EDUCATION

KNEC’s new rules on transfer of CBC learners

T

here will be no transfer of learners as from May this year when the current Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) pioneer Grade 5 learners will transit to Grade 6, the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has confirmed.

According to KNEC, the Grade 6 learners will be preparing to sit their National Summative Assessment which will take place at the end of this year.“No transfer shall be allowed at Grade 6 due to preparations for the summative assessment that will be taking place at the end of the year,” said KNEC in one of its official documents on Understanding the Competency-Based Assessment (CBA).

Dr. David Njengere, KNEC CEO. »»

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No transfer shall be allowed at Grade 6 due to preparations for the summative assessment that will be taking place at the end of the year - KNEC

The Bestselling Newspaper on Education MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

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Radical policy shift in teacher discipline

Standing up to TSC dictatorship www.educationnews.co.ke

Varsity Bulletin

THE PLATFORM FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

When MPs stopped the implementation of the controversial Teacher Professional Development Programme (TPD), several union leaders and teachers who had vehemently opposed the policy and paid a huge price for it, were vindicated and became instant heroes and heroines. »» Pages 2 &

Career offices gain root at Varsities, Colleges

Martha Omollo, KNTP spokesperson

»» Page 23 TERTIARY INSTITUTI

Shedding light on TTCs, TVETS and Other Colleges

»» Page 6

3

Robert Miano, Laikipia KUPPET Executive Secretary

NS

KTTC to become Kenya School of TVET

Samuel Orwa Jasolo, Migori KUPPET Executive Secretary

»» Page 5

Sabala Inyeni, Vihiga KUPPET Executive Secretary

12,000 teachers paid their salary arrears »» Page 16

Varsities asked to initiate native languages curricula »» Page 20

Sad tale of TVETs urged to deputy heads, shift to marketsenior teachers driven courses acting for years »» Page 21

»» Back Page

Private schools protest harsh registration rules »» Page 6

2

EDUCATION NEWS

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

Why MPs voted out TSC’s controversial TPD programme

The legislators put across a number of recommendations to be considered first before the country’s teacher employer, Teachers Service Commission (TSC), fully rolls out the controversial Teacher Professional Development (TPD) Programme.

By Roy Hezron Extensive public participation, increasing the number of institutions to train teachers and the government meeting the cost of the Teachers Professional Development (TPD) programme are among the key recommendations raised by Members of Parliament who have opposed the roll out of the controversial TPD programme.

The legislators also recommended that a legislative framework should be enacted and that the framework should lead to the establishment of a different professional body to regulate the teaching profession since TSC currently has a constitutional mandate as an employer.

These details are contained in a report of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education and Research tabled in the National Assembly on March 3, 2022 by the chairperson of the committee Hon Florence Mutua, who is also the Busia Woman Representative in the National Assembly.

The report follows a petition tabled in the House on September 28, 2021 by Emuhaya MP Hon. Omboko Milemba, who is also the National Chairman of Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), on behalf of Messers Moses Mbora, Francis Yivo and Justus Nyakundi, being representatives of KUPPET Nairobi Branch and other concerned teachers across the country.

“The Committee observed that the prayer of restraining TSC from rolling-out TPD programme is within the authority of the National Assembly pursuant to Article 95 (2) of the constitution which mandates the House to deliberate on and resolve issues of concern to people,” reads the report signed by Hon. Mutua on March 1, 2022.

The Committee’s decision is a major setback for TSC since the commission has been trying to professionalize the teaching service.

Extensive stakeholder consultations The legislators argued that despite the fact that TPD is anchored in section 11 and 35(2) (a) of the TSC Act and under regulations 48 and 49 of the Code of Regulations for Teachers (CORT), which obligates all teachers to undertake career progression as may be prescribed by the commission, TSC ought to have conducted extensive public participation on the programme as required under Article 232 (1) (d) and address concerns on the programme before its roll-out.

The committee noted that while considering the petition, it could not ascertain whether public participation on TPD as designed was undertaken before roll out.

The committee further argued that diverse views and public debate on the programme would have made teachers more aware and prepared for the implementation of the TPD programme. The views would also have

The Kenyan Parliament

stakeholders under Article 232(1) (d) of the constitution stand the risk of being prejudiced,” said Hon. Mutua in the report.

The Commission has not made public to the teachers and other stakeholders in the education sector the consideration it based on in arriving at the exorbitant cost per module.

Florence Mutua, Chairperson Parliamentary Committee on Education enabled the employer make improvements on the programme.

It further argued that since teachers are the main stakeholders and beneficiaries of the programme, their acceptance of the programme is necessary for its successful implementation.

In suspending the roll-out of TPD, the MPs suggested that TSC should conduct extensive public participation as required and take into account the views of teachers, trade unions and other stakeholders with a view of building consensus on the programme.

“If the Commission is not restrained from implementing the TPD programme, the rights of teachers and

Number of Service Providers to be increased The MPs argued that it was not clear why top universities and institutions did not bid to have TPD retraining conducted in their institutions. This was despite the institutions having adequate infrastructure network, human resource capacity and experience to successfully run the programme and.

TSC procured the service providers through procurement processes as per Article 227 of the Constitution and the Public Procurement and Disposal Act where only eight institutions bid for the contract.

The eight institutions are Mount Kenya University (MKU), Moi University, Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI), Riara University, Kenyatta University (KU), Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE), Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) and the French Embassy.

Out of the 8, only Riara University, MKU, KU and KEMI, all based in Nairobi, were awarded the contract, yet they are not sufficient to cover the huge number of the teachers.

The MPS argued that teachers in Northern Kenya, Coastal regions, Nyanza and Western regions were geographically disadvantaged and overburdened by substantial travel and accommodation costs while attending the programme.

The legislators through the Committee recommended that “sourcing of service providers, institutions and centres to offer the programme should be broadened to ensure even distribution of the centres across the counties for easy access.”

Government to cater for the programme Hon. Mutua argued that the Commission committed teachers to personally meet the burden of paying Shs 6,000 for each module of the TPD Programme without any consultation

with teachers.

This implied that in a teacher’s entire teaching career, each teacher will be required to take six modules.

Each module lasts five years meaning that a teacher will complete the programme within 30 years.

The total payment for the entire retraining will be Shs.180,000, which the MPs said is exorbitant considering the low salary increments, stagnation in the same job group and the rising inflation rates which had reduced the disposable incomes of teachers.

The committee also argued that teachers’ pay slips are committed to the limit and that they failed to get a monetary Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) owing to the fact that Covid-19 affected the economy of the country.

The committee recommended that the training fees of Sh.6,000 be paid by the government since TPD is a programme initiated by the employer, TSC. The Committee observed that Article 237 empowers TSC to register, recruit and employ registered trained teachers. TSC is further mandated under Article 237 (3) to review standards of education and training of persons entering the teaching service.

Further, section 35 of the TSC Act, 2012, provides that the Commission shall take all necessary steps to ensure that persons in the teaching service comply with the teaching standards prescribed by the commission.

TSC also shall require every registered teacher to undertake career progression and professional development programmes as may be prescribed by regulations made under the Act. The Act thus solely mandates TSC to undertake professional development for teachers.

Mutua said that TPD ought to have been integrated in the ongoing capacity strengthening programmes for teachers on the CompetencyBased Curriculum (CBC), so as to achieve a well-coordinated and holistic approach instead of duplicating government efforts, wasting public resources and subjecting teachers to bearing the burden of a mandatory programme.

The MPs have further proposed to the National Treasury through the Budget and Appropriations Committee of the National Assembly that the government should annually allocate funds to TSC to cater for TPD. “Unlike other professionals, teachers would derive no personal benefit from their continuous professional development out of the workplace since they are barred from practising their profession outside official public employment,” reads the report.

The TPD programme targeted to benefit all registered teachers in public and private primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in the country.

There are about 750,446 registered teachers in the country. 341,760 are employed by TSC, another 170,000 are registered and teaching in private schools while the remaining 238,686 teachers are registered but not yet employed.

The MPs revealed that the cost of rolling out the TPD programme is Shs.4.5 billion, yet only some Shs.2 billion had so far been set aside.

The MPs recommended the enactment of a new law and proposed changes to Article 237 of the Constitution and the TSC Act to solve the conflict of interest of the Commission being both a regulator and an employer.

“Parliament should enact legislation and pass amendments to Article 237 of the Constitution and the TSC Act 2012 to remedy the conflict of interest of the Commission being a regulator and an employer and further scrutinize and approve regulations governing Teacher Professional Development,” the report adds.

TSC argued that TPD is anchored in law under Section 35(2) (a) of the TSC Act that says the Commission shall require every registered teacher to undertake career progression and professional development programmes as may be prescribed by regulations made under the Act. In his petition, Milemba raised issues relating to the cost of the programme, selection of institutions to offer the course and whether public participation was done before roll-out.

He therefore wanted the intervention of the National Assembly to make TSC undertake public participation on the TPD Policy and not roll out the programme until the concerns raised by teachers and other stakeholders are resolved.

He also wanted the Assembly to inquire into the circumstances under which TSC selected only four institutions to offer the TPD Programme despite there being other reputable universities countrywide.

Milemba wanted the MPs to recommend to the Ministry of Education to take over the implementation of TPD as an integral part of the CBC. He also wanted the Ministry to meet the cost of the mandatory programme in line with international labour practices. This required putting in place the necessary legislative framework to provide for the establishment of a professional regulatory body for teachers.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

Road to TPD implementation littered with casualties

3

of events, the number of KNUT members dwindled from 187,000 in July 2019 to 34,000 in October 2020, and further spiralling to 16,000 in June 2021 when Sossion decided to resign from the union leadership.

After the resignation of The programme which was meant to change the teaching service in the country has faced several Sossion, (he had been seen as challenges since its introduction,hence raising questions as to whether it is going die a natural death. a major hardliner for the implementation of TPD), the Commission featured the component in the 2021-2025 non-monetary

By Roy Hezron Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) where all teacher Unions Since its introduction in April notably KNUT, Kenya Union of 2018 by the Teachers Service Post Primary Teacher Education Commission (TSC), the Teacher (KUPPET) and Kenya Union of Professional Development (TPD) Special Needs Education Teachprogramme has faced several chalers (KUSNET) agreed that TSC lenges. should implement TPD. However, in its battle with vari“In recognition of the fundaous education stakeholders, it has not mental shift in policy in public serbeen the only victim as union leadvice and with a view to promote, ers and some teachers who publicly enhance and maintain high perforrejected the programme have been mance standards in the teaching victimized and some transferred to service, parties hereby agree that far flung counties. the Commission shall implement TSC has faced a catastrophe continuous Teacher Professional for the second time in its efforts to Development Programmes and fully roll out the programme after Performance Evaluation system,” Members of Parliament through the reads the 2021-2025 CBA. National Assembly’s Departmental It adds: “To this end, in comCommittee on Education and Re- TSC CEO Dr. Nancy Macharia handing over the TPD documents to KU VC Prof Paul Wainaina pliance with Regulation 48 (1) of search restrained the Commission as KUPPET SG Akelo Misori (left) and KNUT SG Collins Oyuu (right) look on. File Photo the CORT, parties reiterate that from rolling out the programme until every member shall undertake extensive public participation is con- the Teachers Service Commission be necessary or appropriate, then ers (KNUT) under the leadership of ducted. The aim is to take in views Act 2012, there would be no author- such deductions will have to be fac- the then Secretary General Wilson the professional teacher developof teachers as main stakeholders and ity to impose fees and charges for tored in compliance with the provi- Sossion had earlier on issued a strike ment programmes prescribed by the beneficiaries of TPD, teacher trade want of enabling statutory provi- sions of Part IV of the Employment notice if the government failed to ad- Commission from time to time.”

Act, 2007 on protection of wages. dress their grievances. unions and other stakeholders with a sions in that regard.

“Accordingly, the Court returns Sossion demanded that TSC 2.

Formation of “The petitioner (TSC) has not view to building consensus.

The same TPD was halted by shown a provision in the Teachers once again that a statutory provision should terminate the policy of de- Pressure Group After the Commission rolled out the Employment and Labour Rela- Service Commission Act, 2012 or expressly permitting the petitioner localization of teachers, quash the other law permitting it to impose to deduct out of teachers’ salaries implementation of Teacher Perfor- the programme again on September tions Court (ELRC) in 2019.

Both Parliament and the ELRC fees and charges against teachers towards partially or fully funding of mance Appraisal and Development 22, 2021, there emerged another have almost the same reasons for with respect to TPD programmes TPD programmes as may be neces- (TPAD), effect promotion of teach- problem.

The Kenya National Teachhalting the roll out of the programme. and as was submitted for the peti- sary or appropriate would be manda- ers to higher job groups based on tory in that regard. Under section 25 Schemes of Service, and stop the ers Pressure Group (KNTPG) was This has raised several questions tioner,” reads the judgment. formed and its national spokesperThe court added that if it is de- of the Act, it amounts to a criminal implementation of TPD. as to whether the Commission really In a counter move, in December son Martha Omollo led other teachconsults its major stakeholders’ be- sired that any charges or fees are offence to deduct salaries except as deducted from the salary payable to provided in Part IV of the Act,” Jus- 31, 2018, TSC moved to court and ers to resist the programme. fore implementating programmes. filed a petition to stop KNUT from In November 2021, a good teachers with respect to partial or full tice Ongaya ruled.

Kenya National Union of Teach- calling a strike which was to com- number of teachers, most of whom funding of TPD programmes as may Court ruling mence on January 2, 2019. TSC were members and leaders of KNTIn July 12, 2019, ELRC Judge also sought the court to compel PG, were transferred to remote work Byrum Ongaya in his judgment How teachers reacted to the move the Union to resume talks and ne- stations. TSC termed the transfers halted the implementation of TPD, gotiations initiated by the Labour normal though many saw it as a observing that without a regulation ministry. crackdown on those associated with promulgated by TSC, there exists By that time, KNUT had over the activities of the group.

“We are so happy that what we fought for no valid TPD programme for imple187,000 members and downThe other transfers came only has finally seen the light of day. TSC must mentation. ing tools would mean disrupting few days after Ms Omollo was pay for TPD modules; no two ways about “The TPD modules in dispute teaching and learning in almost transferred from Mowlem Supaloaf it.” shall not be implemented as they fall all public primary schools in the Primary School in Njiru, Nairobi short of professional development Sabala Inyeni, KUPPET Executive country.

County to Trans Nzoia County. programmes,” said Justice Ongaya.

Secretary Vihiga.

By the time TSC was taking Five of the eighteen affected by In its ruling, the Court conKNUT to court, they were not the transfers have since been intersidered section 35 of the Teachers “We stood with the teachers of this country. seeing eye to eye. Their disagree- dicted.

Service Commission Act, 2012 and We knew that something like TPD cannot just ment had escalated and reconcilistated that Section 35 (2) (a) is clear be imposed on teachers. There must be wide ation efforts by the Labour minis- 3.

Division within that the TSC shall require every regparticipation; all stakeholders should be try often ended up in walk outs by unions istered teacher to undertake career brought on board and I believe the teachers either parties.

At KUPPET, a number of progression and professional develof this country are happy. That’s what they Branch Executive Secretaries went opment programmes as may be prehave always wanted.”

Impact of TPD stand-off viral on social media and publicly scribed by regulations made under Samuel Orwa Jasolo, KUPPET rejected the programme, effectively the Act, hence the TPD programmes Executive Secretary Migori 1.

Sossion’s raising questions as to whether the are to be prescribed by regulation. resignation from KNUT national leadership of the Union “The Court considers that the While the court ruling was extensively considered the views of “We are very happy with our MPs because TPD programmes in dispute in the a big win for KNUT, which was teachers before endorsing the roll now they are in solidarity with us and we instant case have not been issued by under the leadership of Sossion by out of TPD. would wish to thank Parliament for agreeway of a regulation as no such reguthen, it also marked the beginning ing with us because honestly, it was a wrong Several branch Executive Seclation has been exhibited. In making of his downfall since the Com- retaries ran into trouble for opposthing. If there had been negotiations, we that finding, the Court considers that mission cracked its whip by tacti- ing the programme, and were subwould have told TSC that we can’t pay for the the provisions of section 35(2) (a) cally choosing to only implement sequently removed from the Union programme. are not satisfied when the Code of the ruling on KNUT members. payroll hence foregoing their pay.

Regulation for Teachers(CORT) in Robert Miano, KUPPET Laikipia The Commission achieved Currently, three Executive Secregulation 48 (1) simply provides this by first stripping them of the retaries who are Sabala Inyeni of Vithat every teacher shall undertake the This is a win-win situation for teachers. Let promotions and pay raise they had higa, Samuel Orwa Jasolo of Migori professional teacher development it go on record that KNTPG members made gained from the CPG and sec- and Robert Miano of Laikipia have programmes prescribed or recoma serious outcry that attracted the public ear ondly, barring the members from confirmed to Education News that mended by the Commission from causing Parliament to tremble and act on it. future promotions. they have not been reinstated back time to time,” the judgment added.

