258 teachers on the common cadre in the current 2022/2023 Financial Year (FY) which is ending June 30, 2023. This is in addition to several other cadres that are lined up for upgrade.

This is revealed in the response by the TSC Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Nancy Macharia to the Departmental Committee on Education. She had been required to file a report on the controversial teachers’ medical cover, recruitment, promotion and delocalization.

In the document seen by Education News, the total number will entail 5,436 primary school teachers who will be promoted from grade B5 (Primary Teacher II) to C1 (Primary Teacher II), a total of 614 teachers from grade C1 to C2, and 5,208 from C2 to C3.

“For the year 2022/2023, the commission, subject to budgetary provision, shall in line with Regulation 74 of (Code of Regulations for Teachers) CORT promote a total of 11,258 teachers in the common cadre promotions,” said Dr. Macharia in the report.

According to the data, Kakamega will have the highest number of promotions under this category with a total of 551 teachers, who will include 227 teachers from B5 to C1, 36 from C1 to C2, and 288 from C3 to C4.

Garissa County on the other hand will have the lowest number of 38 teachers, being 21 from B5 to C1, one from C1 to C2, and 16 from C2 to C3.

Accordingly, the commission plans to promote another 13,717 teachers on competitive promotion and 1,021 on affirmative action in arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) and ‘Hard to Staff’ areas in the FY.

Further, TSC has requested for an estimate budget of Ksh2.17 billion to competitively promote a total of 12,634 teachers in the next FY (2023/2024), which starts on July 1, 2023.

The estimated budget entails a total of Ksh600 million to promote a total of 4,595 primary school teachers from a promotional grade of C1 to C2.

Another Ksh1 billion to promote 4,750

diploma teachers from C2 to C3 is under consideration, as well as Ksh400 million to promote 2,637 graduate teachers from C3 to C4 and Ksh175.03 million to promote 652 graduate teachers from D3 to D4.

On the other hand, the commission also revealed that it had identified a total of 7,282 serving primary school teachers with requisite qualifications to be deployed to Junior Secondary School (JSS).

More mapping to identify eligible primary school teachers to serve in JSS is ongoing to address the shortages, with the qualifications being possession of either a Diploma in Education or a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, at least a C+ mean grade in KCSE or its equivalent, at least a C+ in two teaching subjects, and at least 8 units in each of the two teaching subjects.

According to Dr. Macharia, the commission has been addressing teacher shortage in secondary schools by promoting and deploying primary school teachers since

2019.

TSC promoted a total of 4,006 teachers in the FY 2019/2020 and 16,032 in the FY 2020/2021, while in 2019/20 FY the commission promoted a total of 5,034 teachers and 94,176 in the 2020/2021 FY on common cadre.

On teachers who have acted for long without being confirmed, the commission stated that despite the requirements set out in the Policy on Appointment and Deployment of Institutional Administrators, teachers who have acted as institutional administrators have an added advantage during interviews as they are awarded marks on the number of years they have been acting.

The commission recruited 30,550 teachers recently and posted them to JSS but still faces a shortage of 30,550 given that Grade 7 requires 61,100 teachers.

9,000 of them will serve on permanent and pensionable terms while 21,550 will be on internship.

between July and September this year to come up with an assessment framework for JSS which will be used to guide the assessment (examinations).

The current pioneer Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), now in Grade 7, will sit their national assessment referred to as Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA) at Grade 9, a summative assessment that will be administered by KNEC after three years.

Projected Common Cadre promotions per county in 2022/2023 FY

acquisition of competencies and values.

Learners in the age-based pathway will be issued with LEP upon completion of Basic Education at Grade 12.

However, the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) will now have to work under a tight time frame of three years from 2023 to2025 to put up mechanisms on how the current Grade 7 learners will be assessed and their transition to SSS in early 2026.

According to the guidelines, KNEC has

On the other hand, learners with special needs who are following the StageBased Curriculum currently at Pre-Vocational level will sit an assessment called Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment (KPLEA).

KNEC and subject panels have between July and September of every year starting this year to 2025 to come up with a School-Based Assessment (SBA) tool for JSS that will guide the teachers on how they will be administering the assessments termly and score the learners continuously for the next three years.

KNEC normally develops and uploads the tools for assessment on the Council’s website,

which are downloaded by teachers for administering.

Further, KNEC, in conjunction with schools, sub-county Directors of Education (SCDEs) and TSC’s Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs), is expected to come up with administrative guidelines, assessment tools and timetables that will be used to administer SBA for Grades 7 and 8 between July and December this year.

The guidelines will help KNEC to carry out analysis of SBA and write reports to ensure assessment outcomes are in place between April and July of every year from 2023 to 2024.

However, KNEC has further been tasked to ensure that they finalize the JSS Competency-Based Assessment Framework (CBAF) and related guidelines, monitor formative assessments in JSS and come up with a monitoring report, and further strengthen National Assessment System for Monitoring Learner Achievement (NASMLA) to provide continuous feedback on the CBC implementation.

At JSS, learners will be assessed in all the 12 core subjects and one or two optional sub-

jects as stipulated in the curriculum designs; while learners at the Pre- Vocational level will be assessed in 9 subjects.

The 12 core subjects are English, Kiswahili or Kenya Sign Language (KSL), Mathematics, Integrated Science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), Health Education, Pre-Technical and Pre-Career Education, Social Studies (Citizenship, Geography and History), Religious Education (CRE, IRE or HRE), Business Studies, Agriculture, Life Skills, and Sports and Physical Education.

The optional subjects are Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Home Science, Computer Science, and Foreign Languages (German, French and Mandarin), Arabic, Kenyan Sign Language, and Indigenous Language.

Subjects for Assessment at Pre-Vocational Level for special needs learners are Communication, Social and Literacy Skills, Daily Living Skills, Mathematics Activities, Music and Movement, Religious Education, Physical and Health Education, Hygiene, Nutrition and Safety, Environmental Activities, and Social Studies.

St Mary’s of Ongata Rongai JSS pupils posing for a group photo with their teacher.

File Photo

A section of teachers follow proceedings during last year’s World Teachers Day celebrations. TSC has announced that most teachers will be promoted.

File Photo

By Education News reporter

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has now released its plan of action in the deployment of 10,833 primary school teachers who requested to be moved to Junior Secondary School (JSS), which comes with a bag of goodies.

In a circular dated February 17, 2023 signed by the commission Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Nancy Macharia, priority will be given to proximity to the current station where a teacher is working.

Under the criteria, the commission maintains that teachers should be deployed as close as possible to their current working stations.

The decision comes days after the TSC boss told Parliament that the commission had stopped delocalization, which had been resisted by teachers and their Unions, and transferred over 14,000 teachers back to their home counties.

Subject combination will also be a factor.

Here, unless a station (JSS) requires more than one teacher of the same subject combination, no school will receive more than one teacher.

Another critical is gender in a bid to balance the staff composition in a station, with teachers with Special Needs Education (SNE) qualification being posted to SNE JSS.

Deployment letters will be signed by the TSC sub-county directors for teachers within the sub-county, and county directors in case of extra-subcounty deployments. For the case of Nairobi, the regional director will handle it.

Finer details on deployment of primary teachers to JSS

“The sub-county director shall sign two deployment letters for each teacher. One letter shall be issued to the teacher while the second original letter shall be submitted together with other deployment documents for filing at the headquarters,” instructed Dr. Macharia in the circular.

Money implication

Happily, the deployment will come with a basketful of goodies as the basic monthly salary and other related allowances go up.

The circular details how the primary teachers will be converted to higher grades from the ones they are currently holding.

For example, Grade B5 or Primary Teacher II and C1 or Primary Teacher I with a Bachelor’s degree will be issued with appointment letters to Grade C2, which is Secondary Teacher II.

As per TSC Career Progression Guidelines (CPG) for teachers, Secondary Teacher II (T- Scale 7) is the entry grade for secondary school teachers who are holders of a Bachelor’s Degree in Education or its equivalent.

This implies that the teachers will move from their current salary of between Ksh21,756 and Ksh27,195 for B5 teachers, and Ksh27,195 and Ksh33,994 for C1. The new basic monthly salary will be Ksh34,955 to

Ksh43,694, with corresponding raises in allowances.

Grade B5 with a Diploma in Education will move to Grade C1 or Secondary Teacher III, which as per the CPG is at T-Scale 6 and the entry grade for secondary school teachers who are

CSOs unhappy with TSC on grading, promotion

By Roy Hezron

Just days after the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Nancy Njeri Macharia told legislators that the TSC Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs) are at grade C5 and D1, the CSOs have lambasted their employer for distorting facts.

While appearing before the National Assembly’s Education Committee on February 14, 2023, Macharia told the MPs that the CSOs were evaluated and placed under Job Group C5 by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

According to the TSC boss, the CSOs are round about the same grade as primary school head teachers, which is C5 on the lowest and D1 on the highest, and they are essentially placed to supervise primary school teachers.

“They are still in the teachers payroll because that is how they were appraised by SRC…when they did job evaluation it was decided they can’t join the Secretariat,” said Macharia.

She further stated that the CSOs have

their own Career Progression Guideline (CPG).

And now a document seen by Education News, which is a joint memorandum by the CSOs to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education dated February 15, 2023, has painted a different picture on what is on the ground.

Approximately 1,200 CSOs countrywide have come out boldly to vent their anger and frustration at what they feel is misrepresentation of the facts on the ground, dismissing some of the things that were tabled before the committee as misleading.

“Whether by design or default, the TSC CEO, in her response to your questions, could not interpret the new job groups. She was too ignorant about the CSOs’ position. She was caught flatfooted,” read the document in part.

“In trying to justify some ‘untruths’, the CEO mixed up the legislators by asserting that CSOs were placed at the level of the highest paid primary school teacher…This was a serious contradiction and admission that the CEO is not in touch with what is on the ground,” they

holders of Diploma in Education.

Effectively, their basic monthly salary will move from between Ksh21,756 and Ksh27,195 to between Ksh27,195 and Ksh33,994, with a slight increase in almost all the allowances.

Teachers at Grade C2 and above with Bachelors/ Diploma certificates and teachers at Grade C1with a Diploma shall be issued with deployment letters to higher grades, though there are no specifications.

Requirements

According to TSC, primary school teachers wishing to be deployed to JSS must be qualified to teach in secondary school, and must have an active registration with the commission as a teacher.

Further, the teacher must be employed as a primary school teacher with the TSC and should not be currently serving an interdiction or undergoing a disciplinary process.

They should also have a minimum of a Diploma in Education with a minimum C+ at KCSE (or its equivalent), with C+ in two teaching subjects currently being offered in the school curriculum (either under 8-4-4 or CBC), or two principles and one subsidiary pass at “A” Level.

Those with a minimum of C (plain) at KCSE (or its equivalent) and have undertaken a Diploma in Education

“The CEO admitted that CSOs were sent to secondary schools to carry out this and that function where most principals are at D3, D4 and D5. Does(n’t) this also make the CSOs feel inferior or intimidated?”

The CSOs maintain that currently most of them, who are holders of Bachelor’s degrees, are recruited from secondary schools. Their counterparts from primary schools have since earned higher qualifications like Bachelor degrees, Masters and even PhDs.

They note that with these higher qualifications, the situation now calls for a re-evaluation by the SRC.

“Some CSOs appointed while they were at C5 are still in the same grade ever since. This means they did not earn a promotion and might never, since there are no promotional adverts for CSOs over the years. Indeed, the CSOs in Kenya operate within only two job groups, C5 and D1, irrespective of their professional experience, age and or otherwise,” lamented the CSOs.

To rub salt into the wound, the commission prepared the 2019 CSOs Career Progression Guidelines, which till to date have never been implemented as had been anticipated.

together with a Bachelor Degree in Education also qualify for deployment.

The degree certificate must be Bachelor of Education, have expressed interest to be deployed to JSS, and their name must appear in the list shared from the headquarters. However, Bachelor of Education (Primary Option) holders are not eligible.

Procedure

Immediately the teachers are deployed to JSS, the county directors will initiate posting on the Posting, Entry/Exit Reports Module to the subcounty to enable the director there to post the teachers.

The head of institution releasing the teacher has, beforehand, been instructed to exit the deployed teacher through the submission of Exit Report to enable the receiving Head to submit the Entry Report, with all the processes being done online.

“Where the teacher is retained in the same station, the head of institution shall exit the teacher from primary school and submit Entry Report for the JSS,” said Dr. Macharia.

After the conclusion of the deployment exercise, the TSC county and regional directors have been instructed to submit to the commission’s staffing director in the headquarters certified copies of the teacher’s academic credentials.

They will further be required to submit the original copy of the deployment letter, a declaration by the head of institution that the teacher is currently serving in the school and is neither serving an interdiction, nor undergoing a disciplinary process, accompanied by a list of the deployed teachers.

For one to be appointed as CSO II as per the guidelines, a teacher was required to have served as a teacher for a cumulative period of not less than six years, or 10 years for CSO I.

Other additional requirements for the case of CSO II are a Bachelor’s degree in education from a recognised institution, or a Bachelor’s degree plus a PostGraduate Diploma in Education from a recognized institution.

For Senior CSOs, one must have served as a teacher for a minimum period of 12 years, or 15 for Chief CSOs.

Additional requirements for the above cadres, which also applies to CSO I include: a Bachelor’s degree in Education or Bachelor’s degree plus a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education, Master’s degree in Education/Special education from a recognised university, and certificate in computer applications.

They must also demonstrate merit and ability as reflected in work performance and results, meet the requirements of Chapter 6 of the Constitution, and have attended a management course lasting not less than 2 weeks.

added.

According to the CSOs, most of them were and continue to be appointed at grade C5 for the case of former primary head teachers and some at D1 for the case of CSOs from secondary schools who are Bachelors of Education degree holders.

They add that they have all along been ignored during the commission’s promotions.

“Most of the head teachers are at D1, a grade higher than that of the CSO. Doesn’t this make the CSO feel inferior, intimidated and ill-equipped to perform their duties?” read the document, adding:

“The CEO also admitted there is a career progression guidelines document for CSOs. What she didn’t say … is that this document was never implemented, and that the CSOs are never considered for promotions whenever the TSC makes such adverts,” they added.

According to the CPG document seen by Education News, the guidelines were to be operational with effect from September 11, 2019 to supercede the existing Scheme of Service.

The CPG established four grades of CSOs; CSO II and I at T-Scale 10 and 11 respectively, and Senior and Chief CSO at T-Scale 12 and 13 respectively.

The CSOs are now asking the commission to implement the CPGs backdated to July 1, 2019 when the career guidelines ought to have been implemented, and pay the accrued arrears. They want their entry grade improved to D3 as well.

The CSOs are charged with the responsibility of assessing teacher needs, training them, providing professional guidance, and assessing learning outcomes, among other responsibilities.

They also ensure that teachers comply with the set teaching standards, advise on career progression and professional development, monitor conduct and performance, and collect and maintain teacher management data.

Teachers Service Commission CEO Nancy Macharia.

Some CSOs appointed while they were at C5 are still in the same grade ever since. This means they did not earn a promotion and might never.

Johnson Nzioka, Kenya Primary Schools Head Teachers Association (KEPSHA) National Chair.

Rang’ala Boys signals intent by sending 95 per cent to varsity

Fredrick Odiero

Rang’ala Boys High School pulled a surprise in the 2022 KCSE examinations by sending 171 out of 180 candidates to university, only nine shy of the dream 100 per cent transition to higher learning.

According to Senior Principal Lucas Olunja, the school had a target mean score of 7.5; but they surpassed it to hit 8.1, a stunning leap from the 4.8 they got the previous year. They are now ranked 5th in the entire Siaya County with a 95 per cent transition.

With a new set target of 8.5 for the 2023 exams, the senior principal says they have trained their eyes on the prize, and that it is possible to achieve it because they have been there before: getting 8.45 in 2015.

Being the most improved at position two countywide, one student posted an A- while 9 had B+ and 59 got B plain. 61 had B- as 41 scored C+ to close the list of those joining university. The rest had C plain.

The senior principal said his first assignment was to find out why the school posted low grades contrary to what they used to get in the years

past.

He assessed the school performance for the last 17 years and realized that its average was actually 7.1. This was the motivation behind the 7.5 target they set last year.

He later embarked on motivating the candidates and teachers as they marched forward.

The principal says he adopted the ‘Three Finger’ salute slogan where all candidates were supposed to concentrate on their three best subjects and score averages in the rest.

He said they also finished the syllabus early as the foremost strategy, then invited motivational speakers and worked extra hours to cover a wider ground.

At the time, discipline was wanting; and so he took steps to bring it up to speed.

“I immediately erected 10 temporary houses where teachers could stay so that they could monitor the students,” he says, pointing out that it created an immediate impact despite the porous fence.

Olunja was posted to the school mid last year. The extra-county school is determined to do even better in this year’s national examinations.

There are 26 teachers posted by the government, assisted by 18 under the Board of Management (BoM).

Olunja confides that they need more classrooms, laboratories and a library, the library having been converted into classrooms due to the huge population. The 3 laboratories

are also not enough given the student population, just as the dormitories are inadequate.

He said many teachers still reside outside the school, adding that plans were underway to put up more staff houses.

Though they have one bus, it is not sufficient and they are hoping to add one or two more if they get funding.

He thanked the BoM, teachers and the Catholic Church, which is the main sponsor, for the generous and unwavering support so far given.

He said the 1150 students have only one motto: to excel and shine in academic and extra-curricular activities.

Located in Ugunja Sub-county, the school was established by the

Catholic Church and the local community in 1970, which explains the strong Christian foundation that has instilled virtues in the students. It is part of the Rang’ala Catholic mission which sponsors several other local schools.

Apiyo Nicholas, Senior Master

Daniel Wasike, Director of Studies

Collins Odiero, Senior Master Academics

Peter Odhiambo, Deputy Principal

Students inside one of the laboratories

Students attending their classes

I assessed the school performance for the last 17 years and realized that its average was actually 7.1. This was the motivation behind the 7.5 target they set last year.

Lucas Olunja, Senior Principal

Teachers lobby to defend hardship allowance in ASAL areas

Number of teachers in hardship areas across counties moval of some areas from the list.

By Roy Hezron

The Kenya Teachers in Hardship and Arid Areas Welfare Association (KTHAAWA) has warned the government against scrapping allowances to their disadvantage, terming the plans ill-advised.

The group’s National Secretary Wangonya Wangenye told Education News during a recent interview that teachers working in those areas are under extreme difficult conditions such as insecurity and harsh climate. He stated that in fact, the government should increase the hardship allowance by up to 50 per cent from the current 30 for more to be willing to work in those regions.

“We vehemently oppose the pro-

BRIEFS

EASTERN - EMBU

posal to scrap hardship allowance in some areas in Kenya,” said Wangenye.

Wangenye, who is the former Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Laikipia branch Executive Secretary, said they will down their tools if the government makes good its threat.

“Anything that touches on lowering, leave alone withdrawing, the hardship allowance will ignite instant and spontaneous demonstrations and strike in hardship zones across the country,” said Wangenye.

Few years ago, the government dispatched fact-finders to different parts of the country with a view to reviewing currently listed hardship areas to determine additional or re-

Relief for Mbeere poor learners as MP launches

Ksh18M bursary

Mbeere South MP Eng. Nebert Muriuki

(R) hands out a cheque to principals.

By Musyoka Kaleti

Mbeere South students from needy families have something to smile about after the area Member of Parliament (MP) Eng Nebert Muriuki

launched a Ksh18 million bursary fund, promising to iron out other setbacks to education which he had identified such as water scarcity.

"Education in our region has gone down;

Kiharu MP launches Ksh70M bursary fund

By Vostine Ratemo

Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi

Nyoro has launched an education programme dubbed ‘Kiharu Masomo Bora’ that will pay Ksh 4,000 per term for each student learning in public day secondary schools.

14,000 students in 60 day schools spread

across the constituency are targeted through this initiative which is fully funded by the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).

The initiative which was officially launched on Tuesday at Mogoiri Mixed Secondary School is worth Ksh 70 million where Ksh 60 million has been set

that is a fact, but we are working together to bring it back," he said.

He said water provision was one of the main agenda he was focusing on by first having enough water storage tanks in schools.

Some teachers who attended the meeting proposed to have boreholes in every school, which was thought to be expensive and that piped water could be a cheaper alternative.

In the meantime, he suggested buying water bowsers to help in distribution so that it covers a wider area.

The first term legislator also noted that food was another critical issue since for several years locals had gone without notable harvests due to failed rains.

He said this while launching the bursaries at Mutus Secondary School, pledging to play his part.

aside to upgrade infrastructure in the schools and feed learners while Ksh 10 million will be used to buy revision books.

During the launch, Kimilili MP Dismus Barasa congratulated President Ruto for allowing disbursement of the NG-CDF kitty which was earlier declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

“Those who have been fighting NG-CDF should come here and see how it has transformed lives,” he said.

In March 2021, the SRC through a circular titled ‘Allowances and Benefits Policy and Implementation Guidelines for the Public Sector’, restructured hardship allowances in what it termed as “allowances whose rates are not commensurate with intended purpose”.

It argued that with devolution, counties are no longer hardship areas and those classifications are merely expansive geographical locations, while others are pockets within a county.

“Devolution has implied that counties are no longer necessarily hardship areas since they are receiving equalization funds to promote devolution in the counties, thereby addressing the characteristics of hardship areas,” read part of the policy.

Wangenye, who at one point was the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of education in Nyandarua County, decried the poor treatment of teachers in bandit-hit areas of Laikipia, Baringo, West Pokot, and

Elgeyo Marakwet.

Wangenye stated that hardship zone teachers have the biggest workloads since those schools are understaffed.

“We want to give a very strong warning to these state agencies that we cannot have government officers living and staying in air conditioned houses, rooms and offices in Nairobi, and they are reviewing hardship areas for teachers who are working under hard climatic conditions in security prone areas,” said Wangenye.

In the 2021-2025 Collective Bargaining Agree-

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

ment (CBA) signed between the teacher Unions and TSC, the hardship allowance for the lowest teacher (Primary Teacher II at grade B5 T-Scale 15) is Ksh6,600 per month while the highest (Chief Principal at grade D5 T-Scale 15) earns Ksh38,100.

He reiterated that the only thing the government can do at this moment is to motivate those teachers who are already working in those areas.

There are close to 100,000 teachers who are currently working in hardship areas in various counties countrywide.

Rife optimism at St Francis Xavier Shipalo as consistency beckons better results

By Shichangi Richard St Francis Xavier Shipalo High School,

the fastest growing school in Kakamega East Sub-county, has made remarkable improvements in academic performance by consistently recording positive deviations in national exams.

Last year, the school had a mean score of 3.7 from the previous year’s 3.3, an improvement index of 0.4 points, which effectively took six students to university from an entry of 91. This is one of the highest haul of university grades in many years.

School Principal Dominic Ongeri said from the results, they have seen an exponential growth with over 200 students being admitted to form one this year, raising the population to more than 600. Many more had sought admission but for the limitations of space and facilities.

Buoyed by the developments, they have set a new target of 5.00 in 2023, which will possibly push the university qualification numbers to twenty. There are 156 candidates this year.