Those of us who were punitively transferred In search of a share of pro- to the union payroll meaning, they Regarding the cost of the profor raising issues are being vindicated every motions and pay increase, the have been without salary since Ocgramme, the court ruled that in deday.” teachers started to move out of tober 2021. veloping TPD programmes pursuant the besieged union, and in a series Martha Omollo, KNTP spokesperson to provisions of section 35 (2) (a) of

EDUCATION NEWS

4

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

AIC Litein Girls towers higher on the academic pedestal

Principal Mrs. Triza Sogomo.

Mrs. Edna Koech, Deputy Principal.

By Benedict Ng’etich.

A

IC Litein Girls is a fast growing learning institution that is scaling the heights to build a niche among the national academia in the country.

In the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), the school proved its mettle after attaining an impressive mean score of 8.1, up from 7.5 in 2019, and now targets a higher score of 9.5.

The school emerged position 99 nationally and among the best performing and top ranking schools in Kericho County.

143 out of the 164 candidates who sat the examinations surpassed the threshold for direct

entry to the university. Their scores were as follows: 1 A (plain), 5 A-, 19 B+,47 B,35 B-,36 C+,14 C, 6 C- and 1 D+.

The school, which was established in 2002 with 90 students, currently boasts of a student population of 1,068.

Speaking during the Prayer Day for this year’s candidates, the school principal Mrs. Triza Sogomo, said their target was achievable owing to the elaborate plans put in place to steel the candidates.

“We have prepared the candidates well in line with boosting their confidence and giving them elaborate requisite academic materials. We have covered the syllabus and we are sure of higher performance in the national examinations this year,” she said, observing that the 2021 class, which has been named ‘Deborah’ after the Biblical heroine, is poised to register the best results.

“This group is capable of redirecting their energy and focusing on improving their best for God’s own glory,” she said.

Sponsored by the African Inland Church, spiritual nourishment remains one of its key guiding principles in directing them towards greater achievements.

The Deputy Principal Edna Koech said the current candidates are disciplined and hardworking, something that will see them succeed in the final examinations.

It is a six stream school in forms one and two, while form three and four are five and four streams respectively, housed in 21 classes plus established infrastructural facilities such as a modern 3-storey dormitory block, a dining hall and teacher’s houses.

Board of Management chair Ms. Hellen Kemei said plans were underway for the school to build more houses to cater for the growing number of teachers and thus improve on teacher welfare.

She said the school has a good working relationship with the leadership of the African Inland Mission as they constantly consult each other.

The board Chair thanked all

An aerial view of a candidates parade. the stakeholders in the school, saying their unity of purpose had given positive results to the school.

She urged the staff and students not to relax but exert more effort to move to higher ground academically.

A member of the board Mr. Peter Bett praised the teaching staff for their hard work, which he said had propelled the school to higher levels in the county and nationally as well. He assured them of full support from the BoM. The school introduced French and German languages after their request to the TSC to post teachers to handle these disciplines was honoured.

In support of the use of clean energy, Equity Bank recently launched a cooking gas project in the school.

During the event, Mr Eric Naivasha, who heads the energy and environment pillar at the Bank, urged principals and head teachers to embrace clean energy in their school kitchens in an effort to conserve the environment and save between 32% and 40% of the costs of fuel. He added that clean energy is also hygienic tand safe on kitchen workers.

“I congratulate this school for their bold step in embracing the clean gas project. This will help curb environmental degradation through cutting of trees for firewood,” he pointed out.

The Principal thanked the bank for assisting the school

to transition successfully from firewood use to clean energy, saying the project will enable the cooks save valuable time on preparing food and students to have more time for their studies.

The school Chaplaincy Department spearheads and coordinates all spiritual matters.

Located in Kericho County, the institution has remained among the top in the national examinations where it registered a mean score of 7.624 in 2016.

In 2015 it posted a mean score of 9.160 and 9.58 in 2014.

It managed sixth position in the 2017 KCSE examinations in Kericho County, where it had an entry of 189 candidates out of whom 94 scored C+ (C Plus) and above, thus gaining direct entry into public universities under the government sponsorship.

It produced the best girl in Bureti Sub-county. Vicky Cheptoo scored a mean grade of A- (A minus).

The Ministry of Education, through Senior Deputy Director Mr Paul Kibet, recently donated Sh.3 million for infrastructural development.

IN NUMBERS Board Chair Mrs. Hellen Kemei.

In the 2020 KCSE, the school attained an impressivemeanscoreof

8.1

up from

7.5

in2019andnowtargetsa higher score of

Bishop Richard Aengwo from Kabarnet who presided over the function.

9.5

The school emerged position

99

nationallyandamongthe best performing and top rankingschoolsinKericho County.

143

outofthe164candidates whosattheexaminations surpassedthethresholdfor directentrytouniversity.

St. Johns Ambulance club.

Principal Mrs. Triza Sogomo hugs one of the candidates.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022 Sponsored content

HEAD OFFICE KNUT HOUSE MFANGANO STREET

5

EDUCATION NEWS

KENYA NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS Bankers: KENYA COMMERCIAL BANK STANDARD CHARTERED BANK EQUITY BANK (K) Auditors: OMWENGA ONYANCHA & CO.

Mobile: 0710 600981, 0710 600983, 0733 600880, 0701 139446 SMS: 22551 Email: knut@knut.or.ke Website: www.knut.or.ke

Address all Correspondence(s) to: The Secretary General P.O. Box 30407, 00100 NAIROBI - KENYA.

A full scale reconstruction of KNUT after recent SDC the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) that had stopped salary increments in the CBAs in the public sector for two years. However, we had agreed that the CBA was a live document and that we would review it after one financial year; that is, by July 2023.

5)KNUT relationships with local and international unions and labor federations: We have continued the good relations with our international partners within the African Region and Overseas. We have participated in Federation of East Africa Trade Unions (FEATU) meetings and Virtual Education International meetings.

These meetings have greatly added value to our operations. We are committed to redeeming our international image as we network to make friends who will help us along the journey of trade union movements.

6)KNUT relationship with teacher associations and labour centre: We are relating well with the Central Organization of Trade Union where we belong. We have fully participated in programmes involving People With Disabilities (PWDs), women and youth where we seconded our teacher leaders to hold various positions of influence.

We strongly believe in entrenching ourselves in systems that will add value to our existence in the trade union movement. As a Union, we have and continue to work with associations of goodwill such as KEPSHA and KESSHA, among others. These associations have created a platform for us to address teachers in their conferences such as the KEPSHA Conference which was conducted in the month of December 2021.

7)KNUT relations with other government agencies: The Ministry of Labour has sincerely appreciated the manner in which we are handling

labour relations with the employer.

They have noted reduction in a number of correspondences of dispute between KNUT and the TSC. Resolutions were equally made on the matters in discussion.

Delegates endorsed those resolutions and mandated the National Executive Council through the Secretary General to act appropriately.

All the delegates of KNUTKE will now be looking forward to seeing action that will help improve their lives.

From KNUT-KE Secretary General, the members of the NEC, the staff from all over the country and the Special Delegates Conference Management Committee, we wish to thank you all for your participation, your engagements and the warm interactions.

Thank you and God bless you all.

KTTC to be elevated to Kenya School of TVET

ploma and Degree graduates to pursue pedagogy at the institution with effect from this year.

He was categorical that the top three students would be awarded a sponsorship of 100% each to cover the entire tuition fees for the course. This, he noted, was intended to encourage outstanding performance in pursuit of the teaching career.

The Chief Principal thanked the government for giving KTTC Kshs.

30 million for the completion of the new Institutional Management (IM) Complex.

He also expressed gratitude for the support the institution had received in establishing the National ODeL Centre (Open, Distance and e-learning Center) at the institution, which seeks to serve all TVET institutions in the country.

“We have already requested for additional funding from the government in order to facilitate the acquisition of equipment and furniture for the (IM) Complex,” he noted Since its inception in 1978, KTTC has lived to its defining mission statement of being a first- class institution in Technical Teacher Education and Technology with a focus on both preservice and in-service teacher training.

Secretary General Collins Oyuu.

W

e wish to thank all the Kenya National Union of Teachers-Kenya (KNUT-KE) delegates for travelling to Nairobi on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th February 2022 for that very important event, the Special Delegates Conference (SDC) in the calendar of our great union.

The 110 branches of KNUTKE made 100 percent attendance, making all our regions and counties fully represented. The SDC had clear agenda items that were sufficiently and well attended to.

Elections for positions that were left vacant following the demise of Mr. Ali Abdi Hussein were conducted.

Kennedy Ondieki Nyamwanda and Sheikh Kullow Mohammed were elected unopposed to positions of Deputy National Treasurer and that of Assistant National Treasurer respectively. Mr. Nur Mohammed Bardad, the Executive Secretary Wajir Branch was elected National Executive Committee (NEC)

National Chairman Patrick Karinga. member to replace Mr Kullow from North Eastern region.

On behalf of all the teachers of Kenya, we wish to congratulate all the elected officials and wish them well as they embark on this tremendous journey of serving our great and beloved teachers.

The National Chairman Mr. Patrick Karinga and the National Treasurer Mr. James Muuo Ndiku gave their speeches during the conference. The Secretary General gave his NEC report to the delegates which was discussed and adopted.

Among the issues that were discussed included but not limited to; 1)Teachers Service Commission -KNUT relations: We have continued to enjoy a cordial working relationship with our employer. Pertinent issues that need both parties’ attention have been tabled and discussed candidly in a courteous manner.

2)Ministry of Education-KNUT relations: Where we have very swiftly and quickly established not

By Tindi Kuchio The Ministry of Education is developing strategies to expand the mandate of the Kenya Technical Trainers College (KTTC) to Kenya School Technical and Vocational Education Training (KSTVET), Principal Secretary State Department for Vocational and Technical Training Dr. Margaret Mwakima has revealed.

The PS, who was the chief guest during KTTC’s 42nd graduation ceremony in Gigiri recently, announced that there were plans for KTTC to become an African Union Centre of Excellence in technical teaching and training.

Dr. Mwakima said KSTVET would offer short in-service courses for upgrading trainers’knowledge and skills in order to keep abreast with the demands of the market and the needs of the society.

“KTTC should therefore re-focus on the development of short relevant custom-made courses tailored to suit the various needs of the industry,” she directed.

The PS stated that the govern-

National Treasurer Mr James Ndiku. only a cordial relationship with the Ministry but also one that is mutual and dependable. Our members should rest assured that with this kind of a relationship, there is likely to be minimal friction in the sector and this can only lead to a peaceful working environment that will better performance both in our schools and homes.

3)The 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) Implementations: We have already embarked on the process of ensuring that all our teachers who missed out on the third and fourth phases of the said CBA due to the misunderstanding that was witnessed are paid forthwith. So far, out of the 16,342 teachers who missed out, over 12,000 of them who notified us have been paid in the first tranche and we are working with the Commission to ensure that the remaining 4,342 are paid in the shortest time possible.

4)The 2021-2025 CBA: We signed this CBA on July 1, 2021, quite aware of the injunction by

Dr.Margaret Mwakima hands over an award to one of the graduands for outstanding perfomance in academics while college Principal Dr. Edwin Tarno looks on. ment had instituted reforms on the curriculum from a supply-based to a demand-based Competency Based Education and Training (CBET).

She revealed that the cost of technical training had been standardized across board at Shs.56, 420 per annum with the government providing capitation grants of Shs.30, 000 per trainee per annum.

Dr. Mwakima added that TVET trainees could now access loans from the Higher Education Loans Board to

further supplement the cost of training.

Noting that the country depends on youth innovativeness and strength, the Principal Secretary called upon graduands to seek innovative solutions to the current global challenges such as climate change by engaging in climate smart practices in their respective areas of specialization.

She thanked KTTC for taking advantage of the online learning platforms to train 4, 600 trainers during the

lockdown period that was imposed by the government following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

“All national polytechnics should emulate KTTC and introduce their own diploma programmes since their legal orders allow them to do so,” Dr. Mwakima said.

She further noted that her department was committed to working with KTTC to facilitate its continued growth for the benefit of the Kenyan youth.

KTTC’s Chief Principal Edwin Tarno revealed that KTTC would also become a centre of excellence for Continuous Professional Development of all TVET staff in the country as well as a centre for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in line with the Vision 2030 outlook on Science, Technology and Innovation.

He confirmed that the college had embarked on the training of over 3, 000 Public Service TVET trainers who were recruited without pedagogy.

“The first cohort had already proceeded for the teaching practice beginning January this year,” he said.

Tarno revealed that the KTTC Council had approved a scholarship award for the top three KNEC Di-

Collins Henry Oyuu, Secretary General.

We are Wishing Our 2021 KCPE and KCSE Candidates all the Best in their Exams.

Success

6

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

TSC turns new page in teacher discipline Teachers with medical and psychological issues like mental health and extreme alcohol dependency will be referred to experts such as psychiatrists, psychologists and rehabilitation centres for expert management.The Commission is in the process of developing guidelines on the psychosocial support component of the programme.

By Roy Hezron A total of 25,000 teachers are being targeted by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to undergo a one-year Teacher Induction, Mentorship and Coaching (TIMEC) programme in the Commission’s strategy to reduce rising cases of indiscipline among them in public schools.

According to the employer, the programme is expected to increase teacher effectiveness, job satisfaction, commitment, improved classroom instruction, teacher retention and improved learning outcomes.

In a presentation to TSC field officers who include Regional, County and Sub-County Directors, and County Human Resources Officers (CHROs), Commission’s Director of Field Services Mr. David Mukui said the programme will improve teachers’ professionalism as well as help in achieving the Commission’s strategic objective of improving ethical as per its 2019-2023 Strategic Plan.

“The Commission through the Field Services Directorate, targets to improve professionalism in the teaching service and reduce cases of indiscipline among teachers,” said Mr Mukui in the presentation.

The TIMEC programme, to be rolled out by June 30, 2022 in all parts of the country, will basically target newly recruited teachers in public institutions, including those on internship. Also inclusive are serving teachers who are newly appointed to administrative positions of principals, head teachers, deputies, and senior masters and teachers, as well as teachers experiencing challenges in professional conduct and performance and those who have been taken through the discipline process to reform.

However, the Commission has stated that not every school will

Nancy Macharia, TSC CEO. have the three broad categories represented at the same time and on a full time basis. Those involved in selecting mentors and coaches must be guided by availability of the said categories in an institution, zone or sub-county.

Teachers with medical and psychological issues like mental health and extreme alcohol dependency will be referred to experts such as psychiatrists, psychologists and rehabilitation centres for expert management. The Commission is in the process of developing guidelines on the psychosocial support component of the programme.

According to TSC, a total of 18, 585 newly employed secondary school teachers in the last three years from 2018 to 2021 are eligible.

3, 654 newly appointed heads of institutions for the same period will also enter the programme, which includes 11 teacher training college

principals, 3,089 head teachers in primary schools, and 554 principals in secondary schools. 2761 teachers have resolved indiscipline cases.

Mentorship and coaching is set to be rolled out from March 2022.

The Commission has trained about 10 Regional Officers including 5 TSC Regional Directors namely Ibrahim Adan (North Eastern), Lilian Mwangi (Western), Stephen Ajanga (Nyanza), Laban Olendo (Eastern) and Emmy Kiget, who is Nairobi’s Deputy Director.

Four Regional Quality Assuarance and Standard Officers (RQASOs) are also included. These are Irene Kadenge (Rift Valley), Charles Tasma (Western), Nganyi David Likunda (Coast) and Issa Yarrow Abdille (Eastern).

The Commission has further trained 295 Field Officers on the implementation of the TIMEC programme, which looks at preventive and corrective approaches in the management of teacher professional conduct and performance.

Identification of Mentors and Coaches The structure of management of the programme roll out is the Implementation Team at the school level, with the head of institution, mentors and coaches, together with Champions as members of the team.

The process of identification and selection of mentors, coaches and champions at the school level has already commenced, and the Commission in its circular dated January 31, 2022 has directed all county and sub-county directors to submit the data to their respective reporting structures not later than February 28, 2022.

According to the Commission, those wishing to be mentors and coaches are required to, among other things, have the attributes of good expertise or seniority, experience,

good listener skills, humility, professional ethics, knowledgeability in one’s respective area of specialization, high integrity, enthusiasm in work, good interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, confidentiality, eagerness and willingness to invest in others, respectability and values diversity.

Teachers with a guiding and counseling background are better placed to mentor and coach those with professional challenges, while mentors and coaches are further required to possess high standards of self-motivation, industry, organization, focus, and drive.

Every institution will be required to select two separate individuals as a coach and a mentor, who should be willing to offer service as a volunteer. They are further expected to possess additional knowledge and skills like conflict resolution, counseling, psychology and mediation. Expertise in specific wings of education such as Kenya National Examination Councils (KNEC), Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), pastoral programmes, Special Needs Education (SNE), Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI), among others will add value to the interested candidates.

The mentors and coaches within an institution may be selected from senior teachers, peer teachers, team leaders, subject heads and subject experts, school administrators, and a pool of specialists from diverse fields.

The roles of the heads of institutions will, among others, be to identify and select mentors and coaches at school level who meet the set criteria. Trainers of trainers will be expected to train mentors and coaches at institutional levels, create flexibility by allowing for time out for the mentors, coaches and mentees as scheduled to allow for participation,

track progress and give feedback.

Mentors and coaches on the other hand will be required to, among others, develop the mentorship or coaching plan with the mentee based on the identified needs, schedule mentorship and coaching meetings, provide support to mentees to clarify performance goals and development needs, mentor, coach, guide and counsel the mentee, and assist them to achieve the set goals and give feedback as required.

The mentees will also be required to identify areas of improvement and develop a mentorship plan with the support of mentor or coach, take responsibility for own development, be clear about the mentorship and coaching goals, be proactive about initiating contact with the mentor, be willing to listen and learn, ask for feedback and give feedback when required, prepare for meetings ahead of time, and maintain punctuality at all times.

Unlike before where the commission used a decentralized system whereby indiscipline cases were being heard at County and Regional offices (which saw some cases taking long before being concluded), this time the commission has decided to mentor and coach teachers joining the service using their fellow teachers who haveNAROK service for a while.

A lot of indiscipline cases among teachers has before resulted in carnal knowledge of pupils, insubordination, missing lessons, alcoholism and drug abuse, absenteeism, among others.

In 2019, a total of 89 teachers were deregistered from the TSC register while last year, 71 teachers were removed from the roll after their disciplinary cases were heard and determined by the commission.

According to the TSC Code of Conduct, a teacher is expected to ensure that their private and public conduct uphold the dignity and integrity of the teaching service.

The code further requires teachers at all times be of good conduct whether or not on official duty, and in particular maintain a neat and decent code of dressing, which befits the dignity and image of the teaching service. They are also to ensure their personal hygiene is not offensive to workmates or those they serve, observe official working hours, be punctual and meet deadlines, and not being absent from duty without permission, among other set standards.

Relax teacher registration rules, private schools to TSC

Charles Ochome, Kenya Private Schools Association Chairman.

Fredrick Odiero Private schools in the country have made an impassioned appeal to the Teachers Service Commission to allow them hire tutors without hindrances.

Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) has appealed

to Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to relax rules on the employment of teachers by the private schools.

The Association National Chairman Charles Ochome said TSC must remain flexible and allow private schools to employ some teachers based on talent.

The outcry comes as a reaction to TSC directive that they must strictly employ registered TSC teachers to take pupils through the Competency-Based Curriculum.

"TSC should abandon tendencies that we see are becoming difficult to implement," he said.

He said they were ready to employ tutors who can train pupils in different fields of talent, not necessarily a trained and registered

teacher.

According to the TSC, it is a requirement that only persons registered as teachers in accordance with the TSC Act (2012) should be engaged in teaching. The TSC Act (2012) Section 23 (2) also prohibits any person from engaging in teaching service unless one is registered as a teacher.

The TSC Code of Regulations for Teachers (2015) Part III further provides conditions and procedure for registration of teachers.

To be registered, a prospective teacher is required to produce a certificate of good conduct, relevant academic and professional certificates from recognized institutions, a copy of an Identity Card or valid

passport, a passport size photo, a KRA PIN certificate, a duly filled Medical GP 69 Form and a receipt of payment of Ksh.1055 to the TSC for processing the registration.

But speaking to the press recently in Kisumu, Ochome, however, observed that there was no need to put roadblocks for talented people to get employment opportunities.

"We have talented people like coaches who can teach our children football, music, and talent areas which do not require one to go to a teachers training college to attain," he said.

Ochome maintained that TSC should allow them to scout for talent and not confine them to trained and registered teacher.

He said CBC as a new concept should be moulded to success by not putting road blocks in its implementations.

"A lot of investments, both in public and private sectors, have been put into this curriculum and it will be unfortunate for us to waste those resources," he said.

He lauded Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha for easing up the guidelines of registration of schools that are to offer junior secondary grades.

According to KEPSA, there are more than 1,932 private secondary and 8,000 private primary schools in the country.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

7

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

The Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls, an academic powerhouse

By Leonard Angatia

T

he Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls’ High School has remained a Centre of Excellence for over a decade both in Kakamega County and nationally.

The school was founded in 1959 by the Ursuline Sisters and is sponsored by the Catholic Church.

The ten streamed school has The magnificent library/classrooms with a capacity of 400 on its final phases of construction.

The school has been performing exemplarily well especially in Maths, which has had a leading mean score of 8.05. We are confident that this good performance will boost our general performance.

Claire Shiundu, Deputy Principal Administration.

Senior Principal Fridah Ndolo.

Mr Fredrick Odera, Deputy Principal Academics.

Madam Everlyne Okee, Senior Teacher in charge of administration.

Parents Association Chair Dr James Omondi.

a student population of 1896. It has 48 teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and 38 employed by the Board of Management.

The students are selected from all parts of the country based on merit. It registered 396 candidates for this year’s national exam.

Senior Principal Fridah Ndolo, who joined the school in 2017, has seen the school transform into an academic hub.

She revealed that this year’s candidates have a target of 9.4 and that the school has initiated good programmes in English, Biology, Mathematics and Humanities to ensure the target is achieved.

“The school has been performing exemplarily well especially in Maths, which has had a leading mean score of 8.05.

We are confident that this good performance will boost our general performance,” she pointed out.

Ndolo revealed that the staff at the school is committed and that the

students have been mentored well, hence they are expecting good grades.

“The students’ core business is to excel and they are disciplined,” she said.

Referred to as ‘Ndolo of Excellence’ by the students, the senior principal has served as a principal since 1998, accumulating a wealth of experience in school

A section of candidates focusing on talks. management for good performance and has no excuse for failure.

“If students cannot remain disciplined and concentrate on studies, what will my goal in life be?’ wondered Ndolo.

Ndolo has facelifted the school’s infrastructure by building a perimeter wall with an electric fence.

The school lacks enough classes for proper teacher to student learning. Therefore, the principal has initiated a 400 capacity library/ classrooms which is in its final stages of completion and once opened, the problem will be sorted.

“I’m a happy individual. Even if I retire now, I am proud to have helped many students,” she said with satisfaction.

Ndolo thanked the parents for their continued support and encouraged them to accord their children what they require as they prepare for their final exams.

Catholic Diocese of Kakamega Bishop the RT Rev Joseph Obanyi prayed for the candidates and reminded them that God loves everyone and has the best plans for everyone.

He urged them to lower their ego and harmonize their stay

2020 candidates being rewarded for exceptional performance.

Teachers of Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls.

Simbauni Christabel, student leader. with the less privileged because no one is assured of what will happen in the future.

Simbauni Christabel, the students’ leader, said the candidates had coined a slogan derived from the Biblical teaching of : Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened.

The school has two deputy principals; Fredrick Odera who is in charge of academics and Claire Shiundu in the administration docket.

Senior teacher Everlyne Okee is also in charge of administration.

Catholic Diocese of Kakamega Bishop Rt. Rev Joseph Obanyi and principal of ‘Skybreakers’ 2021 candidates Pascal Olouch.

Form four class teachers adorned for the occasion.

8

EDUCATION NEWS

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

4 varsities to establish Shs 30 billion health training centre

By Fredrick Odiero

(Kakamega), James Ongwae (Kisii County), Anyang’ Nyong’o (Kisumu County) and Cornell Rasanga (Siaya County) signed the memorandum at Ciala Resort in Kisumu County.

Present during the signing of the MoU was Health PS Susan Mochache and Victor Nyagaya, the Chief Executive Officer of LREB. Health PS Mochache said that the health ministry acknowledges the commitment of the LREB counties and the universities involved.

Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) stakeholders and the vice chancellors of four universities in the country have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Centre of Excellence in Health Education and Training (CEHET) headquartered in Kisii University.

CEHET will be a regional hub for healthcare research and innovation and training of advanced level medical personnel for Kenya and other Eastern Africa countries.

Partner universities will collaborate to promote special health care and research in NonCommunicable Diseases (NCDs).

It will also deal with ailments such as Malaria, HIV /AIDS, sickle cell disease, mental health and substance abuse, community health infectious diseases and respiratory diseases.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) will pump Shs.30 billion into the project.

Susan Mochache, Vice Chancellors Professor PS for Health.

Isaac Kibwage (Egerton University), Professor John Akama “This project will be a catalyst (Kisii University), Prof. Julius Nyabundi (Maseno University) for transformative healthcare and Prof. Solomon Shibairo service delivery not only in the (Masinde Muliro University of Lake region but also the entire Science and Technology), together country. Through it, counties will with governors Wycliffe Oparanya offer better services and we will be

poised to offer medical tourism to our East African neighbours,” she said.

Governor Oparanya, the chairman of LREB, said the project will ensure sustained human resource development in the health sector, hence bringing sustainable service delivery.

“I applaud the collective efforts of everyone in initiating the Kenya UK Health Alliance (KUKHA) MoU and the leadership of Kisii County in the health pillar. I give our blessings as LREB and assure the team of our continued support,” he said.

Governor Ongwae, who is also the vice Chair of the Council of Governors, urged everyone to commit their energies into actualizing cooperation in establishing CEHET, sustainable and quality health service delivery

and UK institutions amongst them universities, teaching hospitals and research institutions collaborating on health. It also provides a platform for bilateral knowledge exchange and capacity improvement.

Kisii University has set aside 65 acres of land to house a hospital campus with a 1,000 bed capacity, L-R: Lake a comprehensive research centre, Region County theatres, laboratories and schools Governors Cornel Rasanga of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, (Siaya), Wycliffe biomedical sciences and nursing.

It will collaborate with the best Opranya hospitals and doctors in the world (Kakamega), as well as exchange students and PS Susan Mochache, Prof. lecturers and research protocols Anyang Nyong’o between Kenya and UK. Once the pilot has been (Kisumu) and James Ongwae successfully implemented, the programme will be rolled out (Kisii). in other counties to realize the as well as Universal Health Care agenda. knowledge exchange and research In July 2021, University of for mutual benefit.

Manchester Vice President Prof.

“This project will help stem Graham Lord, Dr Richard Cowan medical tourism to other countries of Christie Hospital, John Wareing and have a great impact on the local of the University of Manchester economy,” he said.

Foundation Trust, and Kenya’s Kisii VC Prof. Akama said High Commissioner to UK Manoah the project will be a game changer Esipisu signed the Kenya-UK in Western Kenya and the East Health Alliance (KUKHA) MoU. Africa region and that it will One main objective of KUKHA develop innovation and research in is to set up an oncology centre healthcare and improve quality of of excellence at the Kenyatta services offered in the region and be University Teaching, Research and a key pillar in Kenya’s realization of Referral Hospital.

Vision 2030.

“We shall work together to “We shall attract students develop a resilient and flexible from the whole of the East African multi-professional health workforce region,” he said. with strong inter professional The project is part of the Kenya working skills capable of dealing UK Health Alliance (KUKHA) with the rising incidences of Nonproject that was signed by Kenya Communicable Diseases. This will and the UK on July 29, 2020 in be a financially self-sufficient centre London. through recruitment of overseas KUKHA brings together Kenya students,” Prof Graham said.

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

ACK St John Manyala charts path to academic glory in 2021 KCSE exams

Principal Johnstone Barasa Wasari.

By Shichangi Richard

L

ocated in Butere C o n s t i t u e n c y, Kakamega County, ACK St John Manyala Secondary School is set to become a force to reckon with academically.

The county mixed day and boarding secondary school is sponsored by the Anglican Church of Kenya.

The school registered 166 candidates for this year’s KCSE exams, who have set a target of 6.00, up from last year’s mean of 4.18.

Speaking to Education News in his office, the school principal Mr

Johnston Barasa Wasari expressed optimism that the dedicated candidates will achieve their target.

He added that they have engaged the candidates in rigorous revision and group work to polish them for the exams.

“We are confident that these candidates will increase the number of quality grades and the number of those who directly join public universities from 11 in 2020 to 20 in 2021,” he pointed out.

He added that the school regularly invites motivational speakers who give inspiring tips to the students.

Director of Studies Mr Juma Nabangi.

He further explained that the teachers have finished the syllabus coverage and exposed the students to various exams as a way of preparing them well.

“Teachers are burning the midnight oil to engage the candidates at all times. They also supervise the students while they are in group discussions and help whenever they have any challenge,” he said.

He revealed that students are grouped based on their academic abilities, which has proved to be an effective approach in uplifting the slow learners since they receive the full attention of their teachers.

“Such strategies help the weak students to be at par with the rest,” he revealed.

The four stream school has a student population of over 700.

The principal revealed that he has improved the school’s infrastructure by putting up three classrooms to replace the iron sheet structures.

“I also established a modern ablution block in the school,” he said.

However, he said they still need four more classes to totally transition to concrete by replacing all iron sheet walls. They also need 24 more

modern toilets and a 100-capacity dormitory for each gender.

He observed that to improve on the students’ discipline, they had to strengthen the Guiding and Counseling Department.

“Our sponsor church is keen to

ensure that the students’ behaviour and discipline are under check. That has enabled us to, in line with our vision, produce good students,” he said.

The school head was categorical that he has had to minimize disrupting students’ time by sending them away for fees, but instead engaged with parents on ways to offset the balances.

Wasari thanked the Board of Management, Parents Association and all other stakeholders for their strong support for the school and ensuring it attained their desired grades.

Administration Block.

New classrooms under construction.

EDUCATION NEWS

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

9

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Chief Principal Mrs Penina Okech.

By Leonard Angatia

M

udavadi Girls’ High SchoolMadzuu is located in Vihiga County along Majengo- Luanda Highway.

The school is founded on strong Christian doctrine and is sponsored by the Salvation Army church.

The centre of excellence held a special prayer day for this year’s KCSE candidates who are prepared and determined to surpass the previous year’s performance.

Deputy Principal Administration Mrs Patricia Mutuba.

Deputy Principal Academics Mr Naftal Omukuba.

PA Chair Mrs Rhodah Watitwa, the first female in the school’s history to hold that position.

Mudavadi Girls - Madzuu on path to academic glory The school registered 208 candidates for 2021 KCSE who have set a target of 6.5, which they hope to achieve because of the rigorous learning, revisions and elaborate programmes initiated.

In 2020 KCSE, the school had a mean of 5.198 and sent 36 out of 211 students to public universities.

That was an improvement from the performance of 2019 where 26 students went to public universities when the school achieved a mean of 5.07.

Chief principal Penina Okech, who joined the school in 2021, has improved the school’s academic performance and its infrastructure.

She has increased student enrollment, changed diet and

BoM Chair Gordon Sudi.

Chief Guest Major Rosemary Matunde inspires students.

renovated all classrooms and the administration block with tiles.

She has also branded pens, planted educative trees along the main paths, and erected academic motivating signs. Additionally, all classes now have white boards and a wi-fi router for internet connectivity.

Besides academics, other facilities in the school bear the school logo and name for easier identification.

The school has a student population of 1086. It has 30 teachers employed by TSC and 15 employed by the BoM. Form one has 6 streams, form two and three have 5 streams each while form four has 4 streams.

The chief principal revealed that the students and teachers are highly motivated, making the school to be considered one of the best in the region.

“Students are rewarded for good performance through academic tours. The best speakers are invited regularly for motivational talks,” she said.

The chief principal expressed her desire to see the institution grow into a centre of excellence.

“I want to thank all stakeholders for supporting the school programmes. The teachers have been working tirelessly to bring out the best from these juniors. Our academic ladder is scalable and that should be commended,” Mrs Okech said.

She revealed that the students’ discipline is high and the girls are determined to do their best all round.

“I register my confidence and

Main entrance.

optimism in these candidates and for sure, we are going to do well,” assured Mrs Okech.

Chief speaker Major Rosemary Matunde from the Salvation Army encouraged candidates to remain focused and committed towards academic excellence.

“You should not panic because the exams are approaching. Let the battle remain for the Lord,”

Matunde encouraged the students.

She cautioned the candidates against exam malpractices which may taint the school image and hinder their progress.

The school has two deputy principals.

Patricia Mutuba is in charge of administration and Naftal Omukuba is in the academics docket.

Teaching staff on stage for a song to candidates.

Form four class teachers led by Mr Sande Gilbert (R), their coordinator.

School’s Administration block.

10

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

EDITORIAL TSC should embrace stakeholder consultations The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) first rolled out the Teachers Professional Development (TPD) programme in April 2018.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), under Secretary General Wilson Sossion, opposed the roll out of the programme.