The school head said that the teaching team has pledged to work round the clock to ensure that the

Teachers have pledged to work round the clock to ensure that the candidates’ academic programmes are run within their set timelines of completing the syllabus in early July.

candidates’ academic programmes are run within their set timelines of completing the syllabus in early July. Afterwards, he says, they will expose them to many exams and embark on a thorough revision based on them.

He said he will give the candidates frequent tests for them to understand

concepts so as to realize their full potential.

Part of the infrastructure that have been put up for a better learning experience are the four new classrooms and modern toilets, besides the major renovations of older buildings to give the school a facelift.

Ongeri noted with concern that the school still lacks some necessary structures such as administration block. There is also need for more classrooms, a library and dining hall plus a kitchen.

Currently the students eat their meals outside, and since the population is rising every year, the school requires more physical facilities and teachers.

There are only 14 teachers at the moment to take care of the huge numbers, pointing to the wide gap that needs to be filled if effective teaching and learning have to be dispensed.

Consequently, Ongeri is appealing to the government to consider them for more posting of teachers as they do not have the resources to hire through the Board of Management (BoM); majority of their learners coming from poor homes.

Principal, Dominic Ongeri

CENTRAL - MURANGA

Anything that touches on lowering, leave alone withdrawing, the hardship allowance will ignite instant and spontaneous demonstrations and strike - Wangenye

National Secretary of Kenya Teachers in Hardship and Arid Areas Welfare Association (KTHAAWA) Wangonya Wangenye.

Moi Girls Kadzonzo reaffirms niche in academic excellence in 2022 KCSE

By Collins Akong’o

Moi Girls Kadzonzo

Secondary School has grown over the years from a little known school to an established academic and co- curriculum centre.

Speaking to Education News, Principal Rev Phanice Achieng noted that the school recorded improved performance in 2022 KCSE after posting a mean of 5.08 up from 4.18 in 2021.

20 students qualified for direct university admission.

The principal attributed the good results to hard working and disciplined students as well as team work among teachers and the non-teaching staff.

She added that everybody in the

The school has a functional policy which obligates all students to attend all lessons while the teachers have a duty to teach all lessons. This helps to keep the academic discipline of students in check.

institution has been instrumental in playing their roles.

“We aspire to put more efforts to improve our performances,” she added.

She revealed that the current form four candidates have set a mean score of 6.0 in this year national exams.

“We have an ambitious programme to ensure we exploit our full potential in line with our vision of providing quality education for a national development. We also aim to chum out responsible girls in the society,” she said.

Some of the strategies to improve performance include early syllabus coverage to give students ample time for revision.

Rev Achieng noted with pride that the school has spiritual guidance and

counselling programmes.

“The school has Muslim, SDA, YCS and CU clubs which assist us in raising God-fearing students,” said the principal.

She added that owing to the school’s good academic performance, the student population currently stands at 1070. The school has 55 teachers, 25 from TSC and 30 employed by BoM. She revealed that the school works closely with both the TSC and Ministry of Education offices in Kaloleni sub county.

She thanked the Ministry of Education for spearheading infrastructural developments in the school, noting further that such a move has enabled the students to have a

conducive learning environment.

She also thanked the BoM for their continuous support.

Deputy Principal Administration Emily Thenya revealed that the school has a disciplinary committe that ensures the girls understand discipline is the key that opens doors of opportunities in life.

“They strive to be self-controlled. self willed and self disciplined and this has immensely contributed to a peaceful learning environment, respect and good academic performance,” she added, noting further that they target a mean of 6.0 in this year’s national exams.s

Deputy Principal Academics Lily Asanyo noted that the girls are disciplined and are always engaged in useful activities.

“The school has a functional policy which obligates all students to attend all lessons while the teachers have a duty to teach all lessons. This helps to keep the academic discipline of students in check,” she explained.

Director of Studies Sammy Fundo said the school invites examiners from various institutions to talk to the students and motivate them.

Other than academics, the school also performs well in co-curriculum activities. Last year, they reached the national level in music festivals while netball and volleyball reached the county level.

Moi Girls Kadzonzo Secondary School is an extra county school. The seven-stream school is in Kaloleni Sub-county, Kilifi County.

MOI KADZONZO GIRLS SEC SCHOOL

KALOLENI SUB-COUNTY 2022

KCSE RESULTS ANALYSIS

Lily

Deputy Principal Academics

Sammy

Director of Studies

Fondo,

Asanyo,

Rev. Phanice Achieng, Principal

We have an ambitious programme to ensure we exploit our full potential in line with our vision of providing quality education for a national development.

Emily Thenya, Deputy Principal Administration

By Shichangi Richard

St Ignatius Mukumu

Boys High School is in celebratory mood, not just because of a sterling performance in 2022 KCSE, but more for a better reason of having one of their own scoring a plain A.

The bountiful achievement was enough reason to pour out along Kakamega-Kisumu Highway immediately after the welcome announcement.

James Mukhwana had hit the zenith. He defied the odds to amass a whopping 81 points and pin the name of the school on the map of excellence.

The gap separating him and his close chasers was telling; Bouric Okwaro and Rotich Ian Kiplagat both scored an impressive A- of 74 points. In total, the school managed to send 141 students to university from an entry of 323.

Another record was the school’s positive deviation of 0.74 to clock the mean point of 6.47 (C+) from the previous year’s 5,70, which was a C plain.

The good performance saw it ranked second in Kakamega East sub county.

St Ignatius Mukumu Boys celebrate good KCSE results

have identified key areas to address over time so that the school reaches its full potential in academics and infrastructural development.

The senior principal revealed that there is high demand for admission to the school owing to its continued good performance in national exams.

“We have more than 600 form one students against a capacity of 450,” he noted.

He appealed to area NG-CDF to come to their aid and assist them to put up more infrastructure like hostels and classrooms to serve the rising population.

The school’s Board of Management (BoM) chairman Kenneth Lwile, witnessing the revelry, thanked the school teaching team led by their senior principal for the hard work they had put in. He said discipline had been their banner, and that the management will do everything possible to guarantee a safe and conducive learning environment for even better results.

Also present was the school Parents Association (PA) Chair Francis Busolo, administrative deputy principal Agrrey Opele, deputy in charge of academics Luca Sogon, and Director of Studies (DoS) Violet Juma, among others.

Led by Senior Principal Sylvester Ashioya, the entire team was full of praise to God for having enabled them achieve the most coveted grade which, the principal noted, had been elusive over the years.

The Head further said they have set a target of 8.5 in this year’s exams and put in place the right measures to ensure the target is achieved.

He commented that they are also looking forward to sending more than a half of the registered candidates to university.

He thanked his teaching staff for

the great work, further projecting that with the great effort of all stakeholders, the school will in the near future be pushed into the bracket of academic excellence not only in the region but on the national level as well.

The principal remarked that the school had been on a positive trajectory over a three year period, and hoped the trend will be maintained until they reach the top. He disclosed that the school has set long term academic goals, which he emphasized must be realized.

He said in their strategic plan, they

Senior Principal Sylvester Ashioya with teachers after receiving the good results

School community dancing to isukuti tunes in celebration as the best students are carried shoulder high

Senior Principal Sylvester Ashioya(standing) oversees the form one admission

Teachers, led by DoS Violet Juma (standing), scrutinize the Form 1 admissions

The

entire team was full of praise to God for having enabled them achieve the most coveted grade which, the principal noted, had been elusive over the years.

Agggrey Opele, Deputy Principal Administration (in tie)

Senior Principal Silvester Ashioya (L) with Deputy Principal Academics Luca Sogoni

By Fredrick Odiero

Education stakeholders at St Ignatius Loyola Secondary School are still bubbling with excitement after the institution realized an improved performance in the just released Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.

According to the senior principal Desmond Odongo, the school managed to a mean score of 5.06 compared to 4.5 the previous year.

48 out of the registered 218 candidates qualified for direct university admission.

St Ignatius Loyola towers high on the academic pedestal

He says the superb results were a product of team work by the candidates, teachers and the local Manyatta community where the school is located.

The school Head has special praise for the teachers who went an extra mile in order to make the results bountiful.

Odongo says the sub-county school has now trained its eyes on getting a mean of 7 and above in this year’s national exams.

‘Through team work and dedication by students and other stakeholders, we’ll be able to achieve this feat,” he said.

The school has a student population of 1400, a number expected to go up in the coming years. The school has 37 teachers posted by the Teachers Service

COAST - KILIFI

By Tsozungu Kombe

The government through the Directorate of Children Services has developed a multi-sectoral five year (2022 – 2026) National Plan of Action to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Florance Bore made these remarks in a speech read on her behalf by Shemu Nyakufa, an official from her office, during this year’s National Safer Internet Day celebrations themed ‘Together for a Better Internet’.

The celebrations were held at Karisa Maitha playing ground in Kilifi town recently.

Bore revealed that the scale of child sexual exploitation and abuse online is on the increase worldwide, hence the Safer Internet Day is celebrated to promote safe and positive use of digital technology for children and young people.

She revealed that according to the disrupting harm study done in 2021, six per cent of Kenyan children have shared images or videos of their bodies with other internet users while fourteen per-

Commission while 14 have been engaged by the Board of Management.

The principal revealed that, together with the BoM, he is working on improving the school’s infrastructure so as to make the environment more conducive for learning.

“We’re working on building a laboratory and a library since we don’t have one. We have been using a book store which serves as a library. We are also working on building more toilets for

both staff and students,” he added, further noting that they have 24 classes, which are not adequate given the ever increasing demand for admission into the school.

The senior principal said they intend to come up with a modern hall, a dining facility and a proper kitchen but their biggest challenge is lack of space for expansion.

He further added that they are working on building an administration block, and that area MP Dr Joshua

has been supporting the same.

“The MP has also supported some students from the school,” he added, noting that the former leadership of Kisumu Central helped to construct some classes.

St Ignatius Loyola Secondary School is a mixed day secondary school located in Kisumu Central. The Catholicsponsored school was started in 2006 by the local community.

Govt develops multi-sectoral initiative to tackle online child sexual exploitation

child sexual exploitation is also rising, making it even more urgent to invest in children’s online safety and protection,” she observed, adding that FBI data reveals that there are 750,000 paedophiles online at any given time.

Shemu Nyakufa

cent have physically met someone they first encountered online.

In rural areas, sixty four per cent of children are internet users compared to eighty per cent in the urban areas

She revealed that more children and adolescents are spending more time online, perhaps as a result of the shift to online learning occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic disease.

“As a result of this, risks of online

She added: “The mass use of the internet and the new technologies has amplified the production and circulation of illegal child sexual abuse materials and increased the incidences of online grooming for sexual abuse, sexting and the conduct of other forms of exploitation,”

Bore said there is need to develop a legislation that mandates online platforms to cooperate with investigations and provide data that is key to assist prosecutions.

She further disclosed that Kenya is a member of the We protect Global Alliance, which brings together governments, the private sector, the civil society and international organisations

to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse online.

The CS called on children, parents, Children Protection Workforce, social workers, teachers, law enforcement officers, policymakers and the wider public to work as a team in helping create a better safe internet.

“All children stakeholders should come forward and help children to benefit from the opportunities that the internet brings while vigorously safeguarding them from its risks and threats of harm,” she added, further stating that everyone has a role in creating and maintaining a better online world for children.

She pointed out that the Constitution of Kenya under Article 53 and the newly enacted Children Act 2022 upholds safeguarding, promotion and protection of the rights of the child, key among them being protecting children from online and offline abuses.

Organizers of National Safer Internet Day celebrations pose for a group photo during the event in Kilifi town.

Oron

Students in assembly

Ablution block and some other infrastructure

Hellen Odhiambo, Head of Department

Isaac Obat ,Senior Master and Head of Curriculum

Benter Odhiambo, Deputy Principal Academics

Front view of some classrooms

Desmond Odongo, Senior Principal

Emelda Awuor, Bursar

Teachers at Grade 7 should teach what they know

The country’s education is in the middle of a transition, with all the attendant problems of a drastic and abrupt shift from conventional routine. It will take some time before any meaningful gains are realized in the new system of education.

That is, until we get the first fruits in form of products of the new curriculum, we might have to contend with a fair mix of confusion, conflict, mismatch, disagreement, and host of other hassles which may not necessarily be harmful.

The 8-4-4 curriculum took a full cycle to produce results, midwifed by mentors from its predecessor which was only then known as the “A Level”. Now the 8-4-4 is taking the mentorship mantle to bring up the new baby, which is very similar to both its older self and the A Level.

The teething problems of the meticulously assembled new system are huge but not insurmountable. Right from the beginning, not even the parents of the pioneers knew that the system had changed. The government itself had laid few ground rules and scant policy to ensure its implementation objectives were met with the least resistance, and there were no clear budgets to outlast the controversies.

Yet gradually we shall have to build consensus on how best to move forward with as little as possible the friction that we are creating. Along the way it is hoped that the path will be smoothened for the sake of the listless learners.

However, as the difficult terrain is maneuvered, careful consideration must be placed on initial complexities as the foundation must be firmed by rational deployment of resources to the CBC schools.

Some quarters have argued that primary school teachers are better equipped to teach Grade 7 as their training is all-encompassing. Their secondary school counterparts are narrowed into only two subjects. These arguments are valid, except that radicalized positions are unhealthy at this point.

As we speak, the children are taught by both groups – and suffice to say the children are happy. What is needed now is enough teaching/ learning materials and competent teachers to interpret the curriculum.

Therefore, we might have to get the right subject teachers for all disciplines. A teacher assigned a subject they have no idea at Grade 7 is horrific.

There is need to rationalize staff even on the temporary scale.

OPINIONS & COMMENTARIES

Every organization uses performance management. In the education sector, learners’ performance happens to be the most outstanding tenet used by stakeholders to measure teachers’ ability.

The problem is that most education stakeholders only address teachers’ performance at the tail end of the learning process with either good or bad results at hand instead of creating an environment that motivates and involves teachers to do outstanding work.

Teachers are lauded when learners excel just as they are blamed when performance is low and unsatisfactory.

There is need to establish a performance monitoring structure in which parents have a clear role to play so that both blames and praises are shared among all players in equal measures. It is only then that this bad and retrogressive traditional behaviour will be done away with.

Most parents forget that the very purpose of monitoring the performance of teachers is to prevent serious problems and promote positive, cohesive, embracive workforce behaviours that drive productivity and success.

Chief Executive Officer: Peter Silsil

Managing Editor: Rosemil Oduor

Revise Editor: Kipkemboi Toroitich

Senior Reporter: Hezron Roy

Head of Marketing: Peris Cherono

Layout & Design: Gabriel Sankale & Sydney Kimiywi

We have noted that in the process of localizing head teachers after the repeal of the unpopular delocalization policy, some communities ganged up to block and deny the teachers their landing rights. Purported reasons for the

rejection are; inability to perform well, poor management skills and bad track records.

Such behaviours are unfortunate, demeaning and selfish.

Communities should realize that attaining good results and proper management of learning institutions needs the involvement of teachers, learners and parents. Research has revealed that most often the ring-leaders of these heinous acts are just a few uncooperative parents.

Some of the critical questions these parents should be asked are:

At what point do they realize the trajectory towards bad performance? Do they have a structured platform to address foreseeable challenges in performance? In the course of learning within a prescribed timeframe, do they ever interact with their own children?

Do they interact with their children’s teachers? What do they discuss when the above platforms are availed to them?

You realize henceforth that the unfortunate actions of demonstrations, lock-out and harassment of teachers by the parents for alleged poor performance and bad administrative management is an expression that is unfounded, unnecessary and retrogressive.

Parents should therefore be part of the good results they are yearning for. Parents Associations should engage the parents and educate them on their roles and responsibilities.

There are 39,364 public and private primary schools in Kenya and 10,487 public and private secondary schools. To be more specific, there are 31,218 public primary schools and 8,933 public secondary schools. This gives a total of 40,151 public schools from which one representative is elected to the parents association which gradually runs from the grassroots to the national level. This is a very huge number with a much enhanced network that could be put into good use in terms of capacity building.

The Basic Education Act 2013 provides for minimum qualification for members of boards of management for primary and secondary schools, a clear demonstration that the drafters of the act had thought of having men and women with capacity to address education matters through a clear

thought process and provide dependable solutions to the same.

The question of lack of capacity therefore doesn’t suffice. The parents associations have the capacity to control the emotions we are witnessing around performance and management. There is need to facilitate parents associations in order to make them have capacity to perform duties bestowed on them constitutionally. The facilitation should get in through trainings, benchmarking and other exposures that will help broaden the ability to participate in management of education.

Teachers inciting communities against their colleagues should stop such behaviours. Teachers must be united and guard themselves against aggression from communities by working well with them.

The Ministry of Education and the Teachers Service Commission should be very careful when handling school management leaderships, transfers, and delocalization and localization of teachers. This should be done in a way that is consultative so that it doesn’t boomerang on them. If handled carelessly, we are likely to see and hear more of these unfortunate events.

The nation should focus on the anticipated review in the education sector towards producing competitive graduates prepared for qualitative world markets now that there is general gravitation of the world towards technology.

Collins Oyuu

The writer is the Secretary General of KNUT

Why we need a performance monitoring structure with clear roles for teachers, parents

All children can excel in STEM subjects if well supported

Monitoring children’s use of technology aids their holistic development

Technology has taken over the world like a storm. The childhood experience of many adults is so different from that of children from the current generation. In the old days, vocabulary like ’iPad’ or ‘Google it’ were not in our dictionary contrary to the case now.

Children these days have unlimited access to technology with various research findings revealing that children constitute a third of internet users across the world.

Many children are increasingly having their own mobile phones or devices such as a tablet, where they play digital games for a few hours per week and use sites such as YouTube.

There have been heated debates as to how the digital influx is shaping children’s development and whether some children are missing out if their homes don’t have smartphones or access to the internet.

By Kennedy Buhere

Some people have a belief that some children have inborn abilities for Art subjects while others have for Mathematics and Science.

Arising from this belief is the notion that students who are good in either cannot be good in the other.

However, it’s worth noting that this belief has no educational basis whatsoever.

The foundation of our national education policy, curricular and standards is that every child is educable hence the state should develop the child’s powers, intellectual, moral and spiritual, to the fullest possible extent.

The policy is that the intellectual or mental capabilities of the child have the capacity to embrace all knowledge and skills, human and natural, and its application to solving problems.

This explains the broad curriculum and balance we see in primary and secondary schools.

Curricula in national education systems around the world are designed to expose the youngest children to a broad and ambitious curriculum in the hope of identifying one or more areas where each child excels or is motivated to learn.

A broad and balanced curriculum provides for a reasonably wide range of subjects and topics for a child to learn. It promotes a broad range of knowledge and skills and allows children to discover and pursue their own particular interests and inclinations later in life.

The curriculum also provides greater learning space and widens students’ knowledge base for multi-layered development.

Consequently, the capacity

to appreciate Arts and humanity subjects on one hand and Mathematics and Sciences on the other are not mutually exclusive.

The capacity of the human mind to understand things is unlimited. Intellectual history is replete with famous people whose abilities embraced the world of Mathematics and Science on one hand and that of Arts and Humanities on the other.

Turning children against one trajectory of the curriculum unforgivably limits their potential.

Unfortunately, some school cultures have invented devious ways of making children lose interest in Mathematics and the Sciences.

Naughty students in senior grades spread a phobia for Mathematics and Science among lower secondary school students. Regrettably, some of the teachers of Maths and Science subjects spark an aversion in students for Mathematics and Science subjects.

Mischievous teachers send signals into the atmosphere suggesting that Maths and Science subjects are for men. Girls having difficulties understanding not the entire subject but some topics, lose interest in the subjects.

Either way, students who had a fairly good foundation for Maths and Science from primary school chicken out .

Suffice it to say, we have lost many would-be doctors, engineers, surveyors, architects and technologists through this unprofessional behaviour.

The negative attitudes majority of students have had towards Maths and Science are partly contributed to by adults who spread the superstition that the two disciplines are like water and oil or deviously thwart students’ interest in the Sciences

to enable us, the teachers, have less workload.

The object of Mathematics is natural phenomena. The responsibility of a Math and Science teacher is to make students understand nature and the use and application of mathematical and scientific principles.

Arts, Mathematics and the Sciences have a sphere of knowledge. All children need to have good brains.

The brain has a mind or an intellect with ability to know and comprehend ideas when properly explained. The human mind has the ability to think conceptually and abstractly.

The key to easing students’ understanding of Maths and Science is the same key that enables them to understand art subjects.

A deputy director in the Ministry of Education, Dr. William Sugut told me that not so long ago, he had a debriefing session with a Mathematics teacher.

“Why do you think the students in this school perform poorly in Maths?” he probed.

“I think the students are weak,” Sugut recalled the teacher saying.

“How is it possible that the students are weak in Maths and yet they score As in History?” Dr Sugut posed.

He underscored a philosophical truth about education: the brain that gets an A in history has the ability to get an A in any other subject including Mathematics and Science, except for factors that have little to do with the child’s brain.

Buhere is a Communications Officer, Ministry of Education. buhere.kennedy@education. go.ke

The volume of digital technology available to my young son is massively different from that I had in my childhood hence at times, I find it difficult to make sense of media reports and research findings on this controversial subject.

Childhood is a time of rapid change: some are obvious while others are less obvious. The less obvious changes include how children make sense of the information in their environment.

Social scientists try to understand every aspect of children’s development, including how children learn, think and interact with those around them and how their personalities and temperaments emerge.

How is digital technology changing childhood and how can adults keep up? Is technology beneficial or detrimental to child development? Does screen time lead to increased distraction, obesity and loneliness? Or does it offer opportunities for autonomy and experimentation?

The biggest problem we face as parents is whether we will be able to protect our children from the risks of technology and also allow them to benefit from the opportunities new technologies offer.

We are worried about how technology might hinder children’s physical, social

and cognitive development and at the same time provide an exciting environment for learning?

To understand how children change and develop, their abilities are often judged against developmental milestones, such as steps in acquiring language (babbling, talking), cognition (thinking, reasoning, problem solving), motor coordination (crawling, walking) and social skills (identity, friendships, attachments).

As parents, teachers and guardians, more often than not we get worried or uncomfortable when we spot our children interacting and getting enticed by new technologies yet it is advisable that we pause and think.

Are we aware of what our children are doing with technologies? Do we know how they feel when using technology? If yes, have we provided some guidance and support about how they should use technology in order for them to get the most out of it?

It is up to all stakeholders to closely monitor our children’s interaction with technology. It is up to us to ensure technology enriches our children and supports their learning experiences and holistic character formation and development.

Sigoti Complex Girls students inside a Science laboratory.

Ben Oroko

The writer is Communication Practitioner and Correspondent based in Kisii. benoroko2000@yahoo.com

By Lydia Ngoolo

Mukaa

Boys

High School performed exemplary well in 2022 KCSE which saw it register a transition rate to university of 51.79 per cent up from the 42.3 per cent registered in 2021.

Out of the 392 registered candidates for the 2022 national exams, 203 qualified for direct university admission. This is a contrast to the 151 candidates who qualified last year from a candidature of 357. The school recorded an impressive mean of 6.6301(C+) in 2022 KCSE up from 6.2885(C)

Mukaa Boys tops in varsity transition in 2022 KCSE

in 2021.