In July 2019, the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) Judge Byrum Ongaya halted the roll out of the programme, arguing there was no regulation promulgated by TSC, and therefore its validity for implementation was questionable.

The court further noted that before rolling out the programme, there should be regulatory frameworks to govern TPD’s implementation and extensive consultations to validate the process.

In September 2021, TSC relaunched the programme. All the three teacher unions; KNUT, Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers (KUSNET) agreed to the roll out.

However, it wasn’t all rosy for TSC as the National Assembly, through the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education and Research, restrained the Commission from implementing it.

It argued that the Commission did not consult the teachers, relevant trade unions and other stakeholders as a constitutional requirement.

Both the National Assembly and the court ruling cited TSC's lack of consultation with its main stakeholders.

This implied that TSC acted exclusively with little or no regard for the views and opinions of other stakeholders in the education sector.

The Commission did not only fail to seek opinions for a balanced assessment, but also victimized those who publicly rejected the TPD programme.

In a counter-move to KNUT’s ELRC victory, TSC cracked the whip on KNUT. It stripped them of the promotions and pay raise they had bargained for and barred KNUT members from future promotions.

This led to a drastic drop in KNUT membership which eventually paralyzed its operations. The then Secretary General Wilson Sossion eventually resigned from its leadership.

The Commission also demonized teachers affiliated to the Kenya National Teachers Pressure Group (KNTPG) led by Ms. Martha Omollo, who publicly opposed the roll out of TPD. Many were transferred from their work stations to far flung counties.

Following closely in TSC’s crackdown, KUPPET also started targeting the Union’s branch officials who opposed the TPD programme.

Three branch officials Orwa Jasolo (Migori), Sabala Inyeni (Vihiga) and Robert Imiano (Laikipia) haven’t been paid their salaries since October 2021.

It is against this backdrop that TSC is advised to involve all stakeholders in its programmes before implementing them, not only as a prudent management practice but also as a constitutional mandate.

This is the expectation of all government agencies and departments.

Consultations will save the Commission face and alleviate unnecessary court battles.

The teachers' employer should stop harassing those who hold divergent views.

TSC can do better, it should do better.

Focus on 2014 top KCPE Schools - Pages

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OPINIONS & COMMENTARIES BASIC EDUCATION

How to optimize potential during the long school break

April holidays are here with us. In case there is no plausible plan, this break can be misused. A crucial moment is presenting for the penultimate classes as they await entry into KCPE and KCSE candidature, yet have a very short time as they balance three things at home: domestic chores, personal study time and leisure, besides the full tray of activities that are equally important and need to be accomplished as illustrated in the following ‘dos’.

• Bonding Holiday is the time to be close to parents and guardians. First of all, write a ‘Thank You’ note to express gratitude for the parental support received before helping them by attending to home chores. This will motivate them to do more when you report back in May. Be in good terms with your parents. The Bible commands children to honour their parents with a promise of a long life.

• Complete the assignments Making wise use of the holidays means that you don’t just take it as the break from rigmarole of academic work. Being a learner means that you spare more time for books than anything else.

• Compare notes with other learners During the holiday, make it a habit to compare notes with peers from other schools. Try to find out academic practices in their schools to push your own agenda to the peak. Let there be positive peer influence, with a special focus on learning literacy habits and hobbies, routines and rituals.

• Engage in edutainment Entertainment is quite important. Things that make people laugh leave them in good moods. However, young people should choose edutainment where entertainment is educative and informative. Young people should choose music and movies that build character and enhance mental strength.

Victor Ochieng Watching things like pornography is dangerous. It will fuel and fan sexual urge, leading to aberrant sexual behaviour.

• Make wise use of media If you can access a phone, use it wisely.

You can receive or read useful materials on WhatsApp. You can attend lessons through zoom and Google Meet. Also, you can follow informative programmes aired on educative TV channels like KUtv. Wise use of media also means that you use special sites like YouTube to watch phenomenal speeches and didactic documentaries. You can find time to watch news during prime time. It is the best way to add glamour to your grammar.

• Read widely You should create ample time to read your notes, core course books, story books, class readers, KCSE set texts, selfhelp books, newspapers and magazines.

Reading avidly will make you grasp the syllabus content and develop massive skills of mastery and memory. It will also prop up your levels of confidence and communication. Through reading, you become a better writer of imaginative compositions. Books boosts ingenuity and creativity, improve attention and

concentration spans, reduce stress, expand the brain, and expose you to the world.

• Participate in church activities Purpose-driven churches organise mentorship programmes like workshops, seminars, conferences and camps. It is important to attend such meetings and learn.

Attend church services and fellowships to enhance your spiritual welfare. Participate in church charitable programmes and learn to be kind and empathetic. Just like at home, volunteer to clean the church and it will not go unrewarded.

• Learn more about careers Read books and follow programmes that provide useful information about careers and future world of work. Consult career counsellors. Learn about careers by exposing yourself to work. Visit places where what you would want to do in future is done.

• Unleash your full potential Talents and gifts are innate. Use the holidays to discover and nurture your talent.

Talents, gifts and skills are important because life requires a colourful cocktail of abilities.

Good gifts given by God help people serve both divinity and humanity. Acquisition of skills makes people to be both intelligent and relevant.

• Learn from right role models and mentors Sometimes, young people mess and miss the mark because of wrong choice of role models and mentors. Life is a journey, not a destination. Therefore, if you want to know the way, ask those who are coming back from a journey.

The writer runs mentorship, coaching and counselling programmes for teens and youths with focus on English lessons, career choices and life skills. vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232

Dear readers: Kindly send your observations or views on topical education matters to news@educationnews. co.ke. Note that the Editor reserves right to edit your articles for purposes of clarity and precision.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

11

OPINION

BASIC EDUCATION

Understanding the syllabus should be the focus of schools, not exams

H

ardly a term before getting admitted to Form Five in 1983, several form three students approached me to help them answer past examination papers in literature. The questions were on Chinua Achebe’s novel No Longer At Ease which had been a set book in the 1970s under the East African Certificate of Education (EACE), then administered by the then East African Examinations Council (EAEC).

I had sat for the set book in 1982 under the three year old Kenya Certificate of Education (KCE) administered by the equally relatively new Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC). So I looked at the questions and tried answering them.

KNEC first administered national examinations in 1980 after the collapse of the East African Community in 1977— and with it, all the specialized institutions under it like EACE. I was surprised to find out that No Longer At Ease was once a set book. As students in the 80s, we didn’t bother about past examination papers.

Educational policy, curricular and standards stipulates that the focus of students and the school system in particular, should be on curriculum content, what educational authorities want the children to learn and experience, with or without examinations.

While exams are part and parcel of the curriculum, they are not the reason schools exist.

Schools exist to teach content, the what, of education. It is the teaching of content that provides students with the opportunities to develop to the best of their individual abilities, the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to function in whatever capacities, as an individual—as learners, employees or employers, citizens or family members. These imperatives are contained in the educational policy and standards, both national and international.

Exams were implemented into

Kennedy Buhere curriculum planning because of its evaluative function. Exams assess how well, how deep and how much children have learned.

It follows that students’ focus on examinations—past or speculative— miss the whole point of education and schooling in particular. It is tragic when teachers yield to the seductions of the examination questions syndrome.

Teachers worth their salt don’t get distracted by examinations questions, whatever the (material) rewards. They focus on exposing learners to the syllabus.

Anne Ngatia, KNEC CompetencyBased Assessment (CBA) Coordinator says that the focus of the students and the teachers should be primarily understating the concepts in the prescribed curriculum.

“Interest in the examination questions should be after understanding the concepts,” Ngatia says. She notes that the interest should be to understand the different ways questions are set in respect to the concepts they have learned.

Examinations are not an end in themselves; they are a means to an end. They assess the understanding and acquisition of knowledge in the taught curriculum and its application or utilization to solve problems—real and simulated.

They are based on knowledge, skills and other capabilities a syllabus embodies.

Important as they are to an education system, examinations support effective teaching and learning of the curriculum.

They are not the curriculum.

Undue interest in examination papers—past or speculative—at the school level, is that it leads to what experts in educational assessment call item-teaching as opposed to curriculum teaching.

In item-teaching, instruction and learning is organized either around the actual items found on a test or around a set of look-alike items.

According to W. James Popham, professor emeritus at University of California Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and a recognized expert on educational assessment, curriculum-teaching-cum-learning requires teachers and learners to direct their instruction and learning towards a specific body of content knowledge or a specific set of cognitive skills embodied in the syllabus.

Evidently, focus on teaching the syllabus without the distraction of examination questions exposes students to the depth and breadth of knowledge and skills learners need to develop; the analytical, creative and problem solving skills.

It is this body of knowledge, skills and attitudes are cultivated, which properly prepare them for national examinations and for further education, training, work and life in general.

All the categories of learners—the bright, the average and the slow—need sufficient exposure to the syllabus.

Examination questions test a fraction of the knowledge, skills and capabilities that an education system seeks to nurture in children.

Mr James Indimuli, an Assistant Director of Quality and Standards Assurance in the Ministry of Education, says that syllabus is designed in such a manner that students move from the simple to the complex and from the known to unknown concepts.

“Once you teach children in the right manner, they learn what ought to be learned,” he says, adding that learning the concepts in the curriculum is through small doses, divided into lessons, as learning progresses.

Through this, every learner benefits.

They complete an educational cycle having mastered the knowledge, skills and other capabilities society expects them to master through schooling.

Schools exist to enable children to learn something society has found crucial to the lives of the children and the survival of the nation. They don’t exist to teach children examination taking or spotting tricks.

It’s for this reason that the curriculum content should dominate the waking hours of learners.

It is for this reason, too, that the subject matter should dominate the same hours of learners in schools and not examinations questions—whether past or contrived. Examinations should come in at reasonable intervals of the children’s learning experience, to test how well they are learning and make appropriate corrections when test results reveal gaps in knowledge and skills gained in learning.

A proper curriculum is a continuum.

Our curriculum has rigors and coherence and is solid. Examinations are part and parcel of the curriculum. However important they are, they should not take the lion’s share of the time allocated to learn and complete the syllabus.

Excessive interaction with the examination questions in the light of the foregoing is a total waste of precious time that ought to be spent on either teaching or learning. That’s why students and teachers should shun examination questions which currently litter the streets of Nairobi under the banner of leading national schools.

They are misleading and they distract learners and teachers from the real meat of education: the curriculum, the syllabus.

Kennedy Buhere is a Communications Officer, Ministry of Education. kbuhere@education.go.ke

BASIC EDUCATION

The importance of the right subject selection in high school

A

s a career guidance professional, I meet a lot of students, teachers, parents and many education stakeholders for sector discussions depending on their relevant needs.

Some time back, a student came to my office with his mother to seek guidance.

Apparently, this young man was adamant about taking a course in medicine yet he had dropped Biology in Form 2.

The young man was now insisting on taking a foundation course, going to A-levels and taking Biology or repeating Form 3 but learn only Biology!

I pitied the boy since none of his options could work.

For starters, foundation courses are a bridge to universities abroad preparing one for a course they are eligible for.

Two, one cannot take a science course in A-levels without a foundation in earlier classes, and three, in our current education system, you cannot repeat a class and only take one subject.

In the end, the young man understood the importance of subject selection in high school and their link to the courses or careers one wants to undertake.

At the end of Form 1 or 2, many

Margaret Waithaka students are often unsure of what subjects they should choose.

Should they focus on the subjects they enjoy, or those they are told will lead to the best jobs?

Should they consider all sciences, technicals or humanities or spread their bets across all?

Furthermore, they wonder whether the subjects they study at school really have a bearing on their lives later on.

Subject selection and choice helps students establish the right subjects for

them.

It is not only a mandatory exercise set by the Ministry of Education, curriculum developers and other educational bodies, but it’s also important for all students.

Subject selection supports students’ studies in Form 3-4, confirms their interests and abilities, boosts their career goals and aspirations and guides them on grading and certification at the end of secondary school.

Unfortunately, many students, teachers and schools struggle on how to navigate this exercise either due to lack of information on its importance, insufficient skills and resources on how to make choices or poor understanding of subjects offered in the curriculum.

They also have poor linkages between the subjects taught in the classrooms and the world of work.

Plus, many teachers charged with the responsibility of being in charge of the career offices have insufficient skills and knowledge about the exercise.

What about parental and peer influence? This is a topic that can fill lakes of pages. A student, who was really struggling in History and Business told me that she chose the subjects because

all her friends had chosen them, while the subjects she loved had the most boring people.

Another student told me that the father made her drop Geography because he hated Geography while in school.

Her confession made me wonder who exactly between the child and the father was taking the subject at the moment.

But there is hope! To help students respond to these worries, College of Career Guidance has developed Step-bystep Guidelines on Subject Selection and Choices Toolkit that are beneficial to all Form 2 students in secondary schools.

Benchmarked on the best practices of subject selection and choices procedures, these guidelines impart skills to help each student make informed subject choices irrespective of the category of school.

The toolkit offers the students the ability to advocate for their interests, passions, and aspirations, and understand subjects offered in secondary schools. It also affords them the chance to evaluate and make informed choices based on laid guidelines and criteria.

This toolkit is a must have for every school.

The author is the Director of Administration & Marketing in College of Career Guidance and Development.

For more information visit www. careerguidancecollege.com or write to maggie@careerguidancecollege.co.ke.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

12 FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

St. Josephs Academy Kakamega targets higher mean grade

Candidates in a photo session after prayers.

By Shichangi Richard

S

t. Joseph Academy in Kakamega is aiming to fly high with a set target of 386 marks and hoping to have more than 20 pupils score above 400 marks.

The school founded on strong catholic principles and values recently held a prayer day for the candidates, dedicating them to God in preparation for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations.

The 54 candidates were dedicated before the Lord by Father Vincent Ngata who urged them to remain steadfast in prayers as God is able to deliver them victory during the examinations.

The priest challenged parents to provide a conducive environment for the pupils by making sure that are provided with the necessary items for the examinations. He further called on them to avoid involving candidates in other activities that may divert their attention during the period.

Parents were also told to pray for their sons and daughters

ECDE centre S’ ER AD E R

Y SA

throughout the examinations period and even afterwards to enhance their spiritual welfare as the institution was founded on strong christian foundations.

Speaking Tuition block. to the parents during the occasion, the head been tracking the performance teacher Mr. Josephat Luseka of its students and realized that told the candidates to remain they compete favourably with confident as their teachers had others when they proceeded to prepared them adequately, secondary school.

The Parents’ Associations noting that teachers had taken them through several tests whose Chairperson Mrs. Beatrice results were a forecast of good Mbovi said the school prides performance in the final exams. itself in nurturing a crop of the He expressed confidence that the most disciplined students in candidates were going to hit the the area. This she attributed 386 mean mark target which will to the having being nurtured be an improvement from their by the strong Catholic values inculcated. She remarked that the previous 370.

The school BoM Chairperson 2021 class had done exemplary Mrs. Roselanda Atwoli, while work and were therefore for the making her remarks said St. exams.

Present at the Prayer Day Joseph Academy Kakamega was known for producing holistic was the Class Representative students prepared for the next Mrs. Christine Obingo and her challenges in life and education. Deputy Mr. Eric Osundwa, She revealed that the school has among other guests.

School gate

FEEDBACK COLUMN

On all Class Eight pupils transiting to Form One

Emmanuel Mbuvi: I'm convinced everyone has a right to basic education, but my concernisthattheministryshouldstrikeabalance.100%transitiontosecondaryschool and tertiary colleges is good, but create jobs for them. We need a balance in this life.

Alaaah!

CharlesGregory:100%transitionshouldtakeplaceacrossboardfromnationalorSubcounty school. Wapeleke hawa wa 90-199 marks to those national schools.

Fears of bandit attacks during exams in Baringo

Collins Akeyo: I pray for protection over the lives of these young Kenyans.

Challenging but doable, they will do their exams and pass.

New strategy to guide varsity students in responsible living

Vice chancellors of two Kenyan universities have advised colleges in the country to join a United Nations programme that aims at boosting the health and well-being of students.

The initiative will make them ready to become wholesome and more useful members of the community after graduation.

The University of Nairobi (UoN) and Mount Kenya University (MKU) are spearheading the implementation of the ‘Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future’ (O3 Plus) programme.

It is aimed at ensuring that young people in higher and tertiary education institutions in the Eastern and Southern Africa realize positive health through education and gender equality outcomes and sustained reductions in new HIV infections, unintended pregnancy

Plus.

MKU Vice Chancellor Prof. Deogratius Jaganyi said immense achievement had been recorded at MKU Main Campus, Thika, through the O3 Plus programme.

“The university has over time established a very strong partnership with the neighbouring community through various types of agreements for the good of our students, ” he said.

MKU has partnered with Thika High School to develop a sports facility on a 10-acre piece of land.

“Through this partnership, our students have immensely benefitted through sports chaplaincy, which is open to all students at this campus,” he said.

MKU co-founder Dr Jane Nyutu welcomed more community-based stakeholders to enroll in O3 Plus activities, given the close relationships

Participants in the 03 Plus walk.

Banner-waving 03 Plus procession.

and gender-based violence.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Regional Director Prof.

Hubert Gijzen said the programme is being implemented in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and is hoped to enable young people reach their full educational potential and contribute more effectively to the development of their countries and regions as graduates, professionals and young leaders.

MKU and UON, being the pilot universities in Kenya, have already covered sufficient ground in the implementation of initial project activities. Speaking during a 5.7-kilometre awareness walk organised by MKU, UoN and UNESCO recently, UoN Vice Chancellor Prof Stephen Gitahi Kiama said the government should do everything to help students concentrate on studying.

Prof Kiama said that UON will continue to partner with institutions of higher learning to implement the O3

between MKU management, students and their neighbours.

“Since the students are strongly influenced by the neighbourhood, the decision to include the community in this event and other similar events is well advised,” she said.

Dr Nyutu said a study that was completed in 2020 on effectiveness of counselling services at Kenyan universities found that despite the availability, only a few students benefited due to negativity relating to peer influence.

“It is indeed true that even when students know they need counselling support, many do not go for this help.

The 03 Plus project, using the various strategies including digital platforms, has given hope for many students across the continent,” she said.

The chief guest Prof David Serem, who is also the chairman of the Mount Kenya University Council, said institutions of higher learning are home to a large number of youth who are energetic and sexually active.

By James Wakahiu

Members of Parliament shooting down TPD Maina Mugambi: The teacher training should be domiciled in the MoE and should notlast30yrs.TSCshouldconcentratemoreonitscoremandateofHR.Anyemerging educationtrendsshouldbeafunctionoftheCSofEducation.TSC'sapproachtoteachers has been punitive and retributive.

David Okwemba: Kudos MPs Omboko Milemba and Sossion for fighting through Parliament for the helpless Kenyan teachers. Next should be AON minet; it MUST go.

VincentKimjr:Greatnews,morethankstothealmightyforspeakingthroughourMPson the fate of a Kenyan teacher. Imagine studying for 30 years!

Akeyo Erima: They should also lookintodiplomaupgradingformostofusP1 graduates whostruggledtopaycollegefeesandhavebeenwaitingforemploymentforover5years, only to be told to go back to school. It's hard.

Geoffrey Serede Sikolia: Wrong move. Most of those jokers have their kids in high end private schools. Professional development is the way to go. They only needed to provide for it in the budget. If a teacher qualified in 1980, try imagining what such a teacher is doing in class. So much has changed.

Dear readers: Kindly send your observations or views on topical education matters to editor@educationnews.co.ke. Note that the Editor reserves right to edit your articles for purposes of clarity and precision.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

13

Education News FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Mukameni Mixed conducts high stakes elections under IEBC supervision

By Lydia Ngoolo

S

t. Thomas Aquinas Mukameni Mixed Day and Boarding Secondary School has become the second school in Makueni County (first in Kibwezi West Constituency) to hold students’ council elections fully conducted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission-IEBC. Presiding over the elections, Kibwezi West Constituency Returning Officer Maureen Oyaro called upon school heads to follow suit and take up the free service, which was part of their corporate social responsibility.

“Call us and we will be in your school. We do it free of charge. We conduct students’ elections following all the requisite procedures just like in the civic elections,” said Oyaro.

She observed that the Commission offers civic education prior to the elections for students to own the process.

The school principal Stephen Matheka, who doubles as Makindu Sub-county KESSHA chairman, said Mukameni was the second high school after Makueni Boys to have its students’ council elections conducted by IEBC. He urged other principals to try IEBC so that children could learn early important lessons on elections, bearing in mind that in any contest

School Principal Stephen Matheka. there must be a winner and a loser; a fact that boosts acceptance of results and moving on peacefully.

He added that elected students will help put up a good government with functional leadership. The form fours were used as agents, polling and counting clerks, security officers, and any other designation as they were not voting.

“See, the students were very happy during and after the elections.

They identify with their leaders as opposed to leaders being imposed on them. This is the way to go,”an elated Matheka said.

IEBC Returning Officer Maureen Oyaro presenting election certificate to the new Student Council leader. Looking on is the school principal.

He added that students were given two weeks to campaign, but only during their free time. They were guided by their manifestos not to promise things they could not actualize. For good measure, the school gave them the necessary support to direct their campaigns along practical issues.

He observed that the nine elective seats were very competitive because the prefects got different types of uniform and they were sponsored to attend shows fully funded by the school.

The highly competitive positions were that of school Headboy and Headgirl, where Wafula Boniface garnered 353 votes against Meshack Mwaka’s 75 votes to beat him to the male post.

There was a close call for headgirl position with Evalyne Wandii Kyalo garnering 196 votes against Mutanu Michael‘s 191.

Esther Njeri secured 23 votes.

“We are not enemies in Students’ Council. Please give us ample time to serve you and study as well. We want to build the school and move it to the next level,” the newly elected Head Boy said.

The principal’s core value is to always lead the institution democratically, which has resulted in improvement in the national exams since he joined the school in 2016 and found a population of 420.

The school has since grown to a population of 706 students.

They were at a mean grade of 4.0 from

The principal (Left) with Kibwezi West Constituency Returning Officer Maureen Oyaro.

leadership has placed the school in a better position. There is student public participation and I always sit with my teachers when making decisions,” Matheka said.

The school has a supportive BoM which has drafted a 5-year Strategic Plan. 5 streams will soon be registered starting in the current form two. There are 17 TSC and 7 BoM teachers,

The vote tallying process.

Students line up to vote.

95 candidates in 2019. In 2020, the school had a candidature of 124 and a mean grade of 4.6, where 16 of them qualified to join university.

The school has 169 candidates for 2021 KCSE aiming at a mean score of 5.0.

When he came to the school, Matheka erected a school gate, put up barbed-wire fence around the compound, and started a boarding wing for both gender with a capacity of 200 each.

“It becomes a major challenge when admitting students since they all want to join this school.

Democratic approaches to

The principal (Right) with the Kibwezi IEBC official.

anchored by 11 support staff.

Plans are underway to construct a major laboratory and expand infrastructure since the school stands on a 20-acre piece of land.

Among the challenges is saline water, forcing them to buy drinking water which is expensive. They are planning to invest more on water harvesting to cut down such costs.

Deputy principal Timothy Muthusi asked students to keep up discipline standards, appreciating that they had never had serious discipline issues.

One of the students elected into leadership being carried shoulder high after the announcement of results.

CENTRAL - KIAMBU

Njomo roots for day schools to benefit locals

By Felix Wanderi Kiambu Member of Parliament Jude Njomo has said the quota system of education gave local students less chance to join good high schools within the constituency.

Speaking at St Peters Secondary School in Ndumberi when he disbursed bursary funds amounting to Sh.32 million, he said that only 20 percent of students from Kiambu got a chance to join good regional high schools, yet those schools were built by Kiambu people.

Njomo said that when he was elected as the Kiambu MP in 2013,

Jude Njomo with pupils of different schools drawn from Kiambu Constituency during the opening of a swimming pool built at St. Peters High School Ndumberi by the NGCDF.

the transition rate was at 48 percent, with most students admitted to schools in Kiambu coming from different counties.

“We started building modern day schools so that we find a safe place for our children to learn closer to their homes,” said Njomo.

The legislator said that the schools will remain to be day schools and are in agreement with the school boards that the schools should remain so.

“We should never convert our schools to boarding schools because we shall be opening up to other people who are not building schools in their constituencies. We are building these schools for students

from Kiambu constituency,” said Njomo.

He said that after building the day schools, the transition rate rose to 95 percent and will not relent in advocating for day schools.

Njomo warned that day schools that will be converted to boarding schools will not get any funding from the NG-CDF. “We have renovated all the schools in the constituency, built basketball and football pitches, and constructed recreational amenities.

Our children must get first priority inside the schools we have built and rehabilitated,” said Njomo.

He said he will be looking for well-wishers who can help fund the school food programme so that the students can be in school at all time.

14

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Eshikulu Boys sets eyes on higher academic performance

(Left-Right) Principal James Omayio, A.C.K Archbishop RT Rv. Jackson Ole-Sapit, Eshikulu Girls Principal Josephine Mwavali and Maseno North Diocese Bishop Charles Asilitwa.

By Leonard Angatia

E

shikulu Boys High School is an ACKsponsored (Anglican Church of Kenya) school located in Likuyani Subcounty, Kakamega County.

The school recently held a prayer day ceremony which was graced by the ACK Archbishop the Rt Rev Jackson Ole Sapit.

The archbishop committed the candidates before God and wished them well as they prepare for their KCSE exams.

The school is ranked the best among the ACK-sponsored schools in ACK Maseno North Diocese.

The 5-stream boys school

has a student population of 760.

It has 26 teachers employed by TSC and 6 contracted by the BoM. The school’s principal James Omayio joined the school in

Mr Emmanuel Karioki, Deputy Principal.

January 2021. He revealed that the school is poised for greater achievements based on the harmonized new programmes put in place.

He revealed that in 2020 KCSE, the school had a mean of 6.27, having risen from 5.08 in 2019.

37 out of 91 candidates

Candidates in a prayer mood.

joined public universities under makes us believe that we will the government sponsorship produce impressive results,” he programme. explained.

The good performance saw The school benchmarks with the school ranked the most other top performing schools improved in the sub-county and across the country especially in position two in the county.

Mathematics.

“We have registered 146 The principal revealed that candidates for this year’s KCSE he has improved the school’s exams. They have a set target of infrastructure by constructing a 7.5,” Omayio said.

300 capacity dormitory, a gate, He added that the students are drilled a borehole and fenced the allowed to revise on their own school. and that by so doing, their sense of selfactualization improves.

Omaiyo said that the teachers are committed to bring out the best out of the hardworking and disciplined students.

“We have managed our time well by covering the syllabus on time. We have had teacher-to-student consultations and that The newly constructed gate.

Teachers keenly follow the Archbishop’s sermon.

CENTRAL - KIAMBU

PVC billboard banners recycled to trendy school bags for Kiambaa pupils

By Felix wanderi A Kiambu County Assembly member has partnered with outdoor advertising companies in turning waste PVC billboard banners into funky, functional and fashionable school bags.

Solomon Kinuthia, MCA Ndenderu Ward while donating 1,200 bags to various schools, said he saw the biodegradable billboard canvas could be put to good use rather than go to waste.

“Incorporating recycling as part of every sustainable waste management system is a key to improving the lives of people. Reuse is key to increasing the lifespan of the things we use. By recycling the waste, we eventually close the loop in a circular economic model,” said Kinuthia.

In line with the country’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Kinuthia said the country had invested in both policy and law enforcement to win the fight against plastic pollution and a sea of economic opportunities has been

Children display their colourful bags made from recycled advertising banners. created through recycling.

Kinuthia said that he approached different outdoor advertising companies in making the project a reality and was able to engage interested companies such as Magnate Ventures Ltd, Kimshee Outfitters , Kenagro Suppliers Ltd amongst other friends.

“The school bags are made from repurposed billboard canvas donated by a leading Kenyan Outdoor Advertising Company,” said Kinuthia.

Kinuthia added that he met the cost of tailoring and fitting while targeting pupils from vulnerable households within Upper Kihara, Wangunyu, Karura ACK, Ndenderu, Muya and Gacharage Primary schools.

“The bags are a durable material, strong, water resistant, tough and lightweight. The pupils are excited at their attractive colour.

These qualities will ensure the bags serve the recipients for a relatively long time,” said Kinuthia.

According to one headteacher, the idea behind it is perfect and it will be a constant reminder of how we need to be sustainable for future generations.

“It’s been wonderful to see the delighted smiles it has brought to the students. It’s very satisfying to see our students carrying their own bespoke bags and we appreciate the story behind it,” said John Ole Seita, headteacher Wangunyu Primary School.

The outdoor advertising

companies said it was gratifying to see that their advertising canvasses had been re-used in a creative way that could enhance the school experience for so many children.

“The idea is a noble initiative where recycling and sustainability cannot be ignored and we join in saying ‘No’ to waste and ‘Yes’ to helping the less privileged,” said Stanley Kinyanjui, Managing Director Magnate Ventures.

Gregory Kamau, a parent, said that due to the weight of books carried by his child, he buys school bags every new term but the recycled canvass is strong and durable.

“Sometimes an idea can save humanity and community.

The invention is not only environmentally conscious but also money saving,” said Kamau.

George Gitau, Managing Director Kimshee Outfitters, said the PVC banners take years to decompose and through publicprivate partnerships, a solution to put them into good use can be found.

“Advertising banners can be given a second chance by recycling them into wonderful items and at the same time conserving our environment,”said Gitau.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

15

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Mrs Stella Chebet, Principal.

By Dennis Bett

A

.I.C Chepkemel Secondary school based in Mosop Constituency, Nandi North Sub-county in Nandi County has put in place an elaborate plan which will ensure that the school produces improved results in the forthcoming KCSE examinations, as well as improve its infrastructure to enhance learning.

The school recently held a colourful Prayer-cumThanksgiving Day which saw the feting of the Board of Management led by Dr Alfred Serem for the good work they had done in improving the school’s welfare for the past

Mr Julius Rono, Deputy Principal.

Dr Alfred Serem, BoM Chair.

Mr Paul Tanui, PA Chairman.

Mr Elly Kurgat, Director of Studies.

AIC Chepkemel Sec charts path to academic improvement, gets infrastructural facelift fourteen years.

The event was presided over

by Rev Nelson Maiyo, who urged parents to embrace education as the key to success.

He also urged the students to work hard and be prayerful so that they can achieve success.

Speaking during the event, the principal Mrs Stella Chebet said the school has made great strides in infrastructural development and that they were now focused on improving the school’s academic The school teaching staff. performance through coordination between all the stakeholders.

She added that the school set target is 5.2 in 2021 KCSE examinations. This can be achieved through constant revision and proper discpline.

“We have embraced team teaching and early syllabus coverage,” she said, adding that they were targeting to send a number of students to the university and The form four students in a procession. other tertiary institutions.

From Left to Right: BoM Chair Dr Alfred Mrs Chebet thanked the Serem, Principal Mrs Stella Chebet, teaching and the support staff for their dedication and sacrifice for motivational speaker Mr Melly and Deputy BoM chair Mr Alex Gipnyigei. learner’s welfare She observed that the students were disciplined, thanks to her school disciplinary team and the strong Chaplaincy led by Mr Julius Rono and Rev Titus Tallam respectively. She thanked the guidance and counseling team for its role in moulding the character of the learners.

The BoM chairman Dr Alfred Serem She said the students were introducing his Board team. confident with a high sense of selfesteem instilled by the motivational The clergy leading the form four students in speakers.

“As a school, we are heading prayer. in the right direction. So far, we have 476 students and modern a bus so as to make transport a capacity of 200 students, infrastructural facilities. We are of students easy and convenient toilets, a water system and targeting a population of over 600 as they take academic and co- a septic tank. Plans are also underway to construct students in the next two years to curricular trips.

The PA chairman Mr Paul Tanui staff quarters, a dining hall help in 100 percent transition policy.

The board has been supportive lauded the principal for managing and a library. The Board The administration block. and has lobbied for infrastructural the school well and urged parents to is confident the school funds to help the school grow,” the be close to their children, as well as has now reached a stage pay fees in time. where they can address the principal said. boarding and scholarship She added that they aim to BoM Report needs of students from produce all round students who can AIC Chepkemel Secondary any part of the country. shine in all spheres of life.

The BoM chairman Dr Alfred School was started in 2001 by the With these achievements, Serem revealed that the improved community, with the AIC church the school is now ready improvement in infrastructure entailing the taking the lead. At that time there for administration block, classes and were no secondary schools in the performance, and so New classrooms. laboratories were funded by the area and many students who had parents are asked to take Ministry of Education and NG- completed primary school never their children to the school proceeded to secondary school. In as a solid educational CDF. Additionally, a science the initial stages, the school was a foundation is guarateed laboratory and a dormitory were mixed day school and in due course, that will propel them to recently constructed at a cost Shs.7 boarding facilities were introduced. the future. The community, million through the help of area MP The Board, marshalled by Dr. AIC church, area MP Alfred Serem, spearheaded the Vincent Tuwei, TSC and Hon Vincent Tuwei.

Dr. Serem called upon the NG- construction of an administration Ministry of Education are CDF to help the school purchase block, six class rooms, two all appreciaed for their laboratories, two dormitories with support.

Newly completed dormitory.