Chief Principal John M. Tuke, who joined the school in August 2021, said the institution has a shining history and that through his leadership and support from able and committed teachers, the giant will continnue performing even better.

The school has 2 deputy principals in charge of Administration and Academics respectively who have selflessly worked with the principal to ensure students excel in both academics and co-cuuricular activities.

He revealed that students’ discipline is the key to excellent performance in exams.

“Discipline is one of the most

important virtues a student must possess and the school has raised the standards high. Without discipline, you cannot go anywhere,” he said, adding that the school also seeks God’s guidance in everything they do.

He revealed with pride that the best performed subject in the school is Computer Studies taught by Faith Kilonzo.

“Last year, the subject posted a mean of 11.6,” he proudly revealed.

He went on to categorically state that when students are disciplined, all the other factors fall in place.

The chief principal revealed that the teachers finish the syllabus in time to give them time for structured revision.

“The school also has a friendly environment that supports learning, hence students do not have an excuse not to perform well,” he said.

He added that the school motivates top performers by taking them on educational tours.

“KCSE top performers are also awarded differently during prize giving days,” he added, noting further that teachers whose subjects perform well are also rewarded.

All the teachers are motivated through a motivation programme.The school has a student population of 1500, with

450 form ones set to join. The entry mark is 350 and above.

The eight-stream school has five blocks, nine dorms, three CBC classes, new dormitories, ablution block, 75 teachers and 65 subordinate staff.

“We have an ongoing construction of storey buildings for classes,” he added.

The chief principal revealed that the school has two buses with a capacity of 67 and 51. Plans are underway to purchase a van to ease transport.

He added that the school rears pigs for consumption. Some of the challenges include water shortage.

“We do not have a borehole. However, the county government promised to sink one in June,”

Cont next page....

Top performers across all classes pose for a group photo after a motivational tour in Nairobi

A section of the teaching staff pose for a group photo

Albert Kau, Deputy Principal Administration Candidates

Discipline is one of the most important virtues a student must possess and the school has raised the standards high.

Wycliffe Otieno, Deputy Principal Academics

M.Tuke, Chief Principal

Co-curricular programmes add flavour to academics

...from previous page

said the chief principal, adding that they have few playing pitches and are in dire need of a footbridge to help students cross safely to their hostels.

HoD Clubs and Societies

Festus Nzavi said the school performs well in co-curricular activities.

“Previously, we reached the nationals in drama and music. The drama club is currently rehearsing for this year's competitions and we’re confident we’ll perform even better," Nzavi said.

He added that the scouts club also does well and that they invite scouts from other schools for hikes with the help of scouts movement from Nairobi.

A section of domitories

Storey

approaching completion

classes

Members of the scouts club

Drama and Music club members lift their trophies won in past competitions

The drama club is currently rehearsing for this year’s competitions and we’re confident we’ll perform even better.

Festus Nzavi, HoD Clubs & Societies

James Mwanzia, Students’ Council President

Students in a practical Computer class with their teacher Faith Kilonzo

Students during Christian Union worship

Varsity

14 EDUCATION NEWS MAR 5 - MAR 20, 2023

State blames varsity managements for Ksh56bn debt

By Obegi Malack

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has blamed universities’ managements for current financial challenges facing them.

He said the challenges were as a result of failure in governance and management in universities and urged them to rethink the management structures for optimal performance.

Machogu who speaking in Mombasa where he launched the inaugural Biennial Kenya Universities Funding Conference, said effective governance structures will help alleviate some of the challenges universities are currently facing.

“Some of the causes of the financial crises in our universities are deficiencies in governance and management. Good illustrations of this are the imbalance between the teaching and non-teaching staff and bloated workforces, which have led to rising wage bills in some universities,” the CS said.

Machogu disclosed that public universities are indebted to the tune of Ksh56 billion in staff pensions and statutory deductions such as Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and NHIF.

“This sorry state of affairs is a threat to the universities’ ability to perform their primary mandate of teaching and research,” the CS said.

He noted that proper and effective leadership at the universities is instrumental in ensuring that universities are sustainable and that they play their role in national and regional development.

The CS said that through good

leadership, universities will be able to find innovative solutions to challenges and develop and strengthen unique niches that contribute to both the national and global development agenda in order to attract local and international students for training and research.

He added that university managements should also think about innovative resource mobilization models, including how universities can tap into their alumni base.

Machogu said that with the increasing demands on the Exchequer, universities should explore other project financing methods such as Public-Private Partnerships to support some of their needs.

He further noted that the government will do everything possible in terms of legislative, policy and budgetary interventions to implement measures that will help ensure sustainability of universities and improve access to university education.

One of the very first steps the current administration took upon assuming office was to establish the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms which among its functions is to review and recommend a governance and financing framework for tertiary education.

The working party is also required to review and recommend legislation to facilitate the amalgamation of HELB, TVET and Universities Fund Boards with a view of harmonizing and merging all tertiary education funding entities.

The CS said the outcome of the conference will form an important contribution to the ongoing reform discourse.

The government has been having

Meru University becomes first in Africa to train on e-waste management

By Jeff Mwangi

Meru University of Science and Technology has ventured into E-waste management training, becoming the first university in Africa to offer the course.

Speaking during the launch of the programme at its main campus, outgoing Vice Chancellor Prof Romanus Odhiambo said about 53.6 million metric tonnes of e-waste are produced each year.

He observed that globally, only 17.4 per cent of e-waste is managed appropriately.

"E-waste is expected to increase by 5-8 per cent on the back of increased use of ICT equipment globally. In Africa, the growth rate is higher than the average. The ICT sector in East Africa has been growing by more than 15 per cent across the region. This rapid growth of ICT and the economy has contributed to massive generation of electrical and electronic waste," the VC said.

He said at the heart of this e-waste problem is a lack of innovative solutions,

THE PLATFORM FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Online learners boost as state moots open university

By our reporter

The government is in the process of establishing the National Open University of Kenya in a bid to make university education more affordable, accessible and attainable to all.

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has said the move is among the far-reaching reforms the ministry is putting in place to address the costliness of university education in the country.

online resources.

Machogu said the availability of skilled and knowledgeable manpower is vital in solving divergent needs and challenges of modern society, including globalization, technological advancement, climate change, poverty, cyber security, and the burden of diseases.

challenges in the provision of capitation due to the rising number of students qualifying for university.

The number of students eligible for funding will grow from the current 449,961 to 599,349 when 173,345 candidates who sat 2022 KCSE are placed in public and private universities by September this year.

However, there has been a mismatch between the number of students and government funding.

In this financial year, for instance, the funding requirement for public universities is Ksh71,945,049,600 against an approved allocation of Ksh44,023,955,000, which leaves a deficit of Ksh27,921,094,600.

For private universities, the funding requirement is at Ksh18,448,041,600 against an approved allocation of Ksh3,174,791,604, leaving a deficit of Ksh15,273,249,996.

The projected deficit for the next financial year for public universities funding is Ksh29,361,485,310; while private universities will have a funding deficit of Ksh20,305,673,883.

in improving the prospects for circular economies.

The university becomes the first in Kenya and in Africa to train students on e-waste management. It will churn out the first batch of 175 in June 2023, which will double up as agents for their collection centre as they continue scaling up.

"In the midterm we are looking forward together with our partners to establish a mini recycling centre that will act as a teaching factory-cum-income generation centre that will surely help in this circular economy,” the VC said.

Currently they have a fully functional sanitation research institute and are planning to use the same model for the e-waste management.

The course will soon be upgraded to Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degrees where research will delve into problematic e-waste functions that are difficult to recycle and come up with cost-effective methods.

He said the next step is to bring all stakeholders on board and convince them to buy into the project by offering grants and collaborations.

"One of the flagship initiatives that the Kenya Kwanza administration is currently undertaking to enhance access to affordable university education is the establishment of the National Open University of Kenya. Once established, it will make university education more affordable, accessible and attainable to all students, no matter their location or income level,” he said.

Machogu made the remarks while presiding over the 10th Graduation Ceremony of Pwani University, where a total of 1,203 graduands were conferred various degrees.

“Our ultimate goal is to ensure that we have an accessible, affordable and functional education system that is globally competitive and responsive to the demands of national and international development,” he added.

An open university allows flexibility, where students study at home and at their convenience, using pre-packaged learning materials and

“The role of universities in training, research and innovation cannot be overstated. This is a critical sub-sector that is of direct relevance to our national and regional development agenda”, the CS noted.

Machogu also called on universities to explore ways of addressing the financial challenges facing them.

“Our universities should utilize their internal capacities to overcome the challenges they face. The current difficulties call for innovative solutions. Our universities should, for example, develop and strengthen unique niches that contribute to both the national and global development agenda in order to attract local and international students for training and research,” added the CS.

He congratulated the graduands and challenged them to be ready for a labour market that requires critical thinkers with innovative ways in providing practical solutions to the problems facing the society.

Accompanying the CS was Basic Education Principal Secretary Dr. Belio Kipsang among other national and county government officials.

Varsity, KUPPET sign MoU to offer Masters, PhD scholarships to unionists

By Achola Bulimo Mathews

Kibabii University has signed a MoU with the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) to offer scholarships and discounted school fees to unionists wishing to pursue Masters and PhD programmes at the university.

they’ll enroll even more teachers since the programme will play a vital role in producing and training teachers for quality education.

KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori said the agreement targets mostly those who study Maths courses.

preventing countries from developing circular economies for electronic equipment, a model where resources are re-used and recovered rather than disposed of at end of life.

He pointed out that manufacturers, academic institutions, recyclers and individual consumers must play their part

Eventually, they will establish an e-waste centre that will raise public awareness and stakeholder engagement, as well as train as many people as possible, expand the facility's processing capacity, and create as many jobs as possible.

Speaking after a meeting between KUPPET officials and university administration, University Vice Chancellor Prof Isaac Odeo Ipara said already over 700 teachers have benefited from the scholarship programme

He expressed hope and desire that

He called upon those recently employed to take advantage of the programme and advance their careers.

He revealed that the union is fighting to ensure the government increases fund allocations to universities to enable them do proper research to produce competent graduates.

Education CS Ezekiel Machogu gives a speech at Pwani University during the graduation ceremony.

Kibabii University VC Prof Isaac Odeo Ipara with KUPPET officials during the ceremony.

Exponential growth as Kapleting’i Mixed hits 800 from 8 students barely a decade ago

By Dennis Bett

Kapleting’i Mixed Day Secondary School is scarcely ten years old but has grown a hundredfold from only eight students in 2012 to over 800 now. This is one rare achievement especially for a day school.

The astounding leap is a testament to the promise that the school holds out, not only of a good ambience in a cool environment, but also of a better future underscored by the success of forerunners.

2015 was the scaling point when the mean score topped 7.0. From then on they have had to contend with swelling number of students each year. It has looked to be the academic destination of every parent and child.

“We did not have a Teachers

area leadership came in handy when the then MP Jackson Kiptanui constructed classrooms, Daniel Rono donated the school bus, and the current MP Gideon

Kimaiyo fully sponsored all the Form One students.

The result has been a constant rise in the number going to university. There were sixteen in 2020, twenty in 2021 and eighteen in 2022. They are now targeting over 50 students in either 2023 or the year after.

“More than ninety per cent of students score C plain and above each year despite the many challenges they face, including long distances from home,” revealed Tonui.

As part of their strategy, they assign teachers to students to help monitor their academic progress. Some Board members also take the initiative of paying fees, for instance the outgoing Board of Management (BoM) chairman Moses Ng’etich.

The principal pointed out that they have a 5-year strategic plan, part of which seeks to put up an ultramodern library and a modern tuition block, saying the high enrollment has necessitated it to meet the rising demand. This year’s Form One enrollment hit 260.

He called upon well-wishers

and education stakeholders, include the Ministry of Education (MoE), RMI, Safaricom Foundation, Lotto Foundation, and other partners to help the school realize these dreams.

Besides academics, the school mentors athletes who have competed in international competitions, not to mention qualifying for the East African school games championships. Others have even won scholarships to study in the USA courtesy of sports.

They have also been doing well in netball, volleyball, and football, both boys and girls featuring in sub-county, county and regional competitions.

Present at the event was the incoming BoM chairman Samson Samoei who lauded the principal for his functional administrative skills. He encouraged parents to follow-up on the academic progress of their children and talk to them on importance of discipline and education.

Service Commission (TSC) teacher at the start. Gradually we started getting their support, the Ministry’s and the community as the population started rising to 42 in 2013, then 141 in 2014. When in 2015 the school attained a mean of 7.0, becoming the best day school in the county, students started swarming in,” the principal Francis Kipng’eno Tonui said.

The school was established in 2010 by the community to help their children get affordable and accessible education, but was not fully operational until 2012.

They recently held a thanks-giving ceremony, which doubled up as the AGM, to celebrate the good results of 2022 and deliberate on how to make the young school soar higher in academics.

Speaking during the event, the principal attributed their continued success to a committed teaching and non-teaching staff, as well as the cordial relationship between the school and the community.

Tonui recalled the early days when he was forced to comb the villages to bring back students who had dropped out due to lack of school fees. Together with teachers and the Board, they contributed money to pay tuition and lunch fees and buy uniform for some of them.

The excellent relationship with the

The deputy principal Jane Birgen praised the discipline levels, attributing this to a competent guidance and counseling department.

The school is in Keiyo South Subcounty of Elgeyo/Marakwet County.

A section of parents at the thanksgiving event BoM team

A section of students Scouting Club

BoM Chairman Samson Samoei

Jane Birgen, Deputy Principal

More than ninety per cent of students score C plain and above each year despite the many challenges they face, including long distances from home. The Principal

Principal Francis Kipng’eno Tonui addressing the form one students

Francis Kipng’eno Tonui, Principal

Kakamega School reaffirms niche in academic excellence

"I want to bring on board rigorous academic programmes and work on students’ psyche as they are capable of achieving the set target,” he said.

The school has registered 571 candidates and is in communication with the best performing schools in the country to partner in academic programmes.

By Leonard Angatia

Kakamega School is in a celebratory mood after performing exemplarily well in 2022 KCSE exams.

The school recorded a positive deviation of 0.02 from a mean of

8.20

From

Chief Principal Dr Julius Mambili, who joined the school recently, revealed that the national school embraces hard work,

“We’ll complement the programmes through regularly and constantly meeting the teachers and students to motivate them any time results are released,” he said, noting further that he is a team player who believes in open door policy.

Dr Mambili promised to utilize the little available resources and minimize time wastage among students.

discipline and integrity to boost performance.

“We are one of the learning institutions that emphasize Science and Technology, Computer Studies, Aviation and Power Mechanics, which are the best performed every year,’ he explained.

He added that the old school has rigorous academic programmes in place that will ensure they achieve their set target of 10.0 (B+) in 2023 KCSE.

He revealed that there are plans to embrace all areas of competence.

The ten-stream school has a student population of 2500 after receiving 490 form ones.

The school has 67 TSC teachers and 32 employed by the BoM who harness the little available resources to produce the best results.

The school has two deputy principals: Wycliffe Nandwa and David Sikuku in charge

of administration and academics respectively.

Sikuku said they intend to do even better in this year’s exams and that they are hopeful they’ll succeed given the hard work, resilience and

integrity they have adhered to.

He added that they have a young vibrant and energetic staff capable of helping students achieve their desired dream grades.

in 2021 to 8.22 in 2022 KCSE.

489 candidates, 415 scored C+ and above leading to 83 per cent transition rate to university.

Uniform supplier Kairali Enterprises representative on his visit to the school

Chief Principal Dr. Julius Mambili together with alumni who had paid him a courtesy call

Form One students upon arrival

David Sikuku, Deputy Principal Academics

Wycliffe Nandwa, Deputy Principal Administration

Administration Block

I want to bring on board rigorous academic programmes and work on students’ psyche as they are capable of achieving the set target.

Chief Principal Dr. Julius Mambili

Last month was the month of love for those who believe in the Valentine spirit.

So when our principal Obote approached me on the eve of Valentine Day, I listened keenly to what he had in mind.

“ I was thinking this time round we should celebrate Valentine in a different manner; by visiting the Mavumbi Children’s Home and giving them the little that we can,”Obote said, rubbing his palms together.

I didn’t see any reason why I should oppose such a kind gesture to destitute children who deserve love and care just like any other.

“That’s a noble idea, but couldn’t we have planned it well in advance?” I asked, though deep inside I knew Obote is one person who cannot change his mind easily.

“I don’t see anything that requires elaborate planning. Let’s purchase some drinks, foodstuff and second hand clothes and give them to the poor children,” Obote enthused.

It was quickly settled. I joined hands with Marashi and bought an assortment of drinks, bread, cakes and some mitumba clothes, though I wasn’t quite sure if some of them would fit any of the children.

As we went about the shop-

Marashi unwittingly exposes her mean side on Valentine day

After the Valentine treat, I hurried to Makuti Pub where Kibobo, the head teacher at the neighbouring Mavumbi Primary School, had said he wanted to meet me.

I found Kibobo imbibing his keg and staring at everything and nothing in particular.

You see, Makuti began selling ‘vuta pumzi’, the local term for cheap keg sold in mugs, the other day.

This was after the number of beer drinkers declined due to the harsh economic times.

By Pascal Mwandambo

assistance as an institution over Science practicals for their junior secondary school children.

ping, I remotely suggested that in the spirit of Valentine, Marashi should bury her differences with Napoleon.

The look she gave me made me drop the suggestion the moment it came out of my mouth.

Anyway, our visit to the home was heartwarming; the elated children sang songs and danced as they gobbled the drinks and snacks.

Before we concluded our mission, Marashi suggested that we should also get some water and soda for ourselves. I declined the suggestion but she insisted on taking home a whole crate of soda and several bottles of water. With a knowing wink, she warned me not to let Obote know about it. Napoleon would skin her alive if he knew what had happened.

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Vuta pumzi comes in handy in quenching our craving for beer though I have misgivings about Yondo Sister, the waiter, who keeps on shortchanging me.

Whenever I complain that the drink had not reached the marked level on the cup, she insists ‘ngojea povu ishuke kwanza’.

Little does she know that I am a Chemistry teacher and I know what the term “meniscus” means.

Anyway, Kibobo’s main reason for calling me was to seek our

“You are our only neighbour and I think you can help us on that issue,” he said wiping keg foam from the corner of his mouth.

I thought deeply about the issue. You see, despite being the Chemistry teacher and head of Science, I cannot commit myself on such a weighty matter without involving the school administration.

I know many public institutions are grappling with CBC challenges and Mavumbi primary was no exception.

I promised Kibobo that I would raise the matter in our next staff meeting for further deliberation.

Shitoto Girls lays ground for improved performance in 2023 KCSE

We plan to expose the girls to as many exams as possible and engage motivational speakers to encourage the girls.

Fanice Amukowa, Principal

By Shichangi Richard

ACK St Mary Shitoto Girls High School in Mumias East Sub-county has laid down formidable strategies that will see the school realize peak academic performance in this year’s national exams.

Speaking to Education News in her office, school Principal Fanice Amukowa said together with the teaching team, the Board of Management has set long term academic plans, which when implemented, will push the school in the right direction.

She noted that going by the current trend, the school has exhibited signs of steady improvement in national exams and that given time, the school will rank among the academic champions in the county and beyond.

“We recorded a mean of 4.26 with a positive deviation of 0.13 from the previous year mean of 4.1,” she said, adding further that out of the 74 candidates who sat the exams, one managed to score grade B-,

enabling her direct university entry.

The principal revealed that the school has set a new target of 5.9 (C plain) in this year’s exams and that they are strategizing to send more than ten candidates to the university.

“The teachers cover the syllabus early so that the girls have enough time to engage in rigorous revision. We plan to expose the girls to as many exams as possible and engage motivational speakers to encourage the girls,” she said.

Amukowa said they are employing vertical teaching and family grouping so as to give each candidate the necessary attention for improved results.

She expressed gratitude that the school management led by BoM Chair Rev Robert Matati, PA Chair Veronica Makana and his deputy Rehema Ali had steered the school to greater heights.

The school head appealed to the community to support and own the school by enrolling their children

in the school.

“The school management and teaching staff are prepared and ready to turn around the performance of the school, which has been below average for years,” she said.

She noted that the school is well endowed with facilities and equipment that can support more than five hundred students, yet it has a student population of less than three hundred.

She further noted that the two-stream county school lacks a modern administration block, teachers and teachers’ houses, and appealed to the area NGCDF to come for their aid.

She also urged TSC to deploy more teachers to the school.

ACK St Mary Girls High School was established by the Anglican Church of Kenya and the community in 1987 to address the academic needs of the girl child in the area. School bus

TERTIARY INSTITUTI NS

Shedding light on TTCs, TVETS, ECDE, other Colleges

By Robert Nyagah

The government and other stakeholders have been challenged to facilitate introduction of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the syllabuses of village vocational training institutions to align acquired skills with modern technological challenges.

Kenyatta University education scholar and expert Dr Ibuathu Charles Njati, who carried out a research on the instructional needs and their use in Isiolo, Meru, Embu and Machakos counties, found the teaching and later utilization of skills from the studied village polytechnics as too manual.

Njati says that with most far-reaching restructuring in the 21st century having been mostly in the field of technology, where technology has revolutionized the world in many ways such as communication, education and health, it is clear that no society can afford to ignore the dynamic impact brought about by such changes.

In Kenya, the changes so far made in computerization of learning and work in the technical world, Njati argues, demands a corresponding advancement in the area of technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

Although in the recent past the government and the private sector have advanced campaigns for adoption of computerized technical courses and corresponding skills as the way forward, historical drawbacks still exist.

That becomes evident through re-

Youth Polys operate with poor facilities, says report

of readily available construction opportunities in schools, churches, people's homes, estates, bridges, and dispensaries among others in both urban and rural areas.

Interestingly, it emerged from the research that 91.8 per cent of the trainees joined tailoring to seize opportunities in the clothing industry since people like fashionable clothes despite the challenges posed by prevalence of “mitumba” clothes in local markets.

lage polytechnic in each Ward.

Most youth polytechnic operated independent of host communities and as a result lagged behind vocational market needs due to operating in isolation. It was suggested they incorporate community interests in their operations.

Communities’ negative attitude towards vocational training and lack of clear government policy were the main barriers against vocational training, as young people continued to be attracted to office jobs as opposed to manual work.

Most syllabi lacked the ICT component yet this went against the reality in the labour market where automated machines and tools require ICT knowledge.

tention of past education systems which continue to be blamed for causing unemployment and contributing towards inadequate manpower needs through the offer of too much academic- based education.

According to Njati, while it is accepted that education remains the key to effective development strategies, TVET must be the master key that can alleviate poverty, promote peace, conserve the environment, improve the quality of life for all and help achieve some sustainable development.

He defended instructional manuals in most technical institutions as being oriented towards the world of work and

Meru National Polytechnic becomes first TVET to develop curricula

the emphasis of the curriculum on the acquisition of employability skills.

High incidents of unemployment among graduates, Njati says, could be blamed on the absence of entrepreneurial training in the school curriculum, an issue being presently battled by experts in the government of Kenya.

He insisted that youth polytechnics and other related institutions still have the potential to expand and diversify their capacities in developing macroincome generating units (IGUs) related to society, economy and environment.

Huge percentages, he learned, continued to do masonry work because

guidance on relevant courses so that they are able to respond to the needs of the job market.

She identified Kisii National Polytechnic, Kenya Coast National Polytechnic and Nyeri National Polytechnic as other institutions in the process of being certified.

Dr Muoria was speaking at the award ceremony accompanied by KNQA CEO Dr Alice Kande and the authority Chair Rosemary Njogu.

MNP Principal Anderson Mutembei said the institution has already developed Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) programmes to address concerns of mismatch between training and the industry needs.

KNQA CEO Dr Alice Kande hands over the QAI certification to Meru National Polytechnic Principal Anderson Mutembei. Looking

By John Majau

Meru National Polytechnic(MNP) has become the first TVET institution in the country to be accredited to develop courses, offer examinations and award certificates.

The Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) gave the greenlight after all standards were met.

Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) PS Dr Es-

ther Muoria said it was an important milestone in the history of technical training in the country as certificate awards will align to the practical training students receive.

"This is important for us because it means we are now going to award certificates for courses that we are sure students have gone through practical training and assessment,” said Dr Muoria.

She said the chief principal will mentor regional institutions and give

He noted that CBET is an internationally recognized training methodology that delivers technical education focusing on specific industry needs.

He said through trainings they will solve real life problems by offering skill-based, hands-on training in accordance with occupational standards.

Dr Kande said the process of accreditation was rigorous and required a lot of input from the institution during assessment.

“The qualification is globally competitive, which means that those who graduate after undergoing training will be able to get jobs in any part of the world because the training meets the requirement of global industry needs,” she said.

Most of the sampled village institutions were found to follow Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE) training guidelines instead of National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), which is more elaborate.

The study found out that most youth polytechnics were in dire need of workshops and modern tools and equipment to facilitate the instructors and trainees to carry out desired practical work in workshops.

Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that ICT and computerization of instruction and production machineries should be made part of trades content taught at the institutions while each county should launch a vil-

Instructors, it emerged, also faced major drawbacks in updating to modern technology.

"While instructors were willing to upgrade their skills, poor pay and affordability to pay for their training besides household expenses were the core factors hindering them from joining institutional-based programmes," the report says.

Although workplace experiences remained important, the research noted that most institutions left trainees to seek workplace experiences by themselves because they lacked elaborate systems of ensuring their trainees attended workplaces in their locality and in some industries.

Govt urged to support sport development

By Kage Njoroge

The national and county governments have been challenged to create an enabling environment for identification and nurturing of sporting talent among the youth.

According to the chairman of Mount Kenya West chapter of Kenya Association of Technical Training Institutions (KATTI) Robin Wachira, enormous sporting potential has remained untapped due to lack of exposure.

Lack of requisite facilities like stadiums, training equipment and financial resources were some of the reasons he gave for this state of affairs.

He was speaking during Mount Kenya West KATTI regional games championships, where he suggested that national and international standards should be established in the training of new breeds of sports people in the country.

Wachira, who is

the principal of Murang’a Technical Training Institute, opined that apart from the professional skills training, these colleges could produce new careers in the sporting enterprise.

During the event, Mukurweini Technical Training Institute emerged the best overall after scooping most of the awards, followed by Mathenge and Michuki colleges.

Murang’a Teachers College principal Purity Ngure urged school leavers to enroll in tertiary institutes to acquire skills which will empower them to get jobs or create employment.

on are TVET PS Dr Esther Muoria (left) and KNQA Chair Rosemary Njogu.

Students from Kiamuringa Secondary School who use bicycles to go to school await as the bikes are serviced by a village polytechnic graduate at KB Trading Centre in Embu County. Photo/Robert Nyagah

Robin Wachira, KATTI Mount Kenya West Chapter Chairman awards winners of the regional championships for technical institutes in Mt. Kenya West. Photo /Kage Njoroge.

Mwala TVC hosts 2023 KATTI Northern region drama festivals

By Lydia Ngoolo

Mwala Technical and Vocational College is already two years old but has already successfully hosted KATTI Northern region drama festivals .

TVET Director for Lower Eastern region John Wamae congratulated the college for its promising growth that in so short a notice it managed to host the drama festivals beyond everybody’s expectations.

He promised to lobby to have performing theatre halls constructed as the college had built its hosting reputation.

"The performance was generally good and I encourage more activities in colleges so that all students can fit somewhere," Wamae said.

Kenya Association of Technical and Training Institutes (KATTI) Northern regional chairman Mohammed Hassan, who happens to be

Kavita C. Kyuli, Senior Principal Mwala TVC

what will happen in the nationals. From here we are going as a team and I call for more efforts as we work on few mistakes pointed out by adjudicators," Munywoki added.

P.O.

the principal of North Eastern National Polytechnic (NENP), praised the host senior principal as having done a commendable job by organizing the event impeccably.

Tseikuru TTI principal Geoffrey Kariuki, who doubles up as chairperson of Northern Region Sports and Recreation, encouraged the students to work even harder.

Wote TTI principal Joshua Munywoki, who is also KATTI Regional Chairperson, Research & Development, called for the nurture of more talents, saying that everyone has a unique gift to explore.

"What has happened here is similar to

The host senior principal Kavita C. Kyuli appreciated the honor they were accorded to host KATTI Northern region drama festivals.

"In terms of academics, we have had 100 per cent pass rate in hospitality, which entails Fashion Design, Catering and Accomodation, and Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy," he said.

The college has six departments: Building and Civil Engineering, ICT and Business, Hospitality, Electrical and Electronics, Agriculture and Applied Sciences, and Automotive Engineering.

The population stands at 560 while teaching staff are 32, alongside 7 support staff. The huge number of students

is attributable to the learners themselves promoting the institute through referral marketing.

Despite all the achievements, the college has many shortcomings such as inadequate infrastructure

and trainers, which has forced the Board of Governors (BoG) to set aside expenditure for trainers under their terms. Currently, they are putting up automotive, building and civil

engineering workshops. There is also an ongoing college gate construction which is expected to improve the college’s outlook.

Lugari Diploma Teachers Training College keeps eye on churning out skillful teachers

By Tindi Kuchio and Cally Imbayi

Lugari Diploma Teachers Training College has remained focused and committed to its core mandate of training and producing the best secondary school teachers in the country.

The institution aims to produce competent, reflective and ethical teachers who will contribute to the attainment of the social pillar in the Vision 2030 and sustainable development goals.

Lugari Diploma Teachers Training College is currently the only public secondary teacher training institution in Kakamega County. The institution is located in a serene and cool environment away from industrial and traffic pollution approximately 35 kilometres from Eldoret town. It is also surrounded by major urban centres in western Kenya such as Lumakanda, Turbo, Kipkarren, Webuye and Lwandeti.

The noble idea of starting the

year programme is currently ongoing, with fees ranging from Ksh 130,000 to Ksh150,000 for the whole 3-year course. This amount is inclusive of male/ female hostels, bed & mattress and well balanced meals. It also has reliable water and power supply backed up by a standby generator.

“Our courses are tailor-made to give our teachers the best and make them more competitive in the job market,” reiterated Mrs. Esese. During the Institution’s auspicious 5th graduation ceremony on 25/11/2022, which was graced by Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) Director Prof. Charles Ong’ondo, the graduands, who successfully completed their three-year training course, were conferred their hard-earned academic awards.

Prof. Ong’ondo encouraged the graduands to keep themselves busy by disseminating the skills and knowledge they had received by volunteering to teach in schools around them rather than just sitting

MoE have ensured we deliver quality content to the trainees through regular induction of staff, curriculum support and routine inspection of our teaching process,” Mrs Esese said. She further pointed out that KICD

has also provided opportunities for lecturers from the college to participate in the preparation of curriculum designs.

College was first mooted in 2013 as an initiative of the community and the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and MoE. The College was cleared by Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) and received its first batch of students in the September 2015/2016 academic year.

Arguably one of the best Diploma Teachers Training Colleges in the country, it has consistently produced exemplary results in national examinations. According to the College’s Chief Principal Mrs. Anne Esese, graduates are spread all over the country either already employed by TSC or teaching under Board of Management.

The College has had 5 graduation cohorts in which it had steadily performed well. The Chief Principal attributed the impressive performance to combined efforts of the MOE, TSC, Board of Management chaired by Prof. Lydia Wamocha, a dedicated selfless team of Lecturers, Non teaching staff and high levels of discipline among teacher trainees at the institution.

“Our staff are driven by passion and we give the best, which results in the best teachers around,” said Mrs. Esese. She added, “When we started in 2015, we had our fair share of challenges but we accepted what was before us and put our best foot forward. We had fewer structures, the number of our students was very low but improved as time progressed, and here we are.”

Mrs. Esese confirmed that the college has rolled out he Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and all the lecturers have been properly inducted for the implementation.

Currently, the College is offering the new curriculum, 3-year Diploma in Secondary Teacher Education (DSTE) Course for secondary school teachers. Admission into the three-

The College’s Board of Management (BoM) chairperson, Prof Lydia Wamocha called on secondary schools to continue engaging the institution’s graduates both for practicum and employment. She revealed that the institution’s immense structural improvement is as a result of the continuous support the MoE provides through funding for both the recurrent and development activities in the College.

“We are greatly indebted to the Government for allocating funds towards the establishment of infrastructure. However, we wish to appeal to the MoE to scale up the funding to allow the setting up of workshops and purchase of other learning materials to enable smooth delivery of the curriculum,” she KICD CEO Prof. Charles Ong’ondo, Chief Principal

and waiting for TSC to employ them. “I wish to emphasize on five things you need as professional teachers: Professionalism, content, pedagogy, resources and assessment,” he advised.

He also urged them to immediately enrol for degree courses. “We are developing an upgrade programme for teachers and I would like to encourage you to enroll for the same,” Prof. Ong’ondo advised.

The institution’s administrator acknowledged and appreciated TSC for its continuous efforts to post lecturers to the college. The TSC, in collaboration with KICD, KNEC &

Anne Esese and BoM Chair Prof. Lydia Wamocha with other guests at the event

Deputy Principal Moses Shililu (right) with Registrar Nellie Simiyu Cont. next page...

Prof. Lydia Wamocha, BoM Chairperson

Anne Esese, Chief Principal

Our courses are tailor-made to give our teachers the best and make them more competitive in the job market,

By our reporter

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has awarded a four-year old girl who rescued a tortoise after spotting it roaming around their home on Christmas Day.

According to KWS, Mukiri Kiburi alerted her parents after seeing the tortoise, who organized for it to be taken to the animal orphanage.

“A four-year old girl Mukiri ‘Que’ Kiburi was awarded a certificate of recognition by Senior Warden Peter Njoroge on behalf of the Director General at the Nairobi Animal Orphanage for rescuing a tortoise,” reported KWS on its official twitter page.

Njoroge con-

Four-year old girl feted by KWS for rescuing tortoise

Poetry

By Shel Silverstein

"I cannot go to school today,"

Said little Peggy Ann McKay.

"I have the measles and the mumps,

A gash, a rash and purple bumps.

My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, I'm going blind in my right eye.

My tonsils are as big as rocks,

I've counted sixteen chicken pox

And there's one more—that's seventeen, And don't you think my face looks green?

My leg is cut—my eyes are blue— It might be instamatic flu.

I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,

I'm sure that my left leg is broke—

My hip hurts when move my chin, My belly button's caving in,

gratulated the little Mukiri for her great effort towards conservation at such a young age.

According to KWS, the 24-yearold tortoise is categorized as leopard type and was named ‘Mino’ by her rescuer.

Animal keeper Patrick Njoroge Kivindo said when it was first brought in, it was isolated for two weeks before joining the rest of the tortoises at the Nairobi Animal Orphanage.

By Roy Hezron

Kenya Scouts Association (KSA) has been applauded for its role in championing children’s online safety through putting up various online safety mechanisms, as the Kenya Films and Classification Board (KFCB) launches digital literacy programme for parents.

Speaking during a ceremony to mark

Scout movement sets up online safety mechanisms for children

watch and listen to things that build them positively.

Others include putting in place ground rules on screen time, controlling gadgets while in use, empowering children to know that not everything on the internet is theirs, and monitoring them.

The Association maintains that the internet is the modern playground for children and they need to be monitored by caregivers, parents and guardians as they play.

The scout movement marked this year’s internet safe day by being part of the global conversation on how to ensure the safety of children online, by further joining Kenya Film Classification Board, Google, TikTok, the Ministry of Youth Sports and the Arts, and other stakeholders for the launch of the Parents Digital Literacy Program (PaDiL).

Crossword

The KFCB acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Christopher Wambua in his remarks stated that the launch of the PaDiL programme was based on the realization of a knowledge gap among parents and guardians on various new emerging media technologies and content therein.

This, he said, limits their capacity in offering guidance to children on the proper use of these technologies.

His sentiments were echoed by Fatma Cortney, a scout from Brookside School, who during a panel discussion on parenting in the digital era stated that parents are aliens on the internet, and thanked her scout Association for including programmes on child online safety in it's circular as this has gone a long way in assisting her and her peers to navigate the world wide web (WWW).

Across

1. Opposite of detest

3. 1/8 kwa Kiswahili

5. Plants that grow in water get oxygen from

7. Next number in the sequence after 3,6,9,12

9.“I don’t know. Am my brother’s keeper? (Genesis 4:9). Who said those words?

11. One of the planets

SickQuestions

My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained, My 'pendix pains each time it rains.

My nose is cold, my toes are numb. have a sliver in my thumb.

My neck is stiff, my voice is weak, hardly whisper when speak.

My tongue is filling up my mouth, think my hair is falling out.

My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight, My temperature is one-o-eight.

My brain is shrunk, cannot hear, There is a hole inside my ear. have a hangnail, and my heart is—what?

What's that? What's that you say?

You say today is. .Saturday?

G'bye, I'm going out to play!

Safe Internet Day on February 7, 2023, Principal Secretary (PS) in the State Department for Youth Affairs and the Arts Ismail Maalim Madey said protection of minors is a priority for the government, more so with the increase in the use of social media by young people and youth.

Some of the mechanisms the movement has put in place to ensure the safety of children online include allowing children to talk and have open discussions with them about social media, and encouraging children to

1. Who is the persona in the poem?

2. What time of day is the persona speaking?

3. Give as many reasons as possible the persona gives for not wanting to go to school.

4. Why do you think the persona is lying about the sickness?

5. Suggest the real reasons the persona doesn’t want to go to school.

6. List the funny things the persona mentions to justify staying home.

7. What is ironic about line 5?

8. What do the last four lines imply?

9. List the rhymes in the poem.

10. How would you advise your sibling who wakes up to this ranting?

Fatima Conte with her mother Martha Conte, Google’s Government Affairs and Public Policy Lead in East Africa, Child Psychologist Rose Muchemi, and Kenya Films and Classifications Board (KFCB)’s Emmah Irungu during a panel discussion at the launch of the Digital Parental Literacy Programme in Nairobi on February 7, 2023.

Photo/Risper Omala

Emmah Irungu, Principal Compliance Officer at KFCB, said during the launch that through collecting data from their classification and regulatory duties, they realized that there is a major information gap among parents. She said that this becomes a big problem when it comes to protecting children when they are online.

"It is their parental responsibility to protect them from online harm, especially as the people who are engaged the most with the children," she said.

Irungu said KFCB came up with the programme not only for the parents but also for teachers because they spend a lot of time with the children in school.

From a Railway Carriage

1. A passenger/traveller in a train 2 Witches, ditches; battle, cattle; plain, rain; eye, bye; scrambles, brambles; gazes, daisies; road, load; river, ever.

3. Faster than fairies and faster than witches describe the terrific speed of the train. The phrase ‘charging along’ also indicates speed.

4. The rhythm of the poem is quick and regular to match the speed of the train. The train station is described as ‘whistling by’, showing how fast the train is moving. The last line sums up in the glimpse of objects that are soon gone forever.

5. The child is running around gathering some things, perhaps flowers, fruits or flying objects.

6. The passenger is probably sitting by the window to watch what goes on outside the train.

7. The passenger is clearly enjoying the journey as we can see the excitement through the descriptions of the outside world. He misses nothing of it despite the high speed of the train.

8. It is possible the traveller is alone because there is no one to interrupt his reverie with conversations. It could also be argued that he has company to whom he points out the events outside the train.

9. The hill is steep, a climbing lane so to speak. The train is slowest here, just like the rhythm of the line.

10. The train is faster in stanza 2 judging by the quicker rhythm of the lines and words.

She also shed light on the challenges young people face on social media and urged all players in this space to put more restrictions on access to restricted sites to safeguard young people.

Michael Murungi, Google's Government Affairs and Public Policy Lead in East Africa, said that nothing can take the place of a parent forging a relationship of meaning, trust, and a true connection with their child.

KSA has partnered with Google and other stakeholders to implement programmes on child online safety for scouts through the web ranger's clubs at unit level.

Through this programme, scout

leaders not only impart the much needed skills on how to navigate the WWW, but also encourage them to embrace the opportunities that the digital platforms present.

The PaDiL programme also seeks to create awareness on the effects of media content and emerging technologies on children.

KSA is an educational movement for young people that targets developing young people aged 6 –26 years physically, intellectually, socially, emotional and spiritually as responsible citizens in their communities. It is open to all regardless of race, religion or ethnic background.

It is established by an Act of Parliament Cap 219 of the Laws of Kenya, and currently has a youth membership of over 2.1 million supported by over 40,000 adults. It is the largest in Africa and sixth globally.

Down

2. What’s the value of 48/6+4*3=

4. Cheapest means of transport on land

6. Who approved of Stephen’s death after he was stoned?

8. Singer, washing, friends, decision. Form a word from the three letters found in all the four words.

10. Mtu anapotaka kupishwa njia husemaje?

Answers to last issue’s puzzle

Dear readers: Kindly send your observations or views on children matters to editor@educationnews.co.ke. Note

Editor reserves the right to edit your articles for purposes of clarity and precision.

Mukiri Kiburi being awarded by Senior KWS Officers. Photo/KWS Mukiri alerted her parents after seeing the tortoise, who organized for it to be taken to the animal orphanage.

NGO makes a difference in lives of vulnerable children

ber of projects in Africa focusing on support for vulnerable children.

The NGO managed to upgrade Bethsaida Children’s Home, which is home to 42 children.

Fidelis Wangare, founder of Bethsaida, said the sponsors have made a difference in the home that started in 2012.

She said she started the home after housing children from less fortunate families and those who had been affected by post-election violence.

1,952 students in Jilore Ward, Malindi to receive bursaries

By Tsozungu Kombe

Some 1,952 secondary school students from poor backgrounds in Jilore Ward in Malindi Sub-county are set to benefit from Ksh10 million worth of scholarships to enable them continue with their education.

The area’s Member of the County Assembly (MCA) Khamis Jambo said Ksh7 million bursary fund has already been disbursed to the students in the first phase of exercise.

By Obegi Malack

Education for Kids in Kenya, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) of well-wishers from Belgium, has changed lives of vulnerable Kenyan children.

The NGO sponsors children in Dandora slums and Bethsaida Children Centre in Kayole, Nairobi, as well as in Watamu, Malindi.

In Etago in Kisii County, the NGO pays teachers who offer free education to chil-

BRIEFS

dren from the surrounding area.

They also support a number of children through Johanna Ochieng Omolo Foundation, which was founded by Johanna Omolo, a Kenyan professional footballer who plays for Belgian club URSL Visé as a defensive midfielder.

Recently, they supplied sanitary pads to girls in five schools in Nairobi County.

The NGO chairman Jean Marie told Education News that they have done a num-

Kitale National Poly offers to formatively mentor Kwanza TTI

By Osborne Benn

Kitale National Polytechnic will provide administrative and academic mentorship to the soon to be constructed Kwanza Technical Training Institute.

The institution, which is set to be put up on a 13-acre piece of land at Kwanza Centre, will be financed by the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF) under the patronage of area MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi.

"The inaugural learning programmes will be offered at our facility as the institution comes up. We will do capacity building to the teaching and non-teaching staff of the institution," said John Akola, the principal of Kitale National Polytechnic.

Wanyonyi said the process of recruiting members of the Project Management Committee (PMC) that will develop a plan that will facilitate the construction of the Ksh60 million project, which is set to commence by July 2023, was ongoing.

"We are glad to have agreed with the Kitale National Polytechnic to offer mentorship to the institution. This is a great milestone that will address the education needs of residents of Kwanza," said the MP.

The project had delayed due to a dispute arising from the ownership of the land, and it took the intervention of area Governor George Natembeya to allow the process to begin.

Wangare, a victim of post-election violence herself, said she lost her land and her job and moved to Kayole where she settled, took in children who had also been affected by the violence, and started the home.

Roisa Kerry, CEO Live Healthy Initiatives, provided education and mentorship in the five schools the sponsors visited.

Live Healthy Initiative promotes access to antimicrobial sanitary pads.

Adult education slowly dying in Kisii County

By Oanga Oyugi

Adult education in Kisii is facing enrolment and retention challenges following the scaling down of centres of learning and a shortage of instructors.

The enrolment rates at these facilities have been on the decline over the past three years. Last year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) had only 86 registered learners compared to 116 the previous year.

Kisii County Director of Adult and Continuing Learning David Mong’are said the county is registering less than 150 learners every year from all the seven accredited private exam centres.

Learners are forced to walk long distances to access the available centres, thus contributing to high rates of dropout as most of them are advanced in age or have other pressing concerns.

Disinformation on adult learning also stigmatizes learners, such as being derided for sitting with their grandchildren in class.

In addition, there is also a conflict in the time they are expected to be in class.

He said the Ward has been allocated Ksh10 million by the County Government of Kilifi as bursaries for the whole year to enable secondary school students from poor families advance their education.

Jambo, who spoke to Education News in Malindi town, noted that the current budget of Sh10 million Ward bursary is not enough compared to the increasing number of needy secondary school students in the area.

Things, however, appear to be looking up after MCAs from the region discussed with Governor Gideon Mung’aro the

Taita Taveta varsity to launch BeD degree

By Michael Oduor

Taita Taveta University (TTU) is on the homestretch to introduce a Bachelor of Education degree in arts alongside other programmes to meet the increasing demand for higher education.

Speaking during the Taita Taveta County Assembly prayer breakfast at the county assembly's ground, Taita Taveta University Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Fred Simiyu Barasa revealed that the process was on its final stages.

All that was remaining was for the Commission for University Education (CUE) to give the nod by ratifying it.

"You have been asking many times, now we are at the tail end. We are just waiting for the Commission for University Education approval. We have 18 new programmes and we shall be sharing with you," said the VC.

The VC reiterated that Taita Taveta University staff is moving across all the sub-counties to spread information on the various certificate, diploma and bachelor's degree courses offered by the university.

Further, Prof. Simiyu disclosed that they have started a TTU Endowment Fund from which they project to sponsor about 3,000 students in the near future, noting that the sponsorship will target mostly students from the county.

He called for the continued co-operation between the county government and the university in order to change the lives of locals through education.

mation System (JMIS ),” Jambo

added.

The new system will capture the following details: guardian, parent name, student name, admission number, name of school and sub-location.