16

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

12,000 teachers who missed old CBA benefits paid The arrears were to be cleared in two phases with the first phase reflecting Phase Four (2020) of 2017 - 2021 CBA.

ed to C1, were awarded a salary increment of between Shs.65,316 to Shs.81,588 in arrears as per 12,000 teachers who are Phase Four of the CBA. KNUT members, and who are Those at the highest grade among the 16,342 teachers who (D1) are expected to receive bemissed out on the 2017-2021 tween Shs.186,816 on the miniCollective Bargaining Agreemum and Shs.247,656 maximum ment (CBA), have been paid in arrears (See table for more part of the arrears of the previous details).

CBA they missed out on.

Oyuu addressed delocalizaSpeaking during KNUT’s tion and urged affected couples Special Delegates Conference to reach out to the Union for sup(SDC) on February 19, 2022 at port in bringing them together Moi International Sports Centre since the 2021-2025 CBA outKasarani, KNUT Secretary Genlawed separation. eral Collins Oyuu affirmed that “TSC has the mandate to they were working on ensuring transfer teachers. However, that the remaining 4,342 teachwhere teachers have come up ers who had not been paid are A section of Murang’a teachers going through CBC training with genuine reasons for their settled within the shortest time booklets during a recent training. Some tutors who missed out on enhanced salaries from 2017-2021 CBA have transfers to be rescinded, we possible. received arrears. Photo/Kage Njoroge have intervened and “We have already they have been assisted. embarked on the process of ensuring Minimum and Maximum salary arreas for phase four of the CBA Teachers in similar situations whose appeals that all our teachhave not been addressed ers who missed out Grades Category Phase Four of 2017-2021 CBA Arrears for 1 should forward the same on the third and year(12 months) through their branch fourth phases of the Min (Ksh) Total Max (Ksh) Total executive secretaries,” said CBA due to (Ksh) (Ksh) Oyuu advised. the misunderstandB5-C1 Primary Teacher II5,443 65,316 6,799 81,588 According to Oyuu, ing that ensued are Primary Teacher I KNUT is getting slots of paid forthwith,” said C1-C2 Primary Teacher I-Senior 7,760 93,120 9,700 116,400 membership in various Oyuu.

Teacher II Kenya Institute of CurThrough an C2-C3 Senior Teacher II8,199 98,388 10,249 122,988 riculum Development agreement between Deputy Headtecher II (KICD) Committees, Teachers Service C3-C4 Deputy Headteacher II9,154 109,848 1,661 19,932 which formulate policies Commission(TSC) Deputy Headteacher I that manage and run the and KNUT in 2021 C4-C5 Deputy Headteacher I9,964 119,568 9,027 108,324 education sector in the when Oyuu took Headtecher country. over the union’s C5-D1 Headtecher –Senior 15,568 186,816 20,638 247,656 He observed that the leadership, the over Headteacher union had lost such slots 16,000 teachers who in the past due to poor stuck with the union ing of the payments that had been in an effort to settle the arrears of leadership, hence the curwhen it was going through difficulties were to be the genesis of bad blood between the affected teachers. The 2017- rent situation proved there was a 2021 CBA was worth Shs.54 bil- cordial, mutual and dependable paid their arrears backdated to the two institutions.

In one of the interviews with lion. relationship between the union the two years they missed out on Education News last year, Oyuu As a result of the Commis- and the Ministry of Education. the previous CBA. In line with the 2021—2025 The signing of the new 2021- confirmed that the affected teach- sion’s decision, teachers are to 2025 CBA in July 2021, which ers who missed out on phase take home between Shs.81,588 CBA, Oyuu noted that they had required the union to review its three and four of the previous to Shs.247,656 in arrears, de- signed it well aware that the Salaage-old 1968 Recognition Agree- CBA were drawn from Grade C1 pending on the teacher’s salary ries and Remunerations Commispoints. sion (SRC) had stopped salary ment, seems to have thawed re- to D1.

In August 2021, TSC started For instance, teachers at increments based on CBAs in lations between the union and TSC, culminating in the unlock- clearing and paying arrears of Grade B5 as at July 1, 2018, and the public sector for two years. phase four of the previous CBA who were supposed to be promotBy Roy Hezron

He also pointed out that they had agreed that the CBA was a live document and that they would review it after one financial year; that is, by July 2023.

“Parliament put aside this advice by SRC and the Legal Notice was withdrawn. The Government has since allocated some money to TSC for salary increment. We have written to TSC for a meeting so that we can revisit the salary issue in the CBA for the coming financial year. We are optimistic that we will successfully negotiate this as no CBA should end without salaries,” said Oyuu.

During the conference, elections for positions that were left vacant following the demise of the Union’s National Treasurer Ali Abdi Hussein were conducted. Kennedy Ondieki Nyamwanda and Sheikh Kullow Mohammed were elected unopposed as the Deputy National Treasurer and Assistant National Treasurer respectively.

Nur Mohammed Bardad, Wajir Branch Executive Secretary, was elected NEC member to replace Mr Kullow from North Eastern region.

The matter of bad relationships between KNUT and TSC began in 2019, when TSC for the first time, prepared two payrolls for teachers. Teachers who did not belong to KNUT were factored in the implementation of phase three of the CBA which fell due on July 1, 2019 and their July pay slips reflected the pay rise as per the CBA. The payroll for KNUT members did not factor in Phase 3 of the CBA because the Court ordered that their terms be based on the Schemes of Service and not Career Progression Guidelines (CPG), which to a large extent affected some 103,624 teachers who included school heads and their deputies, and senior teachers.

As a result of the court ruling, KNUT members lost all the benefits embedded in CPG as an implementation tool for the CBA. In addition, reversal of grades and full recovery of the previously enhanced salaries and allowances since July 1, 2017 was effected by the Commission.

In search of a share of promotions and pay raise, teachers started to move out of KNUT.

KNUT defends review of retirement age for officials

By Education News Reporter

Collins Oyuu, KNUT Secretary General

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has defended its recent move to push the retirement age of its national and branch officials from 60 to 65 years.

KNUT argued that the problem of the union and which is work in progress is in the other 13 items of the resolutions as captured in the Secretary General Collins Oyuu’s report.

The issues include the 20172021 CBA, 2021-2025 CBA, delocalization, promotions, transfer of teachers, TPD and KNUT position, TSC wellness and gender concerns, the relationship between

KNUT, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour, membership recruitment drive, branch by-elections and school representative’s elections, internal matters, minimal constitutional amendments and relations with the Labour Centre and teacher associations.

The minimal constitutional amendments and the raising of retirement age from 60 to 65 years are other crucial issues.

“The elephant in the room is not age. We repeat that our issue is the many other items that are pertinent and which directly touch our lives as teachers,” reads the union’s official communiqué regarding the issue as seen by Edu-

cation News.

The communiqué adds: “Teachers know very well that good leadership may not necessarily be manifested in age; that maturity is not only about age; that wisdom is sacred and it can manifest even in children. Leaders do not fight over insignificant innuendoes and sideshows. Leaders manifest themselves in finding solutions to difficult circumstances that cannot be solved by ordinary thinkers!”

A section of KNUT delegates protested against the resolution to increase the retirement age from 60 to 65 by walking out of the SDC. The change had been sug-

gested by the National Executive Council (NEC) in their past meetings and NEC is mandated to effect the amendments. The union last amended its constitution in 2015.

“The Secretary General’s speech, which is normally NEC’s report, was properly read and articulated by Collins Henry Oyuu.

The SG then proposed the report for discussion and it was seconded

by Mr. Benson Ndambuki. The National Chairman (Patrick Karinga) then led the delegates into discussing the report. No one raised a dissenting opinion formally for discussion. It therefore means all the proposals went unopposed,” summed the communiqué.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

17

Misery for Napoleon as creditors seize property to recover debt

I

looked at Napoleon with a mixture of pity and disdain and asked Yondo Sister, the bar attendant, to give him another beer on my bill.

The cold drink seemed to alleviate his misery which was made worse by the stinging Mavumbi town heat.

Anyway, were it not for my generous nature I wouldn’t have bought him any drinks in the first place.

You see Napoleon is one hell of a miser; you are never sure whether he is broke or just playing with your mind.

One of his annoying habits is refusing to pay debts even when he is in a position to.

My colleague is one person who will take you round in circles while in town just because he is

avoiding certain places where he is owed money.

“Let’s not pass there, there is someone I owe,” he would say and take another turn.

Napoleon has accumulated Okoa Jahazi and Fuliza that sending him money is virtually impossible as overdue digital debts hang over his head.

“Don’t send to that number, use the other one,” he would yell insistently.

To teach such people a lesson, I deliberately send the money to the same number he has condemned and when they complain I advise them to borrow again after settling the debt.

That serves them right and teaches them the moral obligation of paying debts when they are due.

However, this time round,

push had come to shove.

All along Napoleon had been evading paying most of his accumulated debts by lying that he had paid fees for his children in school and colleges.

Somehow the lies seemed to work till last week when a shylock by the name Njugu Mawe came calling.

Mawe came to me when I was about to leave for school and asked me to help him.

“Your colleague Napoleon borrowed 10,000 shillings from me about a month ago to settle part of the school fees for his daughter in the university. To date he has not paid and is not picking my calls,” he confided.

I sighed deeply and almost burst out laughing.

I know many things about Napoleon and one of them is that he

has never had a family, less so a child at the university.

I hate lying to protect a friend whose unbecoming behaviour is causing financial misery to other people, including shylocks.

“The much I know is that my colleague has many financial obligations to meet, but paying fees isn’t one of them,” I started.

Mawe was startled.

“So you mean he doesn’t have any children in college,” he retorted.

“No! and he does not pay fees for anyone, not even a relative’s child,” I informed him.

Mawe left in a huff and hired goons from a rogue auctioneer in town and made a beeline for Napoleon’s house.

Now he tells me they carted away a TV, a gas cooker and a gas cylinder, items he claims are

By Pascal Mwandambo worth more than the debt the he owed the shylock.

“You shouldn’t have told Mawe the truth. See how much misery you’ve put me in,” lamented Napoleon.

“Those are the wages of sin,” I said lightheartedly.

“Which sin? “he interjected.

I did not reply. Some matters are better laid to rest for sanity to prevail.

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Growing Eshikulu Girls’ success right on course

Principal Josephine Mwavali with the Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop Rt. Rev. Jackson Ole Sapit at a tree planting function.

By Leonard Angatia

A

CK Eshikulu Girls located in Likuyani Sub-county in Kakamega County recently hosted the Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop the Rt. Rev. Jackson Ole Sapit who dedicated this year’s KCSE candidates to God. The Archbishop cautioned the students against burning schools, arguing that in doing so, they were pronouncing curses upon themselves.

In the history of the school, the pioneer class sat the first KCSE in 2017.

The school’s principal Josephine Mwavali said the school

Violet Adema, Deputy Principal. had grown in terms of population and academics and that she had plans to take it to greater heights.

In 2020 KCSE, the school had a mean of 4.5 up from 4.06 in 2019.

Ten out of 83 of them managed to join public universities, the highest number in the history of the school.

The sub-county school has a student enrollment of 583. Its 85 registered candidates for this year’s KCSE exams are determined to achieve the set target of 5.0.

The 4-stream school has 15 teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission and 16 employed by the Board of Management.

The principal admitted that the school struggles to foot the salaries of the BoM teachers.

“Through the able leadership of the stakeholders, the goodwill of the community and the gradual performance observed regularly, I will steer the school to the level of a county school,” she said.

She revealed that her strong academic vision and the students’ discipline had helped in the school’s improved academic performance.

She further revealed that she is expanding the school’s infrastructure through the help of Likuyani CDF and Ministry of Education so that the school can accommodate more learners.

The school perennially experiences water shortages, forcing them to buy the commodity during dry seasons.

Consequently, the principal requested well-wishers to help drill boreholes as a lastng solution to the problem.

2021 candidates line up to welcome the Archbishop.

Teaching staff led by the principal Josephine Mwavali on the extreme left.

Scintillating tuition block.

18

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

EASTERN

MERU

Meru governor gives millions in bursaries to post-primary learners

Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi presents bursary funds worth Sh.129.85 million to the needy and bright students in the county. Photo/John Majau.

By John Majau Meru County has released bursaries worth Sh.129.85 million to benefit needy and deserving students in post-primary schools in Meru.

At an education forum con-

vened by Governor Kiraitu Murungi, discussions were also held with over 2,500 ECDE teachers from across the county.

The Governor listened to the teachers who presented various issues affecting them and their work, and assured them of his adminis-

tration’s commitment to address their challenges by improving their working environment and welfare.

He noted that since taking office, his government had regularized employment and paid salaries for over 500 teachers who had not been formalized into the system.

"My government has constructed over 290 ECDE classrooms across the county and spent over Sh.560 million in Retention Enhancement Fund (bursaries) for needy and deserving students in post-primary school. Today we released bursaries worth Sh.129.85 million to cater for the needy and bright students. I will resolve all challenges affecting ECDE teachers by improving their working environment and welfare," said Kiraitu.

Deputy Governor Titus Ntuchiu said that the administration had created and validated schemes of service for ECDE teachers across the county.

He said the process of implementation is underway to improve their job cadres, salaries and remunerations to ensure a motivated and energized workforce in the county ECDE sector.

MACHAKOS

Amani clubs resolve wrangles in schools

By Steve Muthini The rise in indiscipline cases in schools due to the abolishment of corporal punishments has led to the formation of Amani clubs, which have become an integral part of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission in its quest to foster peaceful coexistence across the country.

The clubs, which are an alternative conflict resolution method, are now extending their influence beyond the school to the communities where they are expected to play a role in peace building especially in the electioneering period and towards the August general elections.

In early February, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) in conjunction with secondary school teachers across the country embarked on a drive to sensitize students against being used to cause violence in the forthcoming general elections.

The teachers from 47 counties, who are patrons of Amani Clubs in their schools, held a two-day workshop at the Samara Hotel in Machakos where they discussed modalities of how to ensure the learners become peace ambassadors.

The workshop, which was sponsored by NCIC, involved 55 participants including 47 Amani Club coordinators from each county and representatives from the Teachers Service Commission and the Ministry of Education.

The participants observed that the workshop was timely in the wake of the electioneering period when politicians are whipping up emotions that could lead to violence.

Kenya Secondary School Heads

Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) chairman Indimuli Kahi at the 44th Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association annual conference.

Association (KESSHA) Chairman Kahi Indimuli said the youths are perpetrators or victims of election violence and all efforts should be made to ensure they have the right messages to enhance peace.

"As we move towards the electioneering period, we want to use the Amani clubs to educate our students to steer away from activities that may endanger peace and be peace ambassadors in their communities," said Mr. Indimuli, who is also the Machakos School Principal.

Mr. Indimuli said in the recent past, there have been cases of students torching their schools hence it’s important to engage students on ways of resolving conflicts within and outside their schools.

Indimuli pointed out that the objective of the clubs is to train students to embrace peaceful coexistence.

He thanked the NCIC for the support they had offered towards the establishment of Amani clubs in schools.

"Engaging students in peace dialogues presents an opportunity for them to share the same message with their parents and their peers," he said.

Indimuli said Amani Clubs had not been established in every school and encouraged schools which did not have the clubs to start them as one of the innovative ways of enhancing peace.

The Deputy Director of NCIC Mr Kelian Nyambu said without peace in schools, no meaningful learning can take place.

He said learning institutions provide a basis through which peace can be enhanced in the country.

"The commission has noted that there has been a reduction in hostilities in areas where peace education has been carried out," he said.

Nyambu said they had been able to use the clubs to bring communities together and that the clubs were a tenet of democracy and a way of inculcating tolerance among individuals.

Another symposium had earlier on been hosted at Machakos School where students from various schools interacted and participated in passing peace messages through poems, chorals and various recitations.

Other clubs involved in peace building include the Boy Scouts and Girl Guide’s movements.

MAKUENI

Unionist calls for timely payment of national examiners

Makueni branch Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers(KUPPET) chairman Erastus Kimetu.

Photo/Lydia Ngoolo.

By Lydia Ngoolo Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Makueni branch chairman Erastus Kimetu has urged KNEC to pay contracted exam officials, especially examiners, in time.

Speaking during a multi-agency committee meeting at Makueni Boys High School, Kimetu argued that, if anything, examiners should be paid immediately they finish marking the last paper.

"In the past, we have witnessed delays in payment of examiners and this shouldn’t be the case," he said.

He urged candidates not to play monkey business in the forthcoming national exams.

He also thanked teachers for preparing the learners for exams

despite the challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"KNEC has done its part. It’s now up to candidates to actualize their efforts," he said.

Kimetu urged all stakeholders involved in the examination process to play their role accordingly.

He also urged parents whose children are in day schools not to overburden them with house chores but to give them time to do their last minute revisions.

He wished all teachers vying for political seats the best and requested other teachers to vote for the teachers since they will represent their views well.

He gave his input on the controversial Teachers Professional Development programme and appreciated the parliamentary education committee for conceding that the government should meet the costs of the training.