He also stated that the new system will enable the Ward bursary allocation committee to disburse bursaries to students right from Form One to Form Four in a more effective and efficient way.

The MCA further asked parents in the Ward to apply for bursaries for their secondary school children to enable them to continue with their education.

need for additional Ward bursaries.

“The governor pledged to allocate the Wards additional bursaries of Ksh5 million each to make a total of Ksh15 million for each Ward per year,” Jambo said.

He said the Ward has already set up an online system to manage the disbursement of Ward bursary scholarships of the needy students in the area.

“The Ward database is called Jilore Management Infor-

Jambo lamented that many parents have not applied for bursaries for their children, thus defeating the government’s efforts to boost education levels in the country.

He urged all education stakeholders in the Ward to work as a team so as to improve academic standards and national examination performance in the region.

“The trend will enhance education levels in the area, hence help achieve rapid development more effectively.” Jambo said.

CENTRAL - KIAMBU

Thika East schools hit hard by water shortage

Thika East residents led by Gatuanyaga MCA Jackson Kung’u unblock Ndarugu river upstream in Juja

By Kamau Njoroge

Schools in Thika East, Kiambu County are feeling the heat of ravaging drought in parts of the county as water shortage puts learners’ hygiene and health at risk.

The scarcity is also increasing tension across the region with a section of residents and private firms clashing over use of Ndarugu River which most of the schools depend on as water source.

Gatuanyaga Ward MCA Jackson Kung'u identified one of the worst hit schools as Munyu Girls Secondary School, a boarding school, saying students have been forced to buy the essential commodity at highly inflated costs.

"You can imagine a girls school going for days without water. Their hygiene and health is in jeopardy. The situation here is in dire straits," he said while leading residents in unblocking Ndarugu River where private firms and other Juja residents had diverted the river by obstructing

normal flow downstream.

Kung'u said though schools in the area depend on Ndarugu River as their main water source, some people and private investors have diverted the river upstream.

“This is one of the deliberate measures we are taking to ensure that our schools at least get water," said the MCA.

The locals from Komo, Githima, Magana, Gatuanyaga and Munyu villages in Thika East recently travelled for over 20 kilometres to Juja Farm and Nyacaba areas in Juja Sub-county to unblock sections of the river which had been blocked by farmers and residents in a bid to restore the normal flow.

Kung’u called on the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) to crack down on private firms within Juja Sub-county which have blocked Ndarugu River to irrigate their farms thus denying residents their right to enjoy the essential resource.

Hamisi Jambo, Jilore Ward MCA.

Education For Kids in Kenya Chair Jean Marie in Bethsaida Children Centre. Photo/Obegi Malack

David Mong’are, Kisii County Education Director for Adult and Continuing Learning Education

By Leonard Angatia

Kapsokwony High School was the top school in Mt Elgon region and among the top 25 schools out of the 400 schools in Bungoma county after recording a mean of 5.94 (C) from 5.55 in 2021.

In 2020 KCSE, the school was ranked the most improved in the region after posting a mean of 6.13 up from 4.50 in 2019.

Chief Principal Joab Otieno, who joined the school in 2015, noted that the good performance is as a result of students’ discipline and hard work as well as team work and cooporation among all stakeholders.

"Students’ discipline is at the core. The teachers work well with minimal supervision and love their school very much," he said.

He pointed out that owing to their good performance, they are hopeful that in 3 years, they’ll be elevated to a national school.

He added that the three-stream

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Kapsokwony High School flies high in 2022 KCSE

school has 18 TSC teachers and 12 employed by the BoM.

“The teachers go the extra mile to help average students who joined with below 300 marks attain good grades

The teachers go the extra mile to help average students who joined with below 300 marks attain good grades at the end of their secondary school education.

at the end of their secondary school education,” said the principal.

He revealed that the extra-county school has a student population of 800, including the 220 form ones who recently joined.

“I joined the school when the student population was 277 and I have worked to increase it to the current number,” he said, adding further that he has also improved the school’s infrastructure to create a conducive learning environment.

He has rebuilt the gate, constructed two classes, a laboratory and an ablution block.

Under his leadership, the school has a steady water supply which was previously a problem.

“I have worked on a water project by tapping in raw water from a nearby river. We supply the water to the nearby hospital and 3 neighbouring primary schools at a fee,” he explained.

He added: “As a result of our academic and infrastructure growth,

our school being extra county, admits students from all over the country," he pointed out.

Otieno called upon all the stakeholders to come together and ensure that the school remains on the right track.

Deputy Principal Silas Chengek works closely with the principal and acts as a link among teachers, students and the community.

The school has a rich alumni having produced students working in various sectors of the economy, including politics.

It is also known to be a powerhouse in athletics and has produced renowned athletes in the region.

Kapsokwony High School was started in 1965 as the first secondary school in Mt Elgon region, hence it’s commonly known as the premier school of the mountain.

With a scintillating environment, the school is located far from the busy highways making it a conducive place for learning.

KFCB urges parents to help promote Child Online Safety

By Our Reporter

By Michael Oduor

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Taita Taveta branch has demanded for more hospitals in the county to be listed under Minet insurance to ease accessibility to health services.

Executive Secretary Lenox Mshila noted that teachers get inadequate services, demanding that the insurer should add more hospitals as they pay for those services. He suggested Amina Hospital, Dawida Mzedu, and Horesha Hospital to be included in the list of approved facilities.

“Having said this, I am calling upon the health service providers across the county to provide teachers and their families quality services,” he said.

He further warned the Kenya Women Teachers Association (KEWOTA) against deducting teachers’ money without their consent.

He noted that female teachers in the county who had been illegally registered with KEWOTA are being

deducted Ksh200 every month.

“If they want to continue with the programme, they should first talk to teachers,” he said.

The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) has urged parents and caregivers to be more vigilant and monitor the audio-visual content their children consume on various platforms and guide them appropriately.

Addressing Form Four parents at State House Girls Nairobi on February 17 2023, Ms. Emmah Irungu, KFCB’s Principal Compliance Officer, said that it is the responsibility of parents to ensure that children under their care are not exposed to age-inappropriate content.

She added that despite children having access to the internet and digital devices like smartphones, parents should take deliberate steps to monitor what their young ones are consuming in order to guide them accordingly.

“Parents should make use of the wide parental controls offered on various ICT devices and platforms as part of monitoring and guiding their children on responsible content consumption,” she said.

necessary skills and knowledge on how to parent effectively in the digital age.

Irungu sensitized the caregivers on the Parents Digital Literacy Program (PaDiL) that the Board unveiled recently in partnership with Netflix, Google and Tik Tok, among other stakeholders.

PaDiL is geared towards empowering parents and caregivers with the requisite skills to guide children on safe and responsible use of digital platforms and creative spaces.

It also aims to create awareness on the effects of media content and emerging technologies on children as well as enhance parents’ awareness on emerging technologies.

Irungu appealed to parents and caregivers to support the child online safety programmes and campaigns that KFCB is spearheading in collaboration with other stakeholders.

Mrs. Everlyne Nabukwesi, Principal State House Girls, lauded KFCB for championing child online safety and creating safe spaces for children, especially on the internet.

She noted that KFCB recognizes the need for parents to be equipped with

A section of the teaching staff

Silas Chengek, Deputy Principal

Joab Otieno, Chief Principal

KNUT branch asks Minet to list more hospitals for better service delivery

Emmah Irungu, KFCB Principal Compliance Officer.

Lenox Mshila, KNUT Taita Taveta Branch Executive Secretary. Photo Michael Oduor.

TAITA TAVETA NAIROBI

By Leonard Angatia

Little known Olbutyo Boys High School stormed into fame in the 2022 KCSE with a whopping mean of 8.037 from the 6.4 they attained in 2021.

This is a commendable achievement, taking into account that never before have they taken such a huge percentage of candidates to university in a single lot. Now they are the talk of town.

With a positive deviation of 1.6, they managed to transit 159 candidates out of 164, meaning that only five did not make the cut. Even then, the five had a C plain, and the school was the most improved in Bomet County.

Comparatively, the school has been improving gradually since 2018 when they had a 5.7 mean point. The previous results were 5.9 (2019) and 6.3 (2020).

The 2023 candidates are

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Olbutyo Boys’ most improved feat transits 97 per cent to varsity

senior principal has done what needs to be done to create a friendly environment for work. He has improved the school across all fronts from academics, population, infrastructure and discipline.

There is so much that is new: a new administration block, 3 new classrooms, a well-equipped twin laboratory, 2 new dormitories each with a capacity of 150 students, 4 staff houses, a gate that is almost complete, and a brand new 67-seater bus.

“I introduced CCTV cameras in all sections so that I monitor everything that happens any time since I am always present," said Mukongolo.

A 5-stream county school with a student population of 1300, the growth is further marked by the arrival of 500 Form One students.

There are 19 TSC teachers and 11 on Board of Management (BoM) terms, who are well motivated through the provision of meals right from breakfast to supper during extra teaching. All non-teaching staff have been awarded hefty packages and salary increments since 2018 and BoM teachers are promptly paid.

March of every year to allow enough time for revision," remarked Senior Principal John Mukongolo.

There is thorough and monitored revision after every exam. The school does joint exams with a group of other 9 schools in Chepalungu Sub-county, which Mukongolo chairs.

They emphasize on compulsory

John Mukongolo, Senior Principal

optimistic they will improve further on their predecessors’ results, setting their target higher at 8.5, though their population is higher at 205.

They strongly believe it is possible, what with the rigorous academic programmes that are founded on early syllabus coverage.

“No subject goes untaught and we adhere to early syllabus completion by

and science subjects, with a keen eye on practicals. In addition, they have begun a benchmarking plan with the best schools in the country. The culture of hard work, calm and discipline is the driving force behind their admirable performance over the years. The

Parents furious over secret cancer jabs on school girls

By Robert Nyagah

Thousands of parents in Embu County have protested the decision by the government to roll out a cancer immunization campaign targeting underage girls in primary schools without informing them or creating proper awareness.

Most of the parents revealed that they only knew about the vaccination programme after their 10 year-old daughters returned home to report that they had been given the cancer jab in school.

They revealed that inasmuch as the Constitution guarantees childrens’ rights like free and compulsory basic education, shelter and health care, parents’ involvement should always be paramount.

Annie Kamau, a parent, revealed that she was shocked when her grade four daughter informed her of receiving the

cancer jab yet no information about the same had been relayed to her as a parent.

A parent from Gatondo Primary School lamented that there was no publicity carried out to market the vaccination programme and no word

came from the government.

Joyce Wambeti revealed that she is a member of the school management team and was never informed about the vaccination programme.

"This is totally unacceptable since

the mainstream media and other forms of media can be used to spread such information to citizens," Wambeti pointed out.

The parents argued that the vaccination programme should be marketed and mainstreamed in the education system because in most parts of Kenya access to centres that carry out screening and diagnosis is limited.

They further argued that awareness on the need regular pap-smears is also minimal hence many women only find out about being sick with cancer when it is at an advanced stage.

The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the leading cause of anogenital cancer globally, with cervical cancer being the top cause of cancer- related deaths in women.

According to experts, over 90% of these deaths occur in low income countries where cancer control strategies are inadequate yet the HPV vaccination,

which provides protection against HPV types 16 and 18 responsible for approximately 70% of cervical cancer cases, is what the government has been fighting albeit with poor publicity.

Experts have indicated that cervical cancer is of special concern because of the internal location of the cervix as well as the occult cancer presentation in early stages, hence active screening must be done regularly to detect pre-cancerous and early stage cancer lesions.

A teacher who has been following the cervical cancer vaccination campaigns notes that preventive interventions targeted towards those aged between 10 to 15 years are likely to have a greater impact on their future health and well-being.

The Ministry of Health defended the vaccination programme and noted that a purely school based approach to vaccination would fail to capture many girls in poor income families and nomadic communities hence the need to use a facility based approach with community and school mobilization by teachers and other identified community members.

Some of the classrooms

laboratory A new gate on its completion stage

Students enjoy a sumptuous meal under a cool shade

New Administration Block

Makutano AIC Boarding ranked best public school in Machakos

By Lydia Ngoolo

Makutano AIC Boarding was ranked the best public primary school in Machakos County after its exemplary performance in 2022 KCPE.

12 candidates from a candidature of 187 scored 400 marks and above. The best student, Praise Mutanu David, scored 418 marks to secure a slot at Alliance High School.

In 2021 KCPE, 9 candidates from a candidature of 168 scored 400 marks and above with the best pupil Dennis Mutati Musyimi scoring 417. Musyimi joined Kagumo High School.

The school’s current enrollment is 620 with 200 Junior Secondary School (JSS) students. There are 20 TSC teachers, 5 JSS teachers and 20 non-teaching staff.

The head teacher Sabina Muteti said that the school was started in 1983 as a centre to cater for destitute children. It later started admitting pupils from all backgrounds.

She revealed that since its inception, the school has been performing well.

“We admit pupils from grade four,” she said, adding that the school’s extra-ordinary results are as a result of them doing things in an extra-ordinary way.

She added: “I always thank God for helping me improve the performance and infrastructure of the schools I’ve worked in. I joined this school four years ago and found it performing well. I picked from there in full gear. There is no turning back for us as we want to continue producing all round pupils," she

12 candidates from a candidature of 187 scored 400 marks and above. The best student, Praise Mutanu David, scored 418 marks to secure a slot at Alliance High School.

to candidates in preparation for the digital world. It also offers French classes and conducts

students council election with the involvement of IEBC as a way of making the practice transparent and democratic.

Muteti lauded the excellent corporation between all the stakeholders, BoM and PTA, which has enabled the smooth running of school programmes.

She revealed that the school has very good and unique infrastructure, which include enough boarding facilities, 51-seater school bus, a

borehole and posho mill.

Plans are underway to build a swimming pool.

Other than academics, the school does well in co-curricular activities like drama and music.

Last year, they reached the nationals and this year, they hope to get to the East Africa competitions.

Makutano AIC Boarding is located at Makutano junction along Machakos-Kitui road.

added.

She pointed out that the school is in high demand because of its good performance and committed teaching and non-teaching staff.

“We try as best as we can to ensure every child excels,” she categorically stated.

The school head boasted that the school issues ICT certificates

JSS classes

Additional storey dormitory near completion

Front and side elevation view of some classes

Administration Block

Head teacher Sabina Muteti

I always thank God for helping me improve the performance and infrastructure of the schools I’ve worked in.

Amidst the raging bullets, learners from warring groups co-exist here

By Kipilat Kapusia

Far from the security operation along the strifetorn Kerio Valley, there is an interesting peaceful co-existence at a border school called Kamelei where Pokot and Marakwet children mix freely as they attend classes.

Incredible as it may sound, as the conflict rages, and as cattle raids abound, the children go about their learning peacefully, amicably.

Few years ago, Tapach area was the crossing for the bandits. It is now a symbol of unity and a success story as inter-ethnic schooling is promoted in the region.

At the moment, there are no boundaries among learners from the various warring communities.

The reigning peace has been a blessing, spreading from the children to adults. They have buried their differences and stopped cattle theft and banditry.

“In a bid to foster peace

By Leonard Angatia

St Mathias Kholera Boys was ranked the best school in Matungu Subcounty after it posted an impressive mean of 6.12 in 2022 KCSE up from 5.87 the previous year.

57 students out of the registered 169 scored C+ and above and qualified for direct university admission.

Pupils of Kamelei Border Peace School.

among warring communities, the school has brought a permanent solution to insecurity. We are uniting the next generation through integrated education in this volatile area,” said Kamelei head teacher Solomon Kiplagat.

Kiglagat explained that it’s only through education that banditry and cattle rustling will come to an end.

“The vices have been hindering us. We need to allow our children to integrate and embrace each other. In 2016 we heard many guns. Many security

officers were killed. Right now there is a police camp here. We laud the government for supporting the low cost boarding and relief food,” said Kiplagat.

Last year, they had a mean score of 306.49. The Junior Secondary School (JSS) wing has 105 students and they expect 50 more to join soon.

Learners come from as far as Trans-Nzoia, Lodwar and Baringo.

When Ministry of Education (MoE) officials from West Pokot County visited to launch a

Ksh5 million ultra-modern dining hall sponsored by the government, they were pleasantly surprised to find an increased population.

“In 2019 it was 562, now it has reached 1000. The population of Kamelei secondary has also grown,” said Kitur, one of the officials.

Tapach Division Assistant County Commissioner Ibrahim Masiege Mokeye said that security has been beefed up in the region, observing that education was the only permanent solution to insecurity.

“In 2016, this area was a no go zone. We now have the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) at Kamelei and the General Service Unit (GSU) in Marakwet .The security team is very swift in responding to incidents. Those bandits hiding the forest won’t reach here,” he said.

He said they are on high alert to spot asylum seekers from areas where security operations are taking place as they will reverse the gains they had already made.

“We have told our chiefs that they should not allow any guest here right now. That can lead to attacks,” he said.

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Senior Principal Zachary Momanyi revealed that he has revamped the school’s programmes to ensure academic excellence.

The syllabus is completed in term one so that terms two and three are used for rigorous revision.

“Since I joined the school in December 2017, I embarked on a compulsory boarding policy for all forms( previously only form fours boarded), maintained the students’ known long history of discipline and improved infrastructure and performance,” he said.

The school’s academic departments were re-organized into 6 sections managed by able HoDs, supervised by Deputy Principal Bernard Omoka, and then overall supervision is done by the principal himself.

The senior principal revealed that the school has kesha programmes for reading English, Maths and Chemistry.

“Every Thursday from 6-10PM is for Chemistry while Maths is done every Friday at the same time. Saturday evenings are used for reading Kiswahili and English set books,” he said, adding that the

We award cash to the top performers, subject champions and the most improved in any exam.

Zachary Momanyi, Senior Principal

Every Thursday from 6-10PM is for Chemistry while Maths is done every Friday. Saturday evenings are used for Kiswahili and English set books.

students are grouped according to their abilities and supervised by a well-coordinated team of teachers.

The school boasts of a dedicated staff, both teaching and non-teaching, plus the community who are very prayerful, just as the school name depicts.

The senior principal appealed to stakeholders to assist the school expand infrastructure including boarding and tuition facilities.

The Kakamega Catholic Diocesesponsored school is thankful to have a sponsor who offers spiritual nourishment and academic support in form of Catholic Sponsored Schools common exams.

“We frequently test the students and there is a penalty for missing an exam. We award cash to the top performers, subject champions and the most improved in any exam,” the senior principal said.

He revealed that he organizes capacity building for teachers and the BoM sponsors the training of 2 teachers as national examiners.

KUPPET

boss lauds move to beef security in volatile region

Kenya

Union of Post

Primary Education

Teachers (KUPPET) Elgeyo Marakwet branch Executive Secretary Paul Biwott.

By Alfred Kimosop

Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Elgeyo Marakwet branch Executive Secretary Paul Biwott has lauded the government’s efforts of deploying military personnel in areas affected by insecurity.

Biwott argued that the move will curb the uncertainty that has continued to reign supreme in the region.

“Scores of people including school going children have lost their lives due to banditry,” he argued, and stressed on the need for urgent measures to be taken by government to restore calm.

He argued that learning in Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo counties has been paralysed and called upon authorities to speed up efforts to promote peace in the area.

The executive secretary decried the recent attack at Tunyo in Elgeyo Marakwet despite the heavy deployment of military personnel along the borders of six counties in North Rift.

He advised the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to promote teachers since the parliamentary committee had included funding in 2023/2024 budgets.

“So far the school has 9 national examiners," said Momanyi.

The senior principal has promoted a close working relationship with the BoM, who are keen on the institution’s performance, infrastructure and enrolment as well as students’ discipline.

Bernard Omoka, Deputy Principal

the institution,” he added. The five-stream extra-county school has a population of 770 students guided by 17 TSC teachers and 16 employed by the BoM.

St Mathias Kholera Boys ranked best in Matungu Sub-county

Photo/Kipilat Kapusia

grade possible.

Murang’a High School sets new excellence standards in KCSE

By Felix Wanderi

Murang’a High School has continued to post good performance in national exams. In 2022 KCSE, the school posted a mean grade of 9.54 (B) up from 9.3 in 2021, placing them at position 36 countrywide.

Principal Willie Mwangi Kuria attributed the good results to students’ discipline and teamwork among parents, teachers and Board.

"Well-wishers, parents, teachers and Board have been critical in ensuring that the students stay focused and understand what is expected of them,'' Kuria said.

Kuria said the school was elevated to a national status in 2011. In 2013, it developed a vision: Kuvuka Kumi

“That year we attained a mean

of 10.49,” he proudly stated, adding further that since then, the school’s day to day work has largely been driven by the desire to live up to the expectations of that status.

He said teachers, students, the support staff and parents know what the school’s yearly targets are.

Kuria said that the school management is keen on motivating students by organizing trips outside the school. The teachers and non teaching staff have been taken to Israel as well as Mombasa on motivation trips by well-wishers.

“The school slaughters a goat as an appreciation to the students for their good performance,” he added.

The principal said the disciplinary committee is also doing well and that the guidance and counselling team offers students support in coping with personal issues.

"Discipline in school life is very important for students. We are committed to our vision of becoming a model centre of excellence in discipline and academic performance in this country," he said

He lauded the Parents Association (PA) for playing a key role in the

school by supporting infrastructural development and also mentoring the students in each and every class.

"We rarely send our students home for school fees balances as parents have been supportive by ensuring they honour their commitments," Kuria said.

When Kuria joined the school, it had only four streams but that has grown to 10. The school has a student population of 2,000, hence there is need for more infrastructure to cater for the rising population.

He revealed that the school does well in co-curricular activities.

Deputy Principal Academics

Charles Karanja noted that his department is the backbone of the

school.

“It lays a good foundation for the students by making them realize their dreams. It also entails sound strategies as far as academics are concerned,” he said.

He added that in terms of human resources, the teachers are united and embrace teamwork to ensure they deliver a common goal which plays a big role in making the school excel.

“The office works hand in hand with all the academic departments," Karanja said, pointing out that their ultimate vision is to be the best school in the country (Kenya 1).

The best position the school has ever attained is position 7 nationally in 2020 KCSE after it posted a mean of 9.86 Board of Management (BoM) Chairman Anthony Mwaura said the school offers a serene, competitive and inclusive atmosphere for dissemination of knowledge.

"We are blessed to have a team of professional teaching staff who readily give the boys all the assistance they need in their academic journey. This can be attested to by the fact that in 2020 KCSE, our school produced the best student nationally and that’s not a mean achievement," said the chairman.

He appreciated the efforts of all the stakeholders to better the school so that it remains the best in all areas.

PA Chair Amos Njoroge said the school is a centre of excellence courtesy of the support it receives from dedicated parents who want it to grow in academics, infrastructure and spiritually.

Njoroge said that in conjunction with other stakeholders, they have managed to change the face of the school and bring it to the level of a national school.

"We currently have many ongoing projects courtesy of the support of our parents. Since we believe in unity, we reason, talk together and walk our talk," said Njoroge.

School captain John Wainaina said that the school has laid out programmes to maximise every learner’s attention on books.

He said that the students are self-driven and goal oriented with a motive to attain 100% transition to university with the highest mean

"The 2023 class is guided by form principal Mutua Ikonze and other teachers,” he said, adding that the school does a provisional exam known as CEKENAS where they were the top.

He added: "The best in form four is awarded electronic gadgets. In the weekly internal exams we do, the best and most improved students are awarded laptops and mobile phones," Wainaina said.

He revealed that the school has a flexible programme of cocurricular activities where they train

from 4pm to 5pm daily.

Murang’a High School is a Catholic-sponsored government school located in Murang’a town. The institution was incepted in 1964 and has 82 teachers and 64 non teaching staff.

Some Student Council members

A section of teachers

Willie M. Kuria, Principal

We are committed to our vision of becoming a model centre of excellence in discipline and academic performance in this country.

PA Chair Captain Amos Njoroge

Charles Karanja, Deputy Principal Academics

Board Chairperson Anthony Mwaura

Jomo Kenyatta Boys marks progress with strategies to push mean higher to 7.8

By Peter Otuoro

Having progressively scored good grades in consecutive national examinations over several years, Jomo Kenyatta Boys High School is now strategizing to hit a mean of 7.8 in 2023 KCSE from 6.75 in 2022. It had been 6.72 the previous year.

Popularly known as ‘Alpha Boys’, the targets are possible as they have always been on an upward trajectory, the number of quality grades increasing every year.

Take the 2022 KCSE examination. Out of the 341 candidates, 3 got A-, 15

Waweru stated that the school had achieved tremendous change in academics and infrastructure since 2019, chief among them being installation of 59 CCTV cameras to enhance security and maintain discipline, which is key to good performance.

They have also sunk a borehole that uses solar power to mitigate the soaring electricity costs. Their laboratories are well equipped as well, and they have modern computers to impart ICT skills on students as an essential part of their growth in the digital world.

The total infrastructure include three CBC classrooms besides the 37 tiled classrooms, six laboratories, a multipurpose hall, six dormitories, a

computer laboratory, library store and an administration block that hosts offices of the Chief Principal, his two deputies, staffroom, Heads of Departments and Heads of Subjects.

The chief principal revealed with pride that the school’s 67 seater scania bus that is fully-paid for.

The school also has its own bakery and grain mill to cut down on some of the expenses. The students are given a balanced diet.

It also successfully runs a zerograzing unit which produces enough fresh milk for students use. The surplus is used to generate income for the school.

B+, 33 B, 63 B- and 76 C+. Among the top performers were Judson Marige, Aof 77 points, Kevin Ng’ang’a, A- of 74, Josphat Gichuki, A- of 74 Points, James Gitonga, B+ of 71, Gran Seda, B+ of 73, and Bildad Momanyi, B+ of 70 points.

The Chief Principal Phillip Waweru congratulated all of them for their good performance.

“Our main aim is to ensure that any student admitted into this school comes out with good results. Through hard work, discipline and cooperation among all stakeholders, we can make their dreams come true,” Waweru said.

He thanked all teachers led by his two deputies George Muchendu( Administration) and John Munyambu (Academics) for their commitment to the call of duty.

“I thank our teachers for performing their weekly administrative duties and maintaining high standards of discipline.. He noted that as a result of high students’ discipline, there are no cases of bullying in the school. We have confidence to continue having the same spirit for the benefit of our school’s

academic progression,” he said, also appreciating the role of the support staff for their timely services.

Waweru said currently, the school has 69 teachers (50 TSC and 19 BoM) as well as 69 support staff.

According to 2022 enrollment records, the school has 1,802 students: 562 Form One, 508 Form Two, 441 Form Three, and 341 Form Four. The figure is expected to rise above 2000 in 2023.

The school attracts students from various African countries like South Sudan and Tanzania.

Far from academics, the school has been excelling in co-curricular activities especially in football, volleyball, rugby and handball alongside Music where they have even reached the regional level.

“We encourage our students to participate in co-curricular activities to be physically, mentally and psychologically fit. They also inculcate team spirit and team building, which are important even in later life,” observed Waweru.

Healthwise, the school has a clinical specialist who attends to minor ailments before being referred if necessary. For their spiritual health, an ordained chaplain and well-trained counselors engage them to help them grow as Godfearing people.

The school respects cultural diversity and embraces religious diversity and has YCA, SDA and CU clubs. It also admits Muslim students.

The chief principal also appreciated the Board of Management (BoM) led by the chairperson Prof. David Kuria for employing teachers to support those posted by the government.

A section of classrooms

Administration Block

Teaching staff in a group photo

John Munyambu, Deputy Principal Academics

Daniel Kirwa, HoD Careers

George Muchendu, Deputy Principal Administration

Students in assembly

Phillip Waweru, Chief Principal

Our main aim is to ensure that any student admitted into this school comes out with good results.

He pointed out some of the challenges the school was facing, including poor parental support, inadequate water supply, congestion in classrooms and dormitories, and understaffing.

Some of the school’s future plans are to be a centre of excellence in Science and Technology in line with the CBC curriculum, and procuring more computers to keep pace with ever changing world.

An extra-county school 16 kilometres from Nakuru City in Nakuru North Subcounty along Nakuru-Nyahururu road, it first opened its doors in 1974 as Nguataniro Shule ya Jomo Kenyatta Mixed Secondary School. The name changed to Ngwataniro Secondary School in 1980 and to Jomo Kenyatta High School in 1983.

In 1993, boys were separated from girls for effective learning, but the school was officially split into Jomo Kenyatta Boys and Jomo Kenyatta Girls High schools in 2016.

Future plans to reach excellence despite challenges

Multi-purpose hall

School motto: ‘Build the Future’; Vision: To be a centre of excellence; Mission: To impact knowledge, skills and attitude to learners so that they can be self-reliant citizens effectively contributing to national development; Core values: teamwork, transparency, honesty, hard work, respect, determination and accountability. A side-long view of some classrooms

KISUMU

Kisumu students sensitized on sexual and gender violence

By Fredrick Odiero

Over 230 learners in Kisumu County have been sensitized on the identification and reporting of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).

The awareness campaign dubbed ‘End SGBV Initiative Project’ was conducted by Nyalenda Young Turks Community-Based Organization (CBO) in partnership with Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) to commemorate this year’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Awareness Week.

The programme benefited young learners from the Oasis of Glory Secondary School, Chief Onunga School for the Deaf, and St Mary’s Legio Maria Church in Kisumu East and Central sub-counties.

The CBO Executive Director Victor Elvis said that the main aim of the project is to reduce the number of SGBV cases within the community by enhancing the capacities of households, teachers and community gatekeepers.

He said the deaf community, students and churches are becoming the latest victims of SGBV in the community.

The official said they envision a community where girls and women are free from the threat of violence of any kind and

HOMABAY

opportunities for empowerment that are available for them.

In this way, he said, the CBO and its funding partner KCDF plans to enhance community awareness on SGBV and advocate for improved health services for the survivors with a keen focus on screening and generation of medical reports that can be used to seek legal redress.

Elvis said to effectively and efficiently achieve this move, the CBO will undertake capacity development for poli-

cymakers, Community Health Volunteers (CHVs), healthcare, and the community on SGBV reporting, referral mechanisms and social accountability so as to participate in budget-making processes to push for gender-responsive budgets.

While at Oasis Secondary School, Elvis further pointed out that they also seek to create awareness on the matter through community dialogues and radio to enhance the capacity of the community and other grassroots organizations on budget processes.

He observed that through active participation in the budget-making processes, the community will be in a better place to push for more resources to be allocated for GBV prevention and treatment of survivors, advocate for improved staffing and develop their capacity.

“We shall also continue engaging with faith-based organizations as they are key in supporting and promoting peace and healthier coexistence in the society,” he said.

The school administrator Felix Ochieng lauded the CBO’s initiative for the outreach on GBV and SGBV in schools.

“There is a high number of such cases within the community that students face even at school including primary school, where there are high numbers of sodomy, rape and defilement,” he said.

The County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Education and ICT John Awiti lauded the organizers for creating the awareness.

MP launches initiative to empower jobless graduates

By Vostine Ratemo

Rangwe MP Lilian Gogo has launched an initiative to employ jobless graduates and enable them to secure jobs.

Speaking during the launch of the programme in Rangwe, the MP revealed that the programme will target those who graduated with degrees, diplomas and certificates five years ago but have been unable to secure employment.

Through the programme, the graduands will be mentored by various professionals on how to apply for government jobs and to

School with unique approaches to holistic nurturing of students

By Emmanuel Gwakoi

A school in Masaba South Sub-county of Kisii County has formulated a unique approach to passing exams by assigning teachers specific students to be mentored on academic and extra-curricular matters.

Amasege SDA Mixed Secondary School Principal Robinson Moseti said the students are clustered in small families of 6 to 8 who are expected to gel and grow through the close guidance of the parent teacher.

The tutors guide, coach and counsel learners to enable them concentrate in their education and excel in national examinations.

"The systems helps stressed children open up and overcome their situations, settle and learn," Moseti told the Education News.

Teachers, noted the principal, coach weak students to uplift them, emphasizing they liaise with their real parents and guardians to enhance their education.

"We teach boys and girls in sep-

Robinson Moseti, Principal Amasege SDA Mixed Secondary School.

arate classrooms and they only meet during church services. Our programme starts at 6AM and ends at 5PM," Moseti explained.

213 out of 218 candidates who sat the 2022 KCSE scored C+ and above, thus qualifying to join university.

Post JSS teachers to private schools, govt urged

By Emmanuel Gwakoi

Private schools owners have called upon the government to post teachers to their schools so as to help curb teacher shortage.

keep tabs with the platforms the jobs were advertised.

So far 38 beneficiaries have been identified and are under a group christened Critical Thirty-Eight.

“I did an assessment in my constituency and discovered that most graduands have been jobless for more than five years yet people assume they live comfortable,” Gogo said.

The MP said leaders should be on the fore front of empowering youth.

Jerim Onguru, one of the beneficiaries, applauded the move by the MP.

Led by Mogendi Tamaro, the chairman of Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) Kisii branch, the school owners cited challenges of getting graduate and diploma teachers for Junior Secondary School (JSS).

Tamaro stated that it’s expensive to set up and equip laboratories and employ laboratory technicians.

“Most managers of private schools are struggling to comply with the government’s requirements to offer JSS education. If not supported, they will close down or offer poor services,” he asserts.

Director.

Tamaro, who is also the director of Tabaka Academy in South Mugirango, appealed to the government to also extend capitation to private schools to allow them spare funds to equip their existing facilities, as well as pay teachers well.

Epiness Gimode, Art teacher

Art objects designed by students

Gate

John Awiti, Kisumu County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Education and ICT.

Abuya Mogendi Tamaro, Tabaka Academy

Rangwe MP Lilian Gogo

Landmark feat for Magwar to send 93% cent to varsity

By Fredrick Odiero

Magwar Model Boys

Secondary School has written its history narrative, averaging 7.7 points and sending 94 out of 101 candidates to university from the 2022 class.

It is the best result ever, falling short of 100 per cent transition to higher learning by a paltry 7 entrants.

Analysis from Kisumu county education office reveal that the school was the most improved learning institution in 2022 KCSE after recording a positive deviation of 3.34 from 4.5 posted in 2021 KCSE.

According to the principal Martin Oluoch, the stellar performance can be attributed to the hard work by both teachers and students, who literally burnt the midnight oil consistently from as early as first term.

He said they rearranged their programmes the best way they thought could yield fruit, invited motivational speakers to encourage the students and finished the syllabus early enough for serious revision. The result was a third place ranking among boys schools in Kisumu county.

The best performed subject was Georgraphy which is taught by Senior Master Bernard Dede.

Not given to complacency, they have set a higher target of 8.0 for the 2023 class, which they believe is achievable.

Before the breakthrough, they have been oscillating between a mean of 4 and 5 for many years.

Their aim is to live up to expectations as per its name, which entails holistic education and

character development that can be emulated by peers.

The school, which has a student population of over 300, is admitting more to form one this year.

Oluoch said he has a dedicated team of teaching staff led by his deputy Wilfred Okoth and Senior Master Bernard Dede, their Director of Studies Daniel Ouma providing the much needed logistical support for everything academic.

There are 15 teachers in total; 8 are government employees and 7 under the Board of Management (BoM). There is a dire need for more to ease the burden of workload and improve performance even further.

The school is a 2-streamer and has one laboratory and one dining hall courtesy of area Member of Parliament (MP) Dr James Nyikal.

He praised the MP for supporting the school through the National Government Constituency

Development Fund (NG-CDF), which has funded the construction of several classrooms.

They still need a proper library and more classes and dormitories though, as there is a promise of more students in the future. A computer laboratory is also in their plans.

Founded in 2013, the school was established through the economic stimulus programme by the Kisumu County Government’s Education Board.

County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for education

John Awiti confides that Magwar is one of the centres of excellence that were created for each sub-county in Kisumu County.

At the time of inception, there was demand for better education as there were few national schools in the region.

Students in class

He said the school is a product of the Economic Stimulus Package initiated by Prof Anyang’ Nyongo, the then Senator.

“This school is one of the only two boys boarding schools under the programme alongside Ngere Boys,” he said.

Plans are underway to fence round the school as all the pending land fees for the 22-acre parcel have been paid, according to the area MP.

Dr Nyika said he was privileged to preside over the opening of the dormitory constructed by Seme NGCDF.

Martin Oluoch, Principal

The stellar performance can be attributed to the hard work by both teachers and students, who literally burnt the midnight oil consistently from as early as first term.

One of the dormitories sponsored by CDF

Part of the new infrastructure

Daniel Ouma, Director of Studies

Bernard Dede, Senior Master

Wilfred Okoth, Deputy Principal

A few teachers and students pose for a photo

By Norah Musega museganorah@gmail.com

Kanga High School has continued to reaffirm its niche in academics as it posts exemplary results in national exams.

In 2022 KCSE, the school was ranked among the best in Migori County and in the whole of Nyanza region after beating some of its old rivals.

Chief Principal Reuben Kodiango revealed that the school had a mean of 9.972 from a candidature of 359.

Grade analysis was as follows: 49 A plain, 90 A-, 87 B+, 88 B plain, 30 B-, 10 C+ and 5 C, leading to 98.06 per cent university transition.

“The remaining five students qualified for placement in tertiary colleges,” he stated with pride.

He added that the number of students attaining top grades have been increasing yearly and that with major focus placed on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, the school boasts of having found its point of strength in the academic field.

Kodiango expressed satisfaction with the candidates’ performance, noting that the school was now on the map of academic giants in the country.

He revealed that the sky being the limit, the 2023 candidates have already set a higher mean of above 10.0

“The 2022 class had set a mean of 9.5 which they managed to exceed

Kanga High towers high in 2022 KCSE, sends 354 to varsity

had developed to help curb the rising cases of insecurity and burglary,” he said, adding that the students were accompanied by the chief principal and Marshall Onyango, one of the teachers. The system’s functionality is dependent on IOT. If it detects motion within the premises, it provides instant notifications to the owner through calls and SMSs.

“The SMS contains a special link used to live-stream the real time occurrence within the premises,” he stated.

He went on to reveal that their

and that has challenged the current candidates and teachers to put more effort in ensuring the mean goes up by the end of this academic year," added Kodiango, who lauded the teachers and non-teaching staff for working tirelessly in preparation for national examinations.

He said the school is focused on producing all-round citizens able to compete in different academic and professional fields.

Deputy Principal for Administration

Stephen Adongo echoed the principal’s sentiments, noting further that proper planning of academic activities with major support from education stakeholders, especially from parents and the Ministry of Education, has seen the school grow progressively.

Adongo, who was transferred from Maranda High School, revealed that student discipline as well as commitment and smooth collaboration by all education stakeholders are some of the tricks that have enabled the school

to perform well.

“We had a target of 50 students scoring A plain from the 2022 class but we fell short by one. The current class has a target of 10.00 and above and we believe they’ll achieve it owing to the team of dedicated teachers we have,” said the Mathematics and Chemistry teacher.

He revealed with pride that

Chemistry had a mean of 9.2 and that the feat was achieved through concerted efforts of the students and teachers.

Adongo pointed out that the school has not only grown academically but also in student population.

“The school is known globally,” he stated with pride as he highlighted their students’ participation in a Science Fair in Ireland.

“During the BTYTE exhibition, our students Keith Brian and Maxwell Okoth, now in Form Four, showcased a smart surveillance system that they

students emerged the overall winners in the Young Scientists Kenya 2020 virtual exhibition. As a result of the win, a mast by Liquid Telecom was established within the school compound to enable internet accessibility.

Deputy Principal Academics James Kabaraka noted that the school’s academic office had taken a major interest in STEM-related subjects to help learners secure better opportunities in higher learning institutions and to prepare them for a competitive work environment.

Kabaraka noted that the school management has dreams to continue developing and scaling academic heights.

"With a dedicated staff, teaching and non-teaching, and students ready to learn and work towards set goals, I'm confident the school will achieve its set mean this year," he said.

He applauded the national government, Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and all education stakeholders for supporting the school to ensure all programmes run smoothly.

Neat lawns adorning the tuition area

James Kabaraka, Deputy Principal Academics

Stephen Adongo, Deputy Principal Administration

These are the Form Two students when they reported last year

Reuben Kodiango, Principal

First year mother of four pulls her education back on track

By Vostine Ratemo

Thirty one-year old Edwina Akinyi Andiego, a first year student at Maseno University School of Education, has revealed what drove her to go back to school after 13 years.

In an exclusive interview with Education News, Akinyi said that to her, age is just but a number when it comes to matters education and that despite the stigma she endured of being an adult and sitting in class with teenagers in high school, nothing will deter her from achieving her dream.

Akinyi, a mother of four (two boys and two girls ), is the only student from the 2021 class of Dago Thim Secondary School to secure a university slot after scoring Grade B+ (Plus). Akinyi and her two siblings were raised by their step mother. Her upbringing was so toxic that she had to drop out of high school in 2007.

“Affording stationery was a problem. Getting even the most basic stuff like sanitary towels was

By Roy Hezron

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) now says it has addressed the controversies in the previous teachers’ medical scheme and highlighted various mechanisms that it has put in place under the new contract.

Commission Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Nancy Macharia said the challenges relating to limitation of hospital visits under the infamous 7-day rule and pre-authorization for out-patient cases were scrapped in September 2022.

“Teachers seeking medication on outpatient are free to visit the hospital any time they fall sick,” Dr. Macharia told the Members of Parliament (MPs) when she appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Education on February 14, 2023.

Initially, as per the capitation agreement between the payer and the service provider, the service provider was to provide health services without warranting a return to hospital for primary healthcare unless for a different diagnosis or a complication.

If a member returned to hospital within 7 days for the same condition, the agreement said the treatment shall not be charged on the member account.

As part of tendering, the commission requested for 300 health facilities, including missionary, private and public hospitals, and a panel of specialist doctors in all counties. This was to deal with inadequacy of qualified doctors in most empaneled hospital facilities and limited number of empaneled

a problem so I had to work in fields to at least afford what I needed. We used to be paid Ksh70 after working the whole day and that was barely enough,” she explained.

She reveals that to be able to take care of some of her needs, she got into a relationship which turned out to be the worst decision of her life.

“I ended up getting pregnant and as a result of that I had to be married because my family couldn’t stand the fact that I was pregnant at such an early age,” Akinyi added.

She revealed that things escalated quickly from bad to worse and that since her husband is a small-scale farmer, supporting the kids was a problem.

“His earnings were peanuts hence I had to join him in the farms to help provide for our family,” she said.

She adds that although she was happily married, she yearned to finish her studies and that her husband Enos Odie Andiego supported her decision.

Hobson Onchuru, the principal of Dago Thim Secondary School,

granted her wish in 2020.

“At first, many students avoided me but after some time, they started liking me. I made friends with whom I have kept in touch to date,” she revealed, adding that managing school work and family life hasn’t been easy since it demands sacrifice and dedication.

She added: “I was forced to skip classes on Mondays to help my husband take care of the kids. I was lucky enough to have been placed by Kenya Universities and Colleges

Central Placement Services (KUCCPS) at Maseno University so I usually reside at home and that has helped my marriage a lot,” she said.

Akinyi is a voice of women from Nyahera village and has championed and organised meetings with local elders to educate people on the importance of education.

“I’m happy to report that so far two women who had dropped out from school have gone back after a series of successful serious talks that we had. We are looking forward to the number increasing in the future,” she concluded.

medical cover, says TSC

contract, with the commission’s deputy director in charge of finance Franklin Choge saying Bliss Hospital was a ‘capacitator’.

“The scheme has components of insurance and capitation and Bliss is the master capacitator,” Choge explained to the legislators.

For the record, Bliss was the only hospital where teachers went for referrals in the old contract.

On the lengthy procedures that were witnessed in pre-authorization, the commission said that the new contract provided different timelines for various pre-authorizations for admission and discharge for inpatients.

Teacher Unions fault govt for chaos in JSS

By Norah Musega

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) have reiterated that the delays in commencement of learning in public Junior Secondary School (JSS) is as a result of delayed and inadequate deployment of teachers by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and failure to provide teaching and learning materials to the institutions.

KUPPET Secretary General (SG) Akelo Misori noted that the level of preparedness in private schools has surpassed that of its public counterparts.

Speaking to Education News on phone, he noted that JSS needs well-equipped computer and science laboratories to facilitate the practical part of the curriculum.

“I think the Kenyan government wasn’t prepared by all standards to implement CBC in our schools because they ought to have prepared necessary materials needed by Grade 7 learners,” said Misori.

medical service providers.

Mandatory approval from Bliss Hospital has been removed, with teachers now free for referrals to and from other health facilities, but within the list of those approved under the new contract.

“All contracted medical service providers shall be free to directly refer medical requests to other health facilities within the list of medical service providers where a medical doctor has determined or recommended,” she said.

However, TSC had to explain why teachers needed referrals from Bliss Hospital in the previous

Under the new contract, preauthorisation for treatment or admission should be within 10 minutes, for discharge within three hours, admission of new members should be within 24 hours after notification, dealing with complaints on delayed service shall be within 2 hours, dealing with complaints on availability and accessibility of medical health facilities shall be dealt with in 7 days, and uploading of dependants shall be within 6 hours.

The commission also notes that the challenge of inadequate cover on preterm/and premature babies has been fully addressed in the new cover under the inpatient cover for the principal members.

The consortium members or any of the Contracted Service Providers (CSP) have now been required to

use biometric identification systems as the main member identification tool in order to avoid the use of One-Time-Pin (OTP).

“Registration under the biometric platform will be continuous throughout the contract period to ensure that all teachers access the medical cover,” said the TSC boss.

Under the new cover, the use of the biometric platform is to ensure only eligible beneficiaries are registered on the scheme’s biometric programme and the USSD platform provided to forestall any fraud.

Regarding different amounts charged as co-pay, the commission negotiated a fixed amount of Ksh100 as co-pay per outpatient visit per individual for dental, optical and specialized doctor for consultation services.

TSC has, however, noted that the co-pay is not charged on outpatient hospital visits for medical services, repeat visits for service within 14 days from the date of previous visit, and when picking medication for chronic conditions which do not require consultations with the doctor.

Minet Kenya Insurance Brokers Limited won the tender to provide the medical cover for a period of three years effective December 1, 2022 to November 31, 2025 being the lowest evaluated bidder on the Capitation Financing Model at a contract price of Ksh53.58 billion.