"Teachers cannot afford to meet the costs of the retraining due to salary commitments and the complexjigsaw of life," he said.

In the past, we have witnessed delays in payment of examiners and this shouldn’t be the case.

- Erastus Kimetu KITUI

Kyuso Director appeals for sustained feeding programme Kyuso Sub-county Director of Education Stephen Mulandi in his office.

Photo/Lydia Ngoolo.

By Lydia Ngoolo Kyuso Sub-county Director of Education Stephen Mulandi has appealed for sustained feeding programmes in all schools as most students in the area come from poor backgrounds.

"The issues of hunger and feeding programmes should be addressed. I'm sure even the performance will be better," Mulandi said.

He lamented that out of 97 primary schools, only 20 had these programmes. He observed that the criteria used to select the schools were not fair enough in

terms of the neediest.

"Sometimes even when parents agree to contribute for the pupils it's not easy. There are cases where parents follow their children to school to get something for lunch. It's that serious," Mulandi added.

Few months ago a school kid fainted in school due to hunger.

Though the school received donations afterwards from wellwishes, much is needed to sustain the learners.

Nevertheless, he asked parents to send their children to school and support them.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

19

EDUCATION NEWS FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Kessup Mixed Day unveils new classrooms, shifts focus to academic eminence

By Dennis Bett

K

essup Mixed Day Secondary School in Elgeyo Marakwet County recently unveiled three classrooms and a laboratory, all geared towards equipping learners with the needed tools for academic excellence.

The launch was marked by an announcement by the school management of plans to not only improve infrastructure, but also raise its academic performance and compete with academic giants across the region. “ To d a y, we have commissioned new classrooms which will aid in making the learning

environment conducive. Our aim is to enhance the infrastructure of the school. So far the school population has grown to over 300 students and we will hit 500 by 2024,” the principal projected.

Speaking during a thanksgivingcum-prayer event, the principal Mr. Stanley Amdany thanked the office of the NG-CDF and the

Ministry of Education for supporting the school in infrastructure. He said that since they now have sufficient infrastructure, their eyes are fully trained on academic excellence.

The principal said they had fenced the entire school compound, bought desks, tiled all classrooms and constructed an administration block, as well as built modern toilets in a span of five years.

He remarked that they had grown gradually to become one of the best performing day secondary schools in the county, adding that they were on course in preparations for the 2021 KCSE examinations.

The principal submitted that they had already completed the syllabus and were embarking on a thorough revision through quality revision materials, saying they were targeting a mean score of 5.2 in addition to raising direct university qualification to over 40 percent.

He added that his teaching staff had sub-divided the candidates into

Mr Stanely Amdany, Principal.

Keiyo North Education Officer Mr Joseph Maki (with microphone) unveils the new classrooms.

The principal (Right) with the form four candidates in a procession.

groups so that teachers could easily perform parenting and guiding roles for the students both academically and socially.

Amdany decried the high rates of early pregnancies attributable to poor parental care. He appealed to parents to be close to their children.

He added that the school regularly engaged motivational speakers and the clergy to help streamline student’s discipline and self-esteem. He thanked Rev Joel Koech and Dr Alfayo Maiyo for heeding this call.

Appreciating the TSC for posting more teachers to the school, he asked the teachers’ employer to continue supporting them.

He praised the teaching and non-teaching staff, observing that they have strong and committed teams in the academic and support cadres, who greatly sacrificed their time and energy for the sake of the welfare of the students.

Mr Andany said the students are disciplined, giving credit to his deputy and the guidance and counselling team as well as the strong Chaplaincy, all of which he said work in coordination.

Present was Keiyo North Education Officer Mr Joseph Maki, who lauded the school leadership for managing the school resources well and promised to support them achieve their objectives.

Two of the new classrooms.

Keiyo North Sub-county Education Director Mr Joseph Maki (middle) with other guests follow the programme.

Students have a feel of the new laboratory.

The principal Mr Stanely Amdany (Left) with officials from Keiyo North CDF offices led by Hillary Kiptarus.

A section of students during the event.

The Board chairman.

The teaching staff is introduced.

COAST

Why child marriage is common in Tana River County

By Amoto Ndiewo Maramtu sub- location in Tana North Sub-county is home to 16-year old Habib Salio (not her real name). She lives with her husband for whom she is busy making breakfast in a smokefilled kitchen as her age mates rush to school when Education News (EN) visited.

She is not alone; so many of her age mates of either gender have found themselves pushed into matrimony.

A survey conducted by EN on child marriage in the region revealed that some girls drop out

of school after getting pregnant, or are forced into marriage to cover the shame of having a child out of wedlock.

A Tana River Smart Survey of February 2020 shows that less than 5% of girls were in preprimary, 35% in primary and 16% in secondary schools in the sub-county.

Majority of them had been married off to elderly men.

“These senior citizens falsely believe that marrying young girls will revive their sex life,’’ said Mowlid Kono, an award winning civil rights activist.

The findings also paint a grim picture of mothers initiating

the unions casually as a friendly gesture.

“It all starts as a conversation between two women while fetching water,’’ says Wailuwana community king Hayu Babisani.

The friends later suggest to their spouses that in order to strengthen their relationship, their children ought to get married. It can be between minors themselves or older people and minors.

Hayu adds that once the consent is given, gifts are exchanged between the two families and soon ends in marriage.

“Even before the ceremony,

word begins to spread around and the children’s attention suffers.

The embarrassment caused is the final straw that that breaks the back of the camel,” Hayu regrets.

He added that education is superseded by social ties as observed in the number of girls completing primary school; of 32,815 enrolled, only 13,464 finished school as at 2019.

The same sentiments are shared by Mowlid Kono. He says marriage between minors is just as common as minors marrying elders.

“Instead of parents taking responsibility to guide their children through infatuation, they

either become protective or turn a blind eye,’’ noted Kono.

Marriage negotiations take place deceptively where parents claim their daughter had transferred to another school, making it difficult for chiefs to take action.

A Tana River Smart Survey of February 2020 shows that less than 5% of girls were in pre-primary, 35% in primary and 16% in secondary schools in the sub-county.

Varsity Bulletin 20 EDUCATION NEWS

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

THE PLATFORM FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Maseno tops in varsities indoor games championship Rongo University karate ladies receiving a trophy after emerging position 2 in the KUSF 14th edition of indoor games at university of Nairobi.

By Michael Oduor.

Maseno, Kabarak and Rongo universities are the champions of the recently concluded Kenya Universities Sports Federation’s (KUSF) 14th Edition of the National Inter-Universities Indoor Games held at University of Nairobi sports ground.

The event, which brought together ten universities, had Chess, Scrabble, Badminton, Table Tennis, Tennis, Swimming, Karate, Taekwondo, Rugby and Basketball on the menu. Overall, Maseno University emerged position 1, with Kabarak and Rongo settling for positions 2 and 3re-

spectively.

Speaking to Education News, Rongo University Shotokan Karate women team qualified to represent Kenyan universities at the East African Championship later in the year after they took position 2.

Their coach Sensei Ochieng disclosed that frequent training, discipline and passion had been the key factor in their success.

“Most of the students joining Karate do it out of passion. They also show high levels of discipline and strictly attend training which has contributed to our success,” he said.

Sensei stated that based on the training and previous per-

formances right from friendly matches and other competitions, he was sure of his team winning and he is set to achieve more in the coming competitions.

His team managed to take home 12 medals, two of which were Gold, four bronze and six silver.

He congratulated his team for their tireless efforts to ensure they gave their best.

The universities which participated, in the order of performance, were Maseno, Kabarak, Rongo, Chuka, Strathmore, Kenyatta, Murang’a, University of Nairobi, Zetech and University of Eldoret.

Find sustainable solutions for varsity funding, gov’t urged

By Roy Hezron Co-operative University of Kenya’s Council Chairperson Dr. Jeremy Bundi has urged the government to engage stakeholders in developing sustainable solutions for university funding in the country.

Speaking during the University’s 6th Graduation Ceremony at its Main Campus in Karen on February 25, 2022, Dr. Bundi stated that the higher education sector in the country is currently facing significant financial challenges.

“By and large, I do agree with the school of thought that universities should be self-sustaining and that they should generate their own funds from research activities and initiatives, yet the government cannot absolve itself of the responsibility it has over the education of her citizens,” stated Dr. Bundi.

Dr. Bundi urged universities to look outside the proverbial box for ways they can better generate revenue for their institutions by considering strategies such as streamlining their operations, innovating and commercializing their innovations as well as exploring ways they can pool their synergies and develop a fund similar to those of other institutions and sectors.

“This multi-faceted approach will not only help universities stay afloat but also help them produce better students for the job market.

This conversation must continue with proper stakeholder engagement of developing a workable solution that will not strain the higher education sector,” he added.

The financial crisis facing public universities in the country has even deepened further after the National Treasury cut funding by

Dr. Jeremy Bundi, Cooperative University of Kenya Council Chairperson.

9 percent (Sh.9.4billion) despite an expected increase in student enrollment in the 2021/2022 academic year.

The DUC has lumped specific costs of programmes into clusters of 18 with the lowest being Sh.144,000 for Humanities and the highest Sh.720, 000 for Dentistry.

The government will sponsor 71,242 students in private universities.

Dr. Bundi further explained that the stage is set and very soon, even secondary education will be free and the number transitioning to institutions of higher learning will increase tremendously.

During the event, the University graduated a total of 2,223 students with certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and Masters in various discipline The event also saw the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Co-operative Bank of Kenya Dr. Gideon Muriuki being conferred with an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Humane Letters.

Universities challenged to initiate indigenous languages curricula University of Embu Vice Chancellor Prof.

Daniel Mugendi flags off a procession at the institution to mark this year’s International Mother Language Day celebrations.

By Kamundia Muriithi Institutions of higher learning have been challenged to lead in preserving the dying indigenous languages by the use of modern technology.

Kenya National Commission for UNESCO (KNATCOM) chief executive Dr. Everlyn Njoka observed that the imminent danger facing the local languages could soon put technology in jeopardy as new technologies depend on the vernaculars for excellence.

“Just as we have application programmess for a wide range of fields, we can also have content on our various mother tongues packaged in a similar format and I believe our universities have the capacity to do so,” said Dr Njoka.

Speaking at the University of Embu during this year’s International Mother Language Day celebrations, Dr Njoka stated that universities should not sit comfortably when indigenous languages diminish, but instead should rise and protect them.

“There is a need to harness the technology and save the in-

digenous languages. I challenge our universities to come up with mechanisms of preserving indigenous languages technologically so that young people and future generations can learn them through ICT platforms,” Ms. Njoka said.

Stakeholders raised concerns that some indigenous languages

were on the verge of extinction and there is need for quick action to protect them.

The CEO also pointed out that parents play a crucial role in teaching their children local languages so that they can be fluent in them and protect the country’s cultural heritage.

“We cannot learn our cultures

which connect us to our past without learning our indigenous languages,” she said.

She said cognitive and intellectual growth of children was faster when one has a good command of their mother tongue, which in essence results in success in education.

University of Embu Vice Chancellor Prof. Daniel Mugendi said that the university will take up the issue and come up with mechanisms to help grow the mother tongue languages.

“We will look into ways of deliberately incorporating mother tongue in our curriculum, as well as gather and preserve indigenous languages and knowledge for future generations,” the VC promised.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

21

EDUCATION NEWS

Sad tale of deputy heads, senior teachers acting for years Some Deputy Headteachers and Deputy Principals, and other Senior Teachers and Masters have acted for a long time, stagnating in one job group with some being confirmed but seeing no vertical movement.

By Roy Hezron A good number of Acting Deputy Headteachers and Deputy Principals, and Senior Teachers and Masters in public primary and secondary schools in the country are suffering silently as it emerges that they have stagnated in one job group for years.

They have been acting for long time without being confirmed to their respective positions.

It has even further emerged that some have served in one job group for over 5 years without promotion or confirmation.

Those confirmed as deputies experienced no vertical movement, while others were not shortlisted after applying for various positions. At other times those who get shortlisted attend interviews and do not get feedback.

It even becomes more painful as teachers who have not served as deputies are promoted to either Head Teachers or Principals and deployed to head schools in sub-county, county, extra-county or national schools, frustrating experienced teachers.

According to the National Chairman of Retired and About to Retire (REAR) Members Association Mr. Kepha Mshambala, who also represents Deputy Heads and Senior Teachers, all Deputy Heads and Senior Teachers should be paid acting allowance just like other civil servants.

He urged the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to stop extending the retirement period for Head Teachers from 60 to 65 years since it demoralizes acting deputies.

He said all former deputy headteachers and senior teachers who attained their Diplomas, Bachelors and Masters Degrees, among other higher qualifications, should be confirmed immediately, adding that many of those acting were in arid and semi-arid areas. He judged that it was highly demoralizing for

Mr. Kepha Mshambala, Retired and About to Retire (REAR) Members Welfare Association National Chairman. them to continue acting considering all the risks involved in administration.

“Interviews for acting headteachers and senior teachers should just be a formality if 60 percent marks is awarded,” said Mshambala.

An acting head teacher from a sub-county in Kilifi who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Education News that he has acted as a headteacher for 5 years now earning a salary of a senior teacher.

The school manager, who has never been a deputy, states that he was appointed by the Commission in 2018. It came as a surprise as he was serving as a senior teacher and few days before the appointment, he had attended an interview for deputy headteacher position.

“I am a headteacher who is not acknowledged by the Commission for whatever reason, yet I have all the letters to that effect. My situation is so dire because my salary is that of a senior teacher,”he said “It is so disheartening to work with colleagues who are paid a salary that is different from mine, yet the commission

Malel Lang’at, Bomet Branch KNUT Executive Secretary. expects same results from both of us. The problems are compounded even further by working in hardship zones,” said the headteacher.

This case represents a disconcerted group of Senior Teachers and Masters, and Deputy Heads both in public primary and secondary schools estimated to be over 7,000 countrywide.

Malel Lang’at, Bomet KNUT Executive Secretary who is also a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC), told Education News that TSC should move with speed to confirm those teachers who have acted for long, noting that it has affected a good number of them in his branch.

“The employer should move with speed to confirm those teachers to the substantive positions they are holding. If you act it means you qualify and they should take up those positions,” said Malel.

William Lengoyiap, Samburu branch KUPPET Executive Secretary, told Education News that the County has over 50 Senior Masters and 44 acting Deputy Principals, stating that TSC should immediately confirm the teachers and backdate their pay-

William Lengoyiap, Executive Secretary KUPPET Samburu. ment to when they started acting.

“The remedy is immediate confirmation and the payment backdated to when they started acting. Why does TSC want some principals and deputies to give free services and others are paid as per job description?” wondered Lengoyiap.

The same was echoed by Okisai Moffats who is the Executive Secretary KUPPET Busia branch. He told Education News that 21 teachers in Busia County were casualties of the acting menace and mess, with some serving for over four years as deputy principals only for a substantively appointed administrator to be posted. He said that Career Progression Guideline (CPG) is a source of mental health problems among teachers.

“We advise members not to fall prey to acting in a position the employer does not recognize.

In case this happens, there should be monetary accompaniment from the appointing authority,” said Okisai.

According to Okisai, TSC should also be conducting interviews quarterly to help build a data bank of school administrators and assure teachers of their

progression and give much prominence to higher qualifications. He said it is an absolute waste of human resources to see teachers with Masters and Ph.Ds stuck at assistant teacher grades, saying it was a recipe for conflict.

According to TSC Career Progression Guideline (CPG), Senior Teachers in public primary schools are classified into Senior Teacher II at Grade C2 T-Scale 7 and Senior Teacher I at Grade C3 T-Scale 8, while Deputy Head teachers are classified into Deputy Headtecher II at Grade C4 T-Scale 9 and Deputy Headteacher I at Grade C5 T-Scale 10.

For a teacher to be promoted to Deputy Head Teacher II, the teacher is required to have served as Senior Teacher I T- Scale 8 for a minimum period of three years, while for Deputy Head Teacher I requires a teacher to have served as Deputy Head Teacher II TScale 9 for the same minimum period.

For secondary schools, the Senior Master is classified into Senior Master IV, III, II and teachers in this position are promoted to Deputy Principal III, II and I, which are promotional and competitive positions that are subject to availability of vacancies. They further require a teacher to have served for a minimum period of three years as Senior Master.

For instance, for a Senior Master to be promoted to Deputy Principal III at Grade D1 T-Scale 11, one should have served as Senior Master III T-Scale 10.

For promotion to Deputy Principal II at Grade D2 T-Scale 12, it expects a teacher to have served as Deputy Principal III or Senior Master II T-Scale 11.

Likewise, for promotion to Deputy Principal I at Grade D3 T-Scale 13, the teacher must have served as Deputy Principal II or Senior Master I T-Scale 12.