Misori said that majority of teachers in primary school have limited capacity to handle science subjects, which entails a lot of practical teaching, suggesting that the schools should seek assistance from teachers in neighbouring secondary schools.

He, however, noted that the use of the teachers will require proper coordination between secondary school principals and primary school head teachers, especially in harmonizing timetables.

KNUT SG Collins Oyuu called on TSC to stop imposing unnecessary terms regarding deployment of teachers willing to teach JSS.

“Several teachers in primary school are well trained and have the capacity to train learners in JSS as most of them are graduates of higher diploma and degrees,” said Oyuu.

Meanwhile, Migori KUPPET chairman Henry Otunga has called on TSC to promptly deploy enough teachers to attend to the pioneer JSS students.

He noted that the government ought to have consulted with teacher Unions in the deployment of JSS teachers as it would have helped avoid most of the challenges being experienced currently.

“It saddens me that TSC has not yet deployed teachers to most of the schools across the country. Uriri Sub-county has 81 junior secondary schools but so far only 80 teachers have been deployed,” said Otunga.

A spot check by Education News on public JSSs in Migori County confirmed that learning had not commenced in most of the schools due to insufficient teachers with some learners having been taught only three subjects so far.

KUPPET Secretary General Akelo Misori.

Edwina Akinyi Andiego

Age is just but a number when it comes to matters education.

We have addressed challenges in teachers’

Jamleck Muturi, Teachers Service Commission (TSC) chairman

Makueni Boys’ bursts into celebration as two students get A to top county

and Business Studies.

On the other hand, Muoka, who scored 400 marks in KCPE, scored B plain in English and Business Studies. He scored A plain in Kiswahili, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Chemistry.

Equiity Bank, where he is currently working, will sponsor his education in university.

“I had 418 in my KCPE and I found very hardworking students in Makueni, but I continued to work hard amidst a stiff competition. I am happy that most of us are joining university,” a quietly excited Muthoka said.

He encouraged the awardees not to be scared of past failures which may kill dreams, and past successes which may give false hopes, challenging them to always put God first.

from getting interested in things happening outside the school, and also keeping strangers at bay.

“We have noted the difference between when there was no perimeter wall and when it’s there. We are containing them easily and are not bothered by anything happening outside,” Musyimi remarked, adding

By Lydia Ngoolo

Makueni Boys’ was electrified by the great news that Sergius Muthoka

Malika and John Kelvin Muoka had scored a straight A in 2022 KCSE, sending waves of hope to many students who are banking on good

performance in exams to change their situations and that of their families.

It was a sweet reward for one of the boys, Muthoka, to be honoured as one of the key speakers at a county scholarship programme launch. Being one of the beneficiaries, his good performance will see him still get sponsored to the university. When given the opportunity to encourage his

colleagues and those who will come after him, Muthoka did not disappoint, pointing out how he had worked hard to reach the zenith.

Muthoka and Muoka are now the talk of town, and the school is the pride of Wote. Muthoka, who scored 418 marks in KCPE, scored 81 points; B+ in English, A in Kiswahili, and A- in both Math and Biology. The rest of the subjects he opted for were straight As, that is Physics, Chemistry, Geography

The consequence of him topping the county saw the national school improving its mean grade from 8.3707 up from 8.265 in 2021, an improvement index of 0.1057.

A (2), A-(26), B+(51),B (64),B(89), C+(57),C (21),C- (10) and D+(1).

Deputy Principal Administration

Albert Musyimi said 289 out of the registered 321 candidates scored C plus and above, accounting for 90.03 per cent going to university.

On infrastructure, he revealed that they have erected a perimeter wall which has helped to prevent students

that there were various motivations towards the achievement of the favourable result.

“We always motivate our students, subordinate staff and teachers for the betterment of our learners. Early coverage of syllabus and thorough revision plus discipline contributed to our good performance,” Musyimi revealed.

He added that they had been rewarding their top performers with a motorbike in the past, but decided to change to something higher.

Nevertheless, they do not focus on academic performance only. Few years back, one of their top students delivered a moving speech and got awarded by former president Uhuru Kenyatta at a colourful State House ceremony.

One of the many firsts of the school was having the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) managing their student council elections.

Sergius Muthoka Malika, an alumni and the best student in Makueni county. He scored A of 81 points

One of the best CBC classrooms in Eastern region Photo/Lydia Ngoolo

Eastern Regional Director of Education William Sugut during the commissioning of the best CBC classrooms in Eastern region at Makueni Boys

It was a sweet reward for the boy who was honoured as one of the key speakers at a county scholarship programme launch.

Deputy Principal Administration Albert Musyimi

The best two candidates both scored A plain of 81 points and emerged the best in the county. Their good performance saw our school mean improve to 8.3707 from 8.265 in 2021

Students’ Council election

Stakeholders call for promotion of talents to curb unemployment

By Michael Oduor

TVET education stakeholders from Coast region have unanimously expressed their desire to help curb unemployment through promoting talents.

Speaking during the Coast regional drama festival at Coast Institute of Technology (CIT), the principal Stephen Ngome reiterated the need to promote talents in drama and filming.

He noted that talents remain the best remedy to curbing unemployment since it creates doors for self-employment.

“Talent competitions also help to promote diversity and showcase talents,” he argued, further urging the county and national governments to facilitate the construction

of facilities in TVETs where students can train and execute their plays comfortably.

Kenya Association of Technical Training Institutions (KATTI) Coast Region Deputy Chair and Kaloleni TVC Principal Prisca Munyao pointed out that as TVET students gain the necessary technical skills, they also get a chance to showcase their talents.

She encouraged women and youth to join TVETs to acquire vast skills that will boost their economic growth.

"Acquiring technical skills is the only way to survive in industries which require technical expertise," said Munyao.

Victor Makau, a technical trainer at CIT, reiterated the need to have more collaborations with other

KNUT official demands pay for 2022 KNEC examiners

By John Majau

Coast Institute of Technology (CIT) Principal Stephen Ngome

stakeholders from where talents can be identified and nurtured.

He also expressed the need to come up with a programme that can commercialise on students’ talents.

Emmanuel Nalonge, co-founder of Talanta Express, urged parents to support their children's talents.

"We are asking all TVET stakeholders to put more emphasis on talent." Nalonge concluded.

Untrained artisans urged to pursue TVET courses for RPL certification

By Emmanuel Gwakoi

Kisii National Polytechnic ( KNP) Principal Daniel Nyariki has urged experienced and untrained artisans in Kisii and Nyamira counties to enroll in Technical Vocational Education and Training ( TVETs) institutions to acquire more skills and get certificates under the Recognized Prior Learning ( RPL) programme.

He said those who pass the tests are given certificates and are pre-qualified to get government contracts and tenders or even get employed following assessments and approvals, adding that several have gained from the programme.

“We have several artisans who have embraced the programme and it has boosted their skills and enabled them to be certified and recognized by the government,” Nyariki

told Education News.

He pointed out that the polytechnic, other TVETS and investors liaise and develop a curriculum to suit the needs of the job market, noting it has helped graduates from TVETs get jobs easily.

The principal said the polytechnic spearheads the development of the curriculum and reviews it periodically due to the changing tech-

Youth urged embrace technical skills

NAIROBI

By Our Reporter

Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK)

Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit has asked Ministry of Education to protect learners from harmful influence by being vigilant about the contents of comprehensive sexuality education being fronted by some education-based NGOs.

He said some of the NGOs seek to implant ideas into teachers and learners that are offensive to African culture under the pretext of supporting education.

Ole Sapit made the remarks during a consultative meeting between Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu and the clergy from the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) and Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) in his office. The meeting

nologies to ensure that learners get the best skills to fit in the job market.

“The demand for skilled personnel dictates supply. We have to know the market trend and train learners acquire relevant skills based on the demand,” Nyariki stated, stressing that technical skills are key to any country’s development as demonstrated in the advanced economies which took their chances and they are thriving now.

Surveys have shown that students who qualify for university but opt for TVET courses join the market quicker courtesy of the skills they have acquired.

He also appealed to retired government officers to enroll at the institutions to do simpler courses that will boost their pensions and raise their standards of living since the demand for skills is higher than the supply.

A KNUT official has called on the government to pay all the personnel who manned last year’s national examinations their outstanding allowances.

Tharaka Nithi KNUT Executive Secretary Njeru Mutani said all the supervisors, invigilators, centre managers and the security personnel who supervised the 2022 national examinations are yet to be paid their allowances despite the government giving them a clean bill of health.

Speaking in his office in Chuka town, Mutani said the Ministry of Education (MoE) confirmed the teachers had done a commendable job after the re-

sults were announced.

"The teachers invigilated and marked the KCPE, KCPE and KEPSEA examinations. The results were announced and the Ministry of Education confirmed there were no problems,” he said. The official termed the failure to pay them as outright impunity.

"We want service and justice. Let the government immediately pay them the

KNUT TharakaNithi Executive Secretary Njeru Mutani

outstanding dues so that they can be motivated. Let justice prevail by paying them," he remarked.

He said the government is setting a bad precedence, noting that it will discourage them from participating in the exercise in future. Last year, Kenya National Examinations Council hired 30,000 examiners and deployed them to 35 marking centres.

Nairobi-based head teachers blamed for poor performance in Matungulu schools

By Agnes Orang'o

Matungulu Member of County Assembly (MCA)

Raphael Nzau has expressed concern over the poor performance of primary and secondary schools in his jurisdiction, blaming absentee and teachers who come to school late for the downward spiral.

Speaking at Kisukioni grounds, Nzau said many schools in the ward have head teachers who commute from Nairobi daily, creating a contact discrepancy between

By Peter Otuoro

them and their institutions.

He suggested that Teachers Service Commission (TSC) either ensure these teachers stop commuting and settle near the schools, or find teachers from the area who will have time for the children.

"With all the traffic jams, how does one try to reach school in time and be with the learners?” he wondered, observing that even the teachers under them will not take them seriously.

"We are not against these teachers but we want

Youth in Molo sub-county have been urged to embrace TVET-related courses to equip themselves with technical skills that can make them job creators.

Molo Vocational Training Centre Prin-

Church accuses NGOs of sneaking ‘immoral cultures’ into schools

chaired by Sapit was also attended by the KCCB Commission for Education and Religious Education Chairman Bishop Paul Kariuki.

Sapit said that some groups use otherwise well-meaning programmes to sneak in ideas that are offensive culturally and inappropriate to the stage of development of the learners.

Machogu said that the government will scrutinise stakeholders whom it allows to undertake any activity in basic education institutions to protect teachers and learners from influences that violate the cultural norms and traditions the education system seeks to nurture in learn-

Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit

ers. “If we allow anybody to access our schools, it will be a mess,” the CS noted.

At the same time, Machogu said that the ministry will work with faith-based-organisations to establish chaplaincy as well as guiding and counseling in schools to mitigate drug abuse and other evils that affect students in schools

The CS further thanked the organisations for the support towards public education through establishment of educational institutions which have benefited thousands of children across the country. He said that the government had allocated Ksh9.6 billion to learners

value for our money. These teachers are spending very little time in school. We have bright kids but if the teachers are not committed then we are doomed," Nzau added.

Deputy County Commissioner Evelyn Wekesa promised to liaise with TSC to ensure the matter was addressed.

"Posting of teachers is done by TSC and are independent but because we work together we will ensure these issues are handled," said Wekesa.

cipal Nicholus Koech said that the courses employ thousands of youth to solve the myriad economic challenges facing them.

“TVET is about equipping young people. If our youth will embrace TVET education, the sub-county will reduce unemployment,” he said.

in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), saying the money will provide appropriate infrastructure for learners, in addition to the support from development partners.

Machogu said the government will jointly with the World Bank, build 8,000 laboratories in JSS, adding that the ministry looks to the National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) to fund some of the infrastructural needs in JSS. Bishop Kariuki expressed the need for the ministry to provide guidelines that will enable schools to set up school rules which recognise religious liberties of learners but within bounds.

He however, said that the students should abide by the traditions that the identities of the schools they enroll in.

Also present was Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Belio Kipsang.

Molo TVC Principal Nicholas Koech.

Kisii National Polytechnic Principal, Daniel Nyariki

By Peter Otuoro

Ever since Elburgon DEB Mixed Day Secondary School opened its doors to learners in 2008, it has risen to be among schools with strong academic performances in Molo Subcounty, cementing its place in the top ten in KCSE and sending 260 students to university.

Many more have been able to join tertiary colleges to pursue their dreams. 2021 KCSE not being an exception, the group managed to take 72 candidates to university from a mean grade of 5.21.

School Principal Monicah Hihu proudly revealed that the best five students were Millicent Kadasia who scored B+ of 70 points (Egerton University), Darwood Kibera with B+ of 68 points (KCA), and James Mburu with B+ of 67 points (Meru University).

Others were Rose Semo (B of 62 points, Karatina University), and Margaret Njeri who scored B of 62 points to join Embu University.

The principal said all teachers and the 355 candidates for the 2023 KCSE are well prepared, expecting over 80 of them to go to university upon

EDUCATION NEWS FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

SPAK: a Pan-Africa Science competition designed to empower African students in STEM subjects.

It also participated in KAPEKKenya Mathematical Olympia.

School alumni who excel in sports include Paul Gitonga (Athletic in Japan) and Teresia Kariuki(Football Kenyan National league) among others.

Acknowledging the continuous support of the Ministry of Education (MoE), she said the area Member of Parliament Kuria Kimani also made his contribution by donating a bus and has been giving bursaries to needy students.

The principal said the main challenge facing the school is that most students come from informal settlements around Elburgon which are ravaged by poverty, hence unable to pay the lunch levy.

“Majority of the students come from informal settlements within

Elburgon DEB Mixed Day Secondary School takes its place as model of academic distinction

326, Form Three 350, and Form Four 355.

“The reason for the consistent increase in student population is the effort of teachers and support staff to ensure the school provides quality education,” said Hihu, adding that they have a strong team of 23 government and 22 Board of Management (BoM) teachers.

Hihu thanked the teaching staff led

Chair Walter Ogada and his team. Through their discernment, the school has an administration block, three laboratories and several classrooms.

The principal appreciated the succeeding BoM Chair Patricia Wambugu, saying she is confident she will take the school to the next level. The school has various clubs that are nourishing

spiritually such as the Christian Union and YCS, as well as those that help them develop socially and intellectually, including debating, music and writers clubs, among others.

It also has a strong student council democratically elected by the students and teachers.

Further, there are computer laboratories with Wi-Fi installations

achieving their target mean of 5.8.

“We are well prepared to ensure that in this year's KCSE examination, all 355 candidates score C+ and above,” said Hihu.

She was posted to the school in 2014 as deputy principal before getting promoted to full principal in 2021.

She has watched the school grow from the time she joined. In 2014, there were only 495 students, increasing to 555 in 2015, then dropping slightly to 550 the following year before rising to 659 in 2017 and 779 in 2018. It further went up to 882 in 2019 and 1100 in 2020. There are 1381 students currently, up from 1350 last year.

All classes have over 300 students, with Form One having 350, Form Two

by her deputy Eliud Chege and senior teacher Simon Waweru, together with Heads of various departments, for their tireless efforts to develop character and improve academics.

“Our robust team of teachers is geared towards students achieving their goals in academic and co-curricular activities, as well as developing talent and character,” she said.

She also thanked the parents for supporting various school infrastructural projects, and for working alongside the former BoM

to cater for their Information and Communication Technology needs and research.

The principal indicated that the school performs well in out-of-classroom activities like games, reaching the regional levels in volleyball, football, handball, table tennis and badminton.

The school participated up to the national level in Interswitch

Elburgon. We request well-wishers to come to their aid so that their comfort in school is assured,” said Hihu.

She also said that the school needs more classrooms, a multipurpose hall, boreholes and CCTV cameras to accommodate the swelling population and make management easier and more efficient. They are also yearning for a perimeter wall around the school to bolster security.

“A multipurpose hall will assist the school in many ways, a perimeter wall will improve security and CCTV will enable us to monitor all activities in the school compound and instill discipline among students and staffs,” she observed.

The school also has a plan to broaden the school syllabus by including various technical subjects like Building Construction, Drawing & Design, Home Science, Woodwork, and Music, among others for students to have a wide range of choices.

Situated along Elburgon-Molo Road, the school motto is ‘Education and discipline for success’, while the vision is ‘To be a first class school in the provision of education’.

Its mission is ‘To provide and promote quality education that is founded on firm discipline as the basis of success in the lives of our youths’, while its core values are integrity, professionalism, team work, commitment, and customer satisfaction.

Monicah Hihu, Principal

A section of the Student Council

Students in class

bus

Students in the assembly ground Teachers pose for a group photo

Eliud Chege, Deputy Principal

St Philips Ebwaliro Secondary School sets students up for successful future

By Shichangi Richard

St Philips Ebwaliro Secondary School

management has laid down formidable strategies to ensure the institution keeps the current trend of registering positive performance in national exams as witnessed in the last three years.

The school principal Kennedy Amadi said the school has been recording improved mean score and quality grades since 2020 when he joined the institution.

He said that the school had not been performing well in academics since its inception in 2013, which resulted in low student population as parents shied away from bringing their children to the school.

Amadi, who spoke to Education News in his office, noted that the school had only sent one child to the university in 2019 after having a dry spell for years.

“When I joined the school in 2020, I involved the surrounding community and other stakeholders in the school affairs, which brought immediate positive results,” he recounts.

By the community owning the school, parents started bringing their sons and daughters to the school hence improving the student population. Since then, the school has drastically improved in its academics.

This, Amadi disclosed, resulted in a situation whereby last year the school had a mean of 3.5 from the previous year mean of 3.0 from an entry of 37 students.

In the same year, the school raised to five the number of students joining university from three in 2021. He said in 2020

By Roy Hezron

Munami Secondary in quest for academic excellence

in 2020, and the school has registered a second stream with this year’s Form 1 intake soaring to more than 70.

To further improve the school’s infrastructure to accommodate the growing population, he said three classrooms and two toilet blocks, one each for the students and teachers, have been set up.

Kennedy Amadi, Principal

the school had two students who qualified to join the university while one made it to university in the year 2019.

The principal further said that the school is targeting the mean of 4.2 while pushing the quality grades to 10 from the current candidature of 50.

He observed that the programmes to achieve the above are already running and teachers have promised to complete the syllabus by July so as to engage the candidates on the rigorous revision to polish them for the exams.

He disclosed plans to give the candidates 10 test exams before the national exams to enable the realization of the set target in mean and quality grades.

Amadi said the school population had increased to more than 300 from 60 he found

The school also bought a one acre piece of land for expansion and also introduced a charitable kitty which supports bright but less privileged students, which has seen more than 50 complete their studies.

Amadi, however, said that the school still lacks a lot of facilities such as library, science laboratory and others, besides having few teachers. He appealed to the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) of Mumias East constituency to help them have the facilities for effective learning and teaching.

The ACK-sponsored school was established in the year 2013 and has been growing steadily. The school’s Board of Management (BoM) Chair is Dr Simon Mamadi, his PA counterpart is Cornell Shiachi, and the deputy principal is Lornard Bukachi.

By Shichangi Richard

Munami Secondary School in Matungu

Sub-county held a successful Form One parents orientation meeting where all parties agreed to work together to help the students realize their academic dreams.

The parents unanimously agreed to invest their time and money in the education of their children to enable them achieve their full potential and emerge among the best not only in Kakamega County but also at the national level.

Principal Patrick Siketi pointed out that the school has been performing well in national exams.

In 2022 KCSE, the school recorded a mean of 5.8 and sent 40 students to

university from a candidature of 121.

“We’ve set a new target of 6.1 and are planning to improve university transition to 60 from a candidature of 160,” he said.

He added that the students are disciplined and determined to quench their academic thirst by emerging victorious in their studies.

He further added that the school enjoys a cordial relationship with all stakeholders.

“Owing to the school’s good performance, it has attracted students from the Western region and beyond, a situation that has overstretched our facilities,” he explained and called upon parents and well-wishers to help improve the school’s infrastructure and construct a perimeter wall as a security measure.

The Anglican-sponsored school was established in early seventies as a single stream school. It has grown in leaps and bounds to four streams.

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is targeting to retool over 67,000 teachers who will handle the pioneer CompetencyBased Curriculum (CBC) class currently in Junior Secondary School (JSS) at Grade 7.

The number to be re-trained in March 2023 will include 11,192 teachers who had a mean of C+ (regular) and above in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and were recently deployed by TSC from primary schools to teach in JSS, a memo from the commission indicates.

Others set to undergo re-orientation are 30,550 teachers who were recruited (regular) in January 2023 and 2,235 teachers in Special Needs Education (SNE) from 745 public primary schools who will be handled by 196 Trainers of Trainers (ToTs) during the exercise.

This is in addition to 22,482 head teachers in regular primary schools as at September 2022 and 745 head teachers in SNE primary schools, according to the memo signed by TSC’s Director Quality Assurance and Standards Reuben Mugwuku Nthamburi.

The internal memo dated February 15, 2023 is addressed to all TSC regional and county directors.

“The purpose of this memo is to kindly request you to invite the TOTs

Form One parents have agreed to support their children in every way they can to excel in academics

How TSC plans to re-train over 67,000 teachers for JSS

recently retooled for teacher retooling, headteachers for both regular and SNE, three teachers regular, teachers from special schools, units and integrated school and teachers from private schools,” said Nthamburi in the memo.

According to the memo, the teachers will be re-trained in CBC and Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) starting March 13, 2023 until March 19, 2023, which will be a face to face training model in the Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) and other selected venues.

The retooling will involve the ToTs and Master Trainers who will offer professional support and training; with face to face smart cascade training model involving head teachers and teachers of Languages, Sciences, Mathematics, Humanities and technical subjects.

According to TSC, the smart cascade model will involve a multi-agency approach with head teachers being retooled for three days, teachers being retooled for six days by TOTs, while the Master Trainers will be tasked to offer professional support during the retooling.

Those teachers from non-arid and semi-arid lands (NASALs) will be provided with transport refund and will

be non-residential, while those from ASAL areas will be provided with accommodation allowances.

SNE teachers in both ASAL and non-ASAL will board for the entire period of training and they will further be provided with accommodation allowances together with ToTs for both regular and SNE.

Every primary school will identify three teachers and head teacher to undergo the retooling exercise and they will include head teachers for both regular and SNE, teachers with Bachelor’s degree or Diploma in Education with at least C+ mean grade in KCSE, and teachers currently recruited for JSS.

The target teachers will be clustered in various subject areas, which will include English, Literature, Foreign and Indigenous Languages, Kiswahili and Kenya Sign Language (KSL), and Pure and Integrated Sciences; which entail Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Health Education and Mathematics.

Others are Humanities which includes Social Studies (Citizenship, Geography, History), Religious Studies (CRE, IRE, Hindu and PPI) and Life Skills, plus technical subjects that entails Pre-vocational and pre-career, which includes Business Studies, Sports and Physical Education, Home Science, Art and Design.

The Commission trained 60,000 secondary school teachers on CBC and CBA between April 25 and May 13, 2022 to prepare for JSS considering the initial plans of domiciling JSS in secondary

schools.

The teachers were trained in specific learning areas in Languages, Pure Sciences, Applied Sciences, Mathematics, Humanities and technical subjects, with the commission training over 200,000 teachers on CBC for the last three years.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) recently protested the strict deployment requirements for primary teachers to JSS.

It urged TSC to look at the current qualifications a teacher has instead of grades they scored in KCSE while deploying primary school teachers to JSS.

There were concerns that the over 30,000 teachers who were recently recruited to JSS, which was equated to one teacher per school, may be insufficient.

In January, TSC Secretary and CEO Nancy Macharia revealed that already the commission had trained a total of 2,376 master trainers ahead of the retooling exercise.

She added that the commission is targeting to train 90,000 teachers between January and April this year.

Administratin Block

Patrick Siketi, Principal

Dr Nancy Macharia, TSC CEO

Matinyani Boys tops county, attains 100 per cent university transition

teachers.

In his parting shot, the principal encouraged those in leadership to emphasize on financial integrity.

The school has two deputy principals: Pascal Mutuku (administration) and Kiithi Duncan (academics).

Mutuku said that students’ character is excellent as any arising issue is handled professionally.

"Of course you can't be 100 percent perfect. We address the problem by looking for the reasons the boys engage in it,” he said.

He concluded by saying that at Matinyani Boys everybody talks about great performance and discipline.

By Lydia Ngoolo

Matinyani Boys High School attained 100 per cent transition to university in the just released 2022 KCSE exams.

The school posted a mean of 9.94 to top Kitui County.

School Principal Nelson Murithi joined the school in 2018 and mentored the students to excel as is captured in their slogan 'Singing a new song of excellence,'

He revealed that the God-loving boys, during their dedication service, promised to attain 100 per cent transition to university and their wish came to pass.

He revealed that the school has steadily improved its mean as follows: 2017 (6.2), 2018 (6.9), 2019 (7.6), 2020 (7.9) and 2021 (8.3).

“We compete with our own limitations since every child has unique potential,” he said.

The school is enshrined in their motto of 'Strive to achieve the best,' and the management works with everyone and lifts each other to excel.

The principal revealed that when doing form one selection, they pick the top candidates from public primary

schools.

"Any top candidate in any public school is very clever and capable of making it to university," adds Murithi.

With his guiding principle of

leadership, not position or title, but action and example, he created centres of management at the lower level with functional departments and form principals.

“We mentor our students a lot. Alumni who perform well stay behind to mentor the other students,” he said, adding that every child can perform when mentored.

The principal added that self-drive is very important and that once you give the students hope, they excel.

“We treat our students well. They are fed well and they happily deliver good grades,” he said.

The school has been improving its infrastructure to make the environment conducive for learning.

“We do not ask for money from parents. We have constructed 5 Science and two computer laboratories. Construction of the footbridge is now complete and in use. We have a 1,200 capacity dining hall and a big banana plantation where we do farming," he added.

Forms 2, 3 and 4 are six streams but form one has 8 streams. The school has 31 TSC teachers, 18 BoM teachers and 23 non-teaching.

"We also use casuals as a way of giving back to the community,” he adds.

The principal observed that the school fraternity is very committed and result-oriented.

He appreciated the former immediate BoM chairman Nicholas Mulila for his commitment to ensure the school performs well.

He noted that the school has challenges in accommodation but that it’s being addressed by a 400-capacity dormitory which needs to be completed.

It is also in need of more

Phase 1 of a new tuition block recently completed through the partnership between the government and parents

New laboratories

2022 top candidate (right) Reuben and School captain Tonny Mwanzia (middle)

Some of the alumni during the 2022 candidates mentorship day

Class of 2022

Pascal Mutuku, Deputy Principal Administration

Bishop Joseph Mwongela, the school’s spiritual leader, with part of the teaching staff during the 2022 thanksgiving mass

Nelson Murithi, Principal

Proposed new gate to be built by alumni

Duncan Kiithi, Deputy Principal Academics

Monitor your children’s education, parents told

By Peter Otuoro

KEF mentors sponsored students joining higher learning institutions

By Obegi Malack

alumni Hilda Chebet, who is now an editorial assistant.

commitment to a functioning society.

Molo

Sub-county

Director of Education Sylvester Musikoyo has urged parents to concentrate on their children’s education as a way of guaranteeing good academic results and protecting their future.

Speaking to Education News from his office in Molo town, Musikoyo noted that parents must play their role of monitoring their children’s education since lack of parental support leads to poor academic performance.

“It’s unfortunate that most parents leave the full responsibility to teachers after enrolling them in school. Some parents don’t even pay lunch levies for their children despite them being financially stable,” the director said.

Musikoyo encouraged secondary school heads to liaise with donors and well-wishers to support children from humble backgrounds to access education.

“Be more committed and encourage school-going children to love education,” he urged them.

The director asked students to fully concentrate on their education to get good results.

“Take education seriously and avoid evil behaviour and activities that can derail your academic performance,” he advised, further pointing out that education has helped to polish and socialize the minds of many Kenyans, hence people should know its positive impact in the society.

He concluded by congratulating all schools which performed well in the 2022 national examinations and urged those who didn’t to put in more efforts to improve their performance.

Governor launches Ksh435M bursary kitty

West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin (centre) holds a dummy cheque during the launch of Ksh435 million bursary at Ortum High School.

Kenya Education Fund (KEF) has held a mentorship session for their scholarship beneficiaries.

The students were taken through career readiness and reproductive health and entrepreneurship at the Contemplative Retreat Center in Karen.

The workshop is custom-made for students who just completed high school to help them transition to higher learning institutions and adulthood.

The attendees had sessions done by professionals, among them KEF

Chebet took them through communication as a foundation of success.

Design thinking was facilitated by lead coach and KEF programmes manager Prisca Mutemi who is a certified design thinking coach. The team covered food security, inclusivity, clean water and sustainable energy.

Civics and governance was done by Gerald Walterfang founder and director at WDS Africa.

Walterfang, who is also a KEF partner, advocated for civic duty and responsibilities since it is a necessary

Parents urged to educate children to curb banditry

By John Majau

Samburu Archers post OCS

Benson Korir (pictured) has urged parents from pastoralists counties to educate their sons in a bid to eradicate perennial banditry attacks in the regions.

Speaking during a joint meeting to solve perennial conflicts between communities in Isiolo and Samburu county, Korir said ending illiteracy is the best and sure way of dealing with cattle rustling that has left hundreds of people dead or with gunshot

Dr Gift Mtukwa, a lecturer at African Nazarene University, took the attendees through work ethics and negotiation skills.

The attendees were also taken through drug abuse, CV writing and interviewing skills, reproductive health, and civics and governance.

Starting this year, KEF will open up the workshop for students outside their scholarship programmes.

Since KEF began having the workshops, transition rate into institutions of higher learning has been 98 per cent.

wounds.

He said education exposes children to diverse culture where they learn other languages, different lifestyles and how to appreciate people from other communities.

He noted with concern that most parents make their children yearn for property ownership hence pushing them into committing crimes to amass wealth and social status.

Korir said it is unfortunate that few learners from the region seek government sponsorship opportunities.

“Educating the young ones in our society is a sign of promoting peace hence we need to take advantage of the government bursaries and other scholarship opportunities.” He concluded.

KNUT accuses TSC of frustrating redistribution delocalized teachers

By Kipilat Kapusia

By Kipilat Kapusia

Parents, caregivers and needy learners from West Pokot can now breathe a sigh of relief after the county government launched a bursary kitty worth Ksh435 million to benefit 41,414 students.

The grant will be released in two phases. Students in boarding schools will each get Ksh15,000, universities and college students will get Ksh10,000 while those in day schools and driving schools will receive Ksh 5,000.

West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin said his administration has prioritized and put emphasis on matters education to help reduce illiteracy levels.

“We have invested heavily in education because we want all children in remote areas to go to school,” he said.

He disclosed that he aims to change the narrative of the county being marginalized by uplifting education standards.

“We shall continue supporting bright and needy students until literacy

levels in this region goes up,” said the governor.

The county boss called on school heads to make prudent use of the funds to benefit deserving students and not to send learners home for fees.

Deputy Governor Robert Komolle advised the beneficiaries to take advantage of the programme to work hard and excel in their studies.

“We want the beneficiaries to work hard so that they can uplift the economy of the region in future, ” said Komolle.

He said the scholarship programme was an icing on the cake for the bright but needy students whose future appeared bleak.

West Pokot County Executive Committee Member for Education Rebecca Kide lauded the bursary committee for burning the midnight oil to ensure needy students get education.

Lucy Naliaka and Nicholas Domokwang, both parents, thanked the county government for giving out bursaries.

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been accused of frustrating redistribution of teachers after government scrapped the controversial delocalization policy.

Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) West Pokot branch officials said that the commission whose mandate is to look into the welfare of educators countrywide is turning out to be the main impediment for local teachers to return home.

They warned of a looming crisis over the re-routing of teachers who were affected by the delocalization policy in the North Rift region.

Many teachers born in West Pokot County who have been working in the neighbouring counties of Trans-Nzoia, Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet and Uasin Gishu have been allegedly denied the chance to go

back to their home county.

West Pokot KNUT Executive Secretary Martin Sembelo claimed that there is a scheme by TSC headquarters to deny locals a chance to unite with their families.

“We want TSC to move with maximum speed and minimum delay and re-route local teachers back to West Pokot,”

he said, adding that non local teachers want to go to West Pokot because of the hardship allowances.

“We are not chasing away non-locals but we want our native teachers back in West Pokot,” he said, noting that West Pokot County is understaffed and return of local tutors would be a plus.

“We have a shortage

of 2,400 teachers in primary schools. We call on the President to intervene and instruct TSC to do the necessary. Many families are separated,” he said.

The process of abolishing the controversial delocalisation policy initiated by TSC in 2018 started last year after Parliament passed a motion by Lurambi MP Titus Khamala who argued that it was inconsistent with United Nations Educational and Scientific Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) policy.

About 6,000 teachers were affected in the delocalization policy, which saw several tutors transferred away from their preferred schools.

KNUT West Pokot Chairman Joel Patrich explained that for the indigenous language in Competency-Based Curriculum [CBC] to succeed, delocalized teachers need to return home.

Molo Sub-county Director of Education Sylvester Musikoyo.

SAMBURU

WEST POKOT

KNUT West Pokot branch Executive Secretary Martin Sembelo and KNUT Chairman Joel Partich speaking to the press. Photo /Kipilat Kapusia

By Fredrick Odiero

Despite being one of the youngest secondary schools in Seme Sub-county, Ridore ACK Mixed Secondary School has established itself as one of the best performing schools in the region, competing with old schools in the same league.

Principal Gabriel Barasah said the school registered a mean of 7.820 in 2022 KCSE . Out of the 233 registered candidates, 191 scored C+ and above and qualified for direct university admission.

The transition rate was 82.12 per cent.

“We achieved the good results as a result of students’ hard work and teachers’ motivation,” he said, adding that their best two candidates were among the best in the entire Nyanza region.

He added that the candidates

Ridore ACK Mixed Secondary, a trendsetter in academics

regularly did internal exams as well as group and peer learning.

The teachers also used ability grouping to capitalize on students’ strengths and minimize their weakness.

“We also trained the learners on

question and answer techniques,” he said, adding that they ensured no one missed school assemblies.

He added that they revised form one and two work frequently to boost performance since most candidates usually forget content taught in lower classes.

He added that the school invested a lot in students’ discipline, which also contributed to the superb performance.

The principal revealed that in this year’s exams, they have set a target of 8.3 and that the current class is ready to achieve the feat.

The school has 49 teachers, 24 posted by the Teachers Service Commission while the other 25 have been engaged by the Board of Management.

“The six-stream school, which boasts of a student population of 1302, has 2 laboratories and 5 dormitories,” said the principal, adding further that there is need for more dormitories and classrooms in the wake of increasing student population. Barasah revealed that

they are building a facility which will house more students and administration offices.

The principal revealed that the school doesn’t have a bus, proper dining hall and a kitchen. It also experiences frequent water shortages hence they have to source it from outside, which is very expensive.

“We bought donkeys and a water bowser to help us fetch water. However, we’re in the process of sinking a borehole at a cost of Ksh1.5 million,” he said.

He further revealed that the school doesn’t have enough staff quarters

“Only six members of the staff stay within the school compound,” he pointed out, further adding that the teachers supervise studies at night.

Other than academics, Ridore ACK Mixed Secondary School does well in co-curricular activities.

The county school is located in Seme Sub-county, Kisumu County. It was established by the local community in 2008.

School gate

Students in class

Samuel Ogada, Director of Studies

Nicholas Kichengo, Deputy Principal Academics

Lilian Odongo, Deputy Principal Administration

Gabriel Barasah, Principal

Dormitories across the hedge

Administration Block

Ogilgei Secondary School laying ground for higher academic and sporting excellence

achieved its mission.

What stands out is the students’ high standards of discipline, which has been brought about by the idea of school families that was begun by the teachers. In this model, a teacher is assigned at least 25 students to take care of in terms of behavioural and character development, alongside academic progression.

“Family groups have assisted many students by shaping their behaviour through guidance and counseling. We first identify the emotional, physiological and psychological challenges they face and try to find solutions,” she explained.

In addition, they usually invite motivational speakers to boost their morale in academics and change their character and attitude positively towards better performance.

By Peter Otuoro

Ogilgei

Secondary School

is poised to become a powerhouse regionally in academics and sports, bubbling over with talent pooled from Nakuru and other counties - the main objective being to help children from humble backgrounds gain an education and change their situations.

They are a model in sporting excellence, having churned out great athletes and will continue doing so.

“Our former students are prominent athletes who represent the nation in various world athletics competitions; people like Shadrack Lang’at was a pace-maker for Eliud Kipchoge in the famed Ineos challenge,” school’s principal Lucy Opiyo pointed out.

It opened its doors to students in 2003 to offer affordable education to children from the Ogilgei community in Ngata area. Gradually though, it has been populated by students from as far as Kakamega County.

The environment is classic, the beautiful terrain issuing a generous

platform for rich equatorial flora that has defied the threats of human settlement. Its proximity to the city of Nakuru does not disrupt the peaceful existence and smooth flow of activities, contrastingly giving an opportunity for holistic learning through access to a myriad of natural and man-made facilities in and about the city.

“We started a boarding wing in the school to enable the girl-child to receive quality secondary school education,” she said in reaction to questions on why they boarded only girls.

Opiyo said that measures to improve academic standards have been initiated

in all classes to ensure the school fulfills its core mandate of imparting knowledge through instilling discipline and proper character development.

In 2022, the student enrolment was 320, there being 83 in Form One, 71 Form two, 58 Form Three and 108 Form Four. Majority of the 2022 KCSE candidates are expected to join institutions of higher learning.

In terms of infrastructure, the school has a permanent water tank with a capacity of 100,000 litres, which

has been of great help even during dry season spells. The dairy project, which combines both cows and goats, are catered for by this source to ensure a reliable supply of milk for students and teachers.

The principal thanked the Board of Management (BoM) led by Dr. Eliud Michura for such initiatives, saying the Parents Association (PA) hyped by its chairman Charles Irungu maintained a supporting role to ensure the school

Acknowledging well-wishers like Raising Daisies Child Care organization for supporting some needy students, she welcomed others who have the means to help financially as most of their students are from humble backgrounds.

“We appreciate our partners who have been supporting very needy students but we call for more assistance from other well-wishers since our girls and boys come from humble backgrounds,” she said.

Some challenges facing the school include inadequate classrooms, few laboratories, a small dining hall, and non-existence of a library and administration block. Opiyo beseeches government, leaders and other wellwishers to come to their assistance to have these crucial facilities.

The school is located two kilometres off Nakuru-Eldoret Highway in Rongai Sub-county. There are ten government teachers and four who have been engaged by the BoM to bridge the deficit, though this is a far cry from a standard teacher: student ratio.

It has the motto ‘Discipline, hard work and determination pay’. Its vision is ‘to be a centre of excellence in the provision of quality education’, while its mission is ‘to train and nurture young people to become useful to themselves and the community’. The core values are Discipline, Hard Work, Determination and Integrity.

Modern laboratory CBC classes

Joseph Njoroge, Deputy Principal

A section of teaching staff

Administration Block

Principal Lucy Opiyo in her office

By Peter Otuoro

Nandarasi Secondary School is inching towards the top in academics, securing position six out of 31 in North Kinangop Sub-county in the 2022 KCSE examination, and 37 in the entire Nyandarua County, which has a total of 205 schools.

A mixed day and boarding school, it increased its mean from 3.9 in 2021 to 4.48 in 2022, sending six students; James Kanyora (B), Jane Nduati (C+), Joice Wateri (C+), Samuel Karanja (C+),Wilson Njogu (C+) and Jane Wamboi (C+), to university. Others are expected to join tertiary institutions.

School Principal D.K Waweru said they now target to score 5.58 and take more to the university.

He expressed his satisfaction with the efforts the teachers, led by his deputy Duncun Ndung’u, had put to get to where they were.

“Our young, energetic and talented teachers are full of aspirations to change students to be focused on academic excellence,” said Waweru, adding that they have been able to build cordial relationships with students that have helped to resolve most of the difficulties they face.

He praised the teachers as very innovative through building their resilience around team work and taking initiatives to grow professionally, thus impacting positively on student growth and general perspective.

Nandarasi Secondary steps up to be rated among top in County

with the administration to ensure that every activity runs as planned,” said Waweru.

The population of the school is 358; that is 82 Form One, 86 Form Two, 82 Form Three and 108 Form Four, shepherded by 18 teachers; 12 employed by the government and 6 by Board of Management (BoM).

There are 12 support staff who play a big role in the day -to-day running of the school.

“Our support staff work closely

He appreciated the BoM Chair Prof Ruth Keraka and her Parents Association (PA) counterpart Martin Chege for their cooperation, managing the school well and mobilizing resources when required.

On co-curriculum, the principal said they have established various clubs that are critical in talent nurture and character development, among them Journalism where students sharpen their communication skills, Scouting for discipline, YCS and CU for spiritual nourishment, and

Wildlife and Environmental to inculcate a spirit of conservation.

Waweru said the school has achieved a lot in recent years, among them the construction of a boys’ dormitory and two classrooms. They have also established a dairy farm and modernized the assembly ground.

The school has 10 classrooms, a computer and two science laboratories, a spacious school hall, a modern kitchen, four dormitories, three teachers' houses, and an administration block.

Among the school’s future plans is to improve physical infrastructure and expand its curriculum by introducing more subjects including technical ones in line with global market trends.

The major challenge they have to contend with is the diminishing boarding section as most students prefer to commute from home. However, they are in the process of educating parents and students on the importance of boarding in ensuring the maximum utilization of time and maintenance of discipline.

Other setbacks include collection of fees. Many students are from poor homes and cannot comfortably afford fees and lunch levies, which is also aggravated by the prolonged drought that has diverted extra incomes to buying foodstuff.

“The current drought has affected many of our students. Some of them cannot even afford to get basic needs including lunch levy. We encourage well-wishers to intervene by supporting them financially,” said Waweru.

The principal also urged the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to give them more teachers as the teacher: student ratio was too poor.

He also asked the county government to assist in installing water harvesting infrastructure.

“We wish Nyandarua County could assist us by installing water storage facilities or drilling a borehole to give us adequate water,” said Waweru.

Sponsored by the ACK church, its motto is ‘Strive for Excellence’ while the vision is ‘To be the best performing school in the county and beyond’. Its mission is ‘To provide quality education through effective teaching and learning to mould self-driven learners ready to face future challenge through continuous improvement’.

Core values are Integrity, Teamwork, Professionalism, Courtesy, Continuous Improvement, and Respect for Individual Differences.

A section of the school compound

D. K. Waweru, Principal

School Hall

Duncan Ndung’u, Deputy Principal

Dining Hall

Girls domitories

A section of the tuition block

Students with their teachers during a visit to the Supreme Court of Kenya

Ksh100,000 up for grabs in Posta Kenya Letter Writing Competition!

By Roy Hezron

The Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK), commonly known to many as Posta Kenya, has officially launched the 2023 International Letter Writing Competition for young people aged 15 years and below.

In liaison with Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Bureau, the competition targets children in the age bracket, most of whom are in primary, and for the case now, junior secondary school and perhaps forms one and two in secondary schools.

The aim is to encourage creativity and free expression as a means to refining their language

skills.

In this year’s competition, the participants will be required to write a letter to someone explaining which super powers they would need to achieve their mission of making all roads around the world safer for children.

All the rules of letter writing must be observed for the composition to be legitimized. The letter must also be in own handwriting, with participants being instructed to indicate the first and surname, date of birth, as well as their gender. Both private and school addresses must be indicated for ease of communication.

Regarding the length of the composition, the letter should not

exceed 1,000 words; meaning it may be maximum three pages of the standard sheet they write their normal examinations on.

Parents, guardians and teachers are cautioned against assisting contestants, with the deadline for submission via post being set at April 6, 2023. Only one entry will be allowed in each envelope posted.

The winner will walk away with a cash prize of Ksh100,000 with the runner up taking home Ksh50,000. Third prize will be Ksh30,000.

Apart from the cash prizes, winners will further be awarded certificates at a ceremony to be held in Nairobi during this year’s World Post Day celebrations on Monday October 9, 2023.

INTERNATIONAL LETTER WRITING COMPETITION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AGED

15 YEARS AND BELOW- 2023

competition rules and regulations are as follows:

1. The composition MUST be presented in the form of a letter.

The ceremony will be presided over by the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Information Communication and Digital Economy Eliud Owalo.

Esther Imani Senelwa of Holy Rosary Girls Primary School, Turbo in Uasin Gishu County emerged the winner of last year’s competition, which was the 51st International Letter Writing Competition (Kenya Chapter).

As a general guideline to contestants, the format and tone should be that of a letter, the theme should be strictly adhered to, it must be creative, and it must use language appropriately. This is what the judges will be looking out for.

The Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) in liaison with Universal Postal Union- International Bureau, is proud to announce the topic for the 2023 International Letter Writing Competition for Young People aged 15 years and below.

The topic of the 2023 composition is:

2. The composition MUST include the first and surname, date of birth as well as gender of the participant.

3. The composition should not exceed 1000 words.

4. The participant should indicate both private and school addresses for ease of communication. The telephone number of the school and parents/ guardians should be included.

5. Parents/Guardians and Teachers should NOT assist in the composition writing.

6. The composition must be submitted to the address indicated on or before 6th April 2023.

7. All compositions MUST be sent by Post to the address given below. Appropriate postage stamps should be affixed on each envelope.

8. Only one entry will be allowed in each envelope posted.

The 2023 winners will be awarded with cash prizes and certificates at a ceremony to be held in Nairobi during the World Post Day celebrations on Monday 9th October 2023. The ceremony will be presided over by the Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Information Communication & Digital Economy (MoIC-DE).

2022 Winners of the Universal Postal Union – International Letter Writing Competition for young people aged 15 years and below, Kenya Chapter were awarded with cash prizes and certificates on 9th October last year.

The winners were as follows:

Master Ryan Kisong’e

Senelwa Kshs. 30,000

“Imagine you are a superhero and your mission is to make all roads around the world safer for children. Write a letter to someone explaining which superpowers you would need to achieve your mission”.