Kisii residents seek answers over stalled varsity campus

By Enock Okong’o Kisii County’s South Mugirango residents have expressed concern over the stalled Nyamgweta University Campus.

Led by Dr Kefah Ombacho, the residents wondered why the construction of the campus that was started 15 years ago has not been completed.

The residents asked Kisii University Vice Chancellor Prof.

John Akama to explain the construction status of the building. The stalled Kisii University campus at Nyangweta.

Dr Ombacho claimed that but turned out to be a white el“Kisii County Government the VC had said the university has cut trees and deprived the had opened a branch in the area ephant.

local forest of its naturality. The government has also stalled the construction of the sugar factory it had promised to build and now the university,” he said.

He said the trees were cut down with the excuse of constructing a sugar factory but it has never been built. He further added that the university project was then brought up but that has not been completed as well.

Some residents claimed that the cutting down of trees will hinder the national efforts of conserving forests for educational, health and research purposes.

Reacting to the complaints, Kisii Governor James Ongwae

said the construction of the factory will help solve the problem of unemployment as the factory will absorb 100,000 workers from the region.

“The factory will employ skilled and unskilled youth,” he said.

Mr. Moses Onderi, the Lands and Settlement Executive Secretary in Kisii County, said Nyangweta comprises 255 hectares of forest cover in Kisii County.

He said 50 hectares had been carved for the construction of the university while 86 hectares will be used for the construction of a sugar factory.

22

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

St Ignatius Mukumu Boys poised for excellent academic results

L-R: Director of Studies Violet Juma, PA Chair Francis Busolo, Principal Sylvester Ashioya, and Fr. Elijah Namwaya.

S

By Richard Shichangi t Ignatius Mukumu Boys High School held a colourful prayer day where the boys were dedicated to God as they prepare to sit their KCSE exams.

Speaking during the event, the school’s Senior Principal Mr. Sylvester Ashioya said the teachers had prepared the boys well for the exams and called upon parents to ensure they are provided with all the necessary requirements so that they achieve their set target of 7.5 in 2021 KCSE. He expressed optimism that the candidates would achieve and surpass the target as they had been improving in the internal and external exams that they have been doing.

“The boys have been exposed to a lot of exams,” he said.

He assured parents that the students were well set for the papers and urged them to be prayerful and supportive for the remaining few weeks.

“Having ample time for revision will ensure the boys succeed in their exams,” he pointed out.

The principal expressed confidence that despite the challenges the school has had, the candidates had shown the ability to push the school to another academic level.

He noted that the candidates had always been disciplined and ready to learn, a virtue that will positively impact this year’s results.

He further revealed that they had improved the school’s infrastructure by putting up 19

Senior Principal Sylvester Ashioya (right) with Shinyalu Member of Parliament Kizito Mugala (second right) during the opening of a renovated dormitory at the school. modern toilets and fencing the boarding section.

The parents promised to support the school and their sons so that they could collectively propel the school to success.

The boys, known as ‘The Lions’, promised to keep the roaring of success alive to meet the set target.

They assured their parents that they were readyfor the papers and that they will surely succeed.

They pledged to remain focused so as to defend the name of their school when the results are announced later this year.

Students during official opening of modern toilets.

CENTRAL - KIRINYAGA

Magoha exudes confidence CBC will succeed

COAST - TANA RIVER

Chief campaigns for more enrolment in schools

By Kamundia Muriithi

By Amoto Ndiewo

Education Cabinet Secretary Professor George Magoha says the government has trained enough teachers both for primary and secondary schools across the country to ensure a smooth transition from the 8-4-4 to the CompetencyBased Curriculum (CBC).

He said the adequate teaching personnel and the ongoing construction of CBC classrooms are a testimony that the new system is a success.

Magoha made the remarks at the Kerugoya Boys High School, Kirinyaga County, Education CS Professor George Magoha where he inspected a complet- officially opens a CBC classroom at Kerugoya Boys High School in Kirinyaga County. ed CBC classroom.

"We have classrooms ready "It is only human to resist change, but for Junior Secondary School, whose term begins early next year. As you can see, I since the ship has already left the harbour, have just opened a CBC classroom here critics and opponents of the CBC must and this is a replica of other schools in the come into terms with the reality," he said.

Magoha added that the construction country," he said.

He dismissed the critics of the new of the extra classrooms and the CBC fasystem, saying they should conduct their cilities in most schools within Mt Kenya research properly rather than make unin- region was at 99 percent complete. formed utterances.

Mororo Senior Assistant chief Mohamed Lokha has called for more children to enrol in local primary schools.

In an exclusive interview with Education News, the assistant chief called on Mororo residents to enrol their children in school.

Lokha said that given the benefits of education, it was sad that the enrolment of the local primary school was at rock bottom.

“There are about 8,865 people living within Mororo sub-location yet the local primary school has less than 687 students,” said Lokha, projecting that the school ought to have more than one thousand pupils.

Lokha dismissed the argument that poverty was a reason for the low enrolment in school. Recalling that the region was embroiled in a bitter vicious circle of fighting poverty, illiteracy and disease, he said the remedy was taking children to school.

“And to break the vicious circle we must take our children to school,’’ said Lokha.

In this respect, he asked all the head men in the six villages to encourage parents to take their children to school.

He expressed concern over the rising crime perpetrated by a youthful gang known as Kayole.

“Though they are known, our attempts

Senior Assistant Chief Mohamed Lokha. to have them taken to court have borne little fruit as they always find their way out of the police station,’’ regretted Lokha .

The senior assistant chief regretted that parents had abdicated their parental duties to allow their children do as they wished.

He added that due to negligence, some children have opted to fend for themselves, thus driving them to crime.

“It is regrettable that school age children are engaging even in livestock theft,’’ said Lokha, saying once the grace period he had given was over, his office will arrest both children and their parents to face the law.

EDUCATION NEWS

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

23

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

St Peters Mumias holds prayers, aims for higher academic fulfilment

Principal Nabungolo with Chief Guest Joel Kaunda, the education sub-county director.

By Richard Shichangi

S

t Peters Mumias Boys High School recently held a prayer day at the school for this year’s KCSE candidates. The event was presided over by the Catholic church.

During the sermon, the 427 boys were encouraged to remain focused while preparing for their forthcoming national exams and to involve God in their endeavours if they are to achieve the desires of their heart.

The school’s Chief Principal Mr. Cosmas Nabungolo exuded confidence that the boys were thoroughly prepared for the

exams and promised parents that their target was to ensure that all the candidates attain the minimum university entry grade.

He observed that the candidates were exposed to so many exams and that they were well groomed for KCSE and therefore, parents should

prepare themselves to take their sons to the next academic levels.

Mr. Nabungolo noted that the school has elaborate programmes and wellestablished linkages with international universities across the globe.

He revealed that their association with international linkage organizations such as Uniserve and Elimu Education Liaison International Management Unit has enabled them to admit their students to various universities abroad.

“Parents should therefore support their sons’ academic dreams by facilitating them to join the universities of their choice which the school had already linked them with,” he revealed.

He added that the associations had enabled their candidates to gain the much needed exposure and become more competitive in the job

Students entertaining parents and guests.

market.

The candidates, known as ‘The Academic Battalions’, have pledged to clock the set target of 10.5 from the previous mean of 7.6 in 2020.

They added that their aim was for them all to attain the minimum university entry grade of C+, which the principal said they were capable of doing since in the last test papers, only 7 out of the 427 boys scored C plain.

Mr. Nabungolo promised that they would polish up the seven students so that all attained the set target.

He expressed gratitude to the teachers for their exceptional work in nurturing the boys into responsible, hardworking, disciplined and God-fearing individuals.

The school has two deputy principals; Deputy Principal Academics Joel Mukoche and Deputy Principal Administration Luka Sogon.

Parents were also in attendance.

PA Chairman, Daniel Kukubo.

Deputy Principal (Administration) Luka Sogon.

Deputy Principal Academic, Joel Mukoche.

CENTRAL - NYERI

A clearer path for graduates as career offices are launched

By Asa Maina The Principal Secretary for Post-Training and Skills Development Alfred Cheruiyot has said that 21 out of 31 public universities in the country have established career services offices.

Speaking at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT) during the official launch of the institution’s Office of Career Services, Cheruiyot said that six out of eleven national polytechnics have opened the offices.

He added that only 19 out of the over a thousand TVET institutions have operationalized the office.

However, he expressed optimism that other institutions will soon open the careers centres.

DeKUT Office of Career Services was established late last year with the vision of initiating and supporting efforts towards helping students get ready for the world of work and entrepreneurship.

This was as a result of the Ministry of Education’s goal to have all institutions of higher learning establish an office of

PS for Post-Training and Skills Development Alfred Cheruiyot with DeKUT VC Ndirangu Kioni during the official launch of the institution’s Office of Career Services. Photo/Asa Maina career services.

The PS lauded the approach

by DeKUT as elaborate, saying it was not only detailed on how the students will pursue certain courses, but also provide linkages to industry.

He said the department will also benchmark with other universities worldwide so that the information can be shared.

He pointed out that the move will help students get quality education geared towards employment, competence and ensure they have the skills set for various industries.

Cheruiyot said the ministry will also engage other industry players such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among others.

“We no longer want to work in isolation as education providers. We want to make sure that we provide useful knowledge to the society for industrial and economic growth of the country,” he said.

He said the government had embarked on a journey to ensure that it’s not only providing education but also ensuring the personnel produced are all round.

The Office of Career Services will cater for several stakeholders like students, faculties, administration, employers, staff and alumni.

“To achieve its mandate, the Office of Career Services seeks to offer services and linkages between industry and students, intra-institutional exchange, high school recruitment, establishing an alumni network, among others,” he said.

He added that the office will assist students to understand and comply with institutional requirements through constant communication using emails or lectures.

The office will also assist students in decision-making and career direction, yet provide clear and accurate information

regarding institutional policies, procedures and programmes.

It will also assist the students in the selection of courses and other educational dispensations such as internship. For good measure, it will collect and distribute data regarding students’ needs as well as develop and maintain a career resources library that includes employers and candidates assessments.

The PS urged all tertiary institutions to set up the offices of career services to enable them address the needs of students and guide them on how to select jobs and create opportunities for selfemployment.

DeKUT Vice-Chancellor Ndirangu Kioni said their Office of Career Services took over some existing functions of the college such as industrial attachment coordination. It also annexed some functions concerning postgraduation employability of its students and alumni.

The issue of establishing offices of career services came up in 2018 when the Ministry of Education launched a handbook to guide all tertiary institutions in the formation of the office.

TERTIARY INSTITUTI 24 EDUCATION NEWS

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

NS

Shedding light on TTCs, TVETS and Other Colleges

VTC releases pioneer Go Blue graduates into the market

By Michael Oduor Voi Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in Taita Taveta County has graduated the first batch of 120 Go Blue trainees after successfully completing their training in vessel repair, marine security, tourism and hospitality.

The programme, which was co-funded by the Government of Kenya, German Corporation, European Union, Go Blue, Jumuia ya Kaunti za Pwani (JKP) and Kapyei is aimed at ensuring graduates transit into the world Left:Director VTCs Taita Taveta County Raphael Chola and CECM of entrepreneurship and employ- Laban Mwashighadi presenting gifts to graduates. Photo/Michael ment as they are converted to Oduor productive members of the local, toring and following up on where has a database where all graduates national and global community.

In a speech read on his behalf you are and what you are doing,” from VTCs across the county are registered to be given priority when

by Public Administration CECM said Odero.

According to Odero, VTCs re- vacancies arise.

Laban Mwashighadi, Governor Taita Taveta County AssisGranton Samboja congratulated the main vital in skills development as graduates and urged them to use the well as provision of digital skills to tant Director for VTCs Mr. Philip skills they acquired to uplift their create a more competitive edge in Mwangole appreciated the Go Blue the job market. and other partners for their suplives.

“Vocational Training Centres port in providing capacity building The Governor called upon youths across the county to enroll hold an important position in the training to tutors for the success of in VTCs to gain skills that will en- community as they provide knowl- the programme.

During the event, it was disable them get employed or start edge that suits demands created by businesses that will uplift their lives investors, society and employers,” closed that through Capacity Youth Empowerment Institute (CYEI), as well as raise the economy of the she said.

Further, Odero reiterated that VTCs are now moving from offerareas they come from.

Speaking during the ceremony, the organization aims to train over ing long traditional programmes to GIZ Go Blue regional coordinator 600 youths across the coastal region short relevant programmes.

While giving his remarks, the Faith Odero congratulated the grad- in the next few years, 30% of whom CECM in charge of Agriculture, uates for completing the rigorous must be women.

She congratulated the Voi VTC Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation programme, hoping that they will put into practice the skills obtained tutors and management for accept- Davis Mwangoma commended ing the programme and for the good the relationship between the partto impact the marketplace. ners and the VTCs in Taita Taveta Being the pioneers of the proj- work they were doing.

On his part, the director for County. ect, Odero termed them as paceMwangoma urged the director makers who will become the am- youth training in charge of VTCs in bassadors of the Go Blue space as Taita Taveta County Raphael Chola of VTCs in Taita Taveta County well as their institution of training. lauded the graduates for their pa- to incorporate agribusiness in their She said they will be monitoring tience and good work to complete programmes to enable youth take their training. develop interest in agriculture. and following up on their work.

Chola disclosed that the county “We will be doing some moni-

Kisumu County launches 5 more VTCs Fredrick Odiero Kisumu County has established five new Vocational Training Centres (VTCs), thus increasing the number of the institutions from 21 to 26. They are Kandaria, Kochogo, Withur, Obwolo and Kianja.

County Governor Prof. Anyang Nyong’o said the development has led to increased enrolment in VTCs from 3,100 Kisumu Governor Prof to 4,000 trainees.

Anyang’ Nyong’o The governor said they procured teaching and learning materials through FY 2020/2021, they discentre managers for all the bursed Shs.205,000,000 in VTCs in the Financial Year form of bursaries and schol2020/2021 through capita- arships to needy students in tion. high schools and colleges, He said 20 of the VTCs adding that in the last month have been registered by the alone, they gave Sh.102 milTVETA Authority, and 6 are lion for the first quarter. in the process of being regNyong’o said the benistered. eficiaries increased from The governor said that in 33,403 in 2019/2020 to a campaign to reduce drop 36,259 in 2020/2021, which out rates by teen mothers, translates to a 9% growth. they established five childHe said they were now care centres where teen and giving bursaries to those young mothers who desire to seeking to take up Maacquire skills leave babies to rine Studies at the recently be taken care of within the launched marine school. new institutions.

“We have 70 beneficiaTo ensure all students ries, two from each of the 35 joining secondary schools Wards,” he said. and later proceed to instituHe urged the national tions such as the Kisumu Na- government and international Polytechnic, Nyong’o tional development partners said his administration has to continue supporting techbeen consistent in giving nical and vocational educabursaries and scholarships. tion.

He divulged that in the

TVETA opens regional offices in Kisumu, Eldoret Fredrick Odiero The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has opened a regional office in Kisumu which will serve the entire Western region.

The office will serve about 10 counties.

Principal Secretary in the State Department for Vocational and Technical Training Dr Margaret Mwakima, who presided over the opening of the new offices, said it will ensure that quality is adhered to in the course of offering technical skills.

The official, who was accompanied by Director General of TVET Dr Kipkurui Lang’at said the office is strategically located within the Lake Victoria region to promote the blue economy.

She said the creation of the regional office was one way of bringing services closer to the people according to the new constitution.

The PS said technical institutions play a vital role in disseminating life skills which are needed for the country to move forward.

Lang’at said there were about 470,000 learners in TVET institutions, adding that more needs to be done.

He said university graduates should also be encouraged to pursue TVET courses upon acquisition of first degrees.

The event was also attended by TVET officials during the launch of the Western Kenya the regional chairman of the Kenya Regional Office in Kisumu. Photo/Fredrick Odiero.

Association of Technical Institutions Nyanza region Mr Daniel direction since members of the pub- CBET curriculum. lic will no longer have to move to Meanwhile TVETA also Randa.

Randa said the opening of the Nairobi for vital services. He said opened a new regional office in Elnew office was a move in the right they are prepared for the CBC and doret, Uasin Gishu County.

Principal Secretary for the State Department of Technical Vocational and Technical Training Dr Margaret Mwakima said the office will cover the entire North Rift region.

“Opening a new satellite office in the North Rift is part of our plans to decentralize our services so that we can serve our customers better where they can easily reach us,” she said.

She was speaking during the launch, where she said the Eldoret TVET office was the fourth to be opened in the country after Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa.

“We look forward to greater compliment and I am sure counties will be happy to receive independent quality assurance reports from this office and craft interventions for continued improvements,” she added.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

25

Sponsored Content

Wote TTI emerges top in Eastern region KATTI ball games

By Lydia Ngoolo

W

ith home ground support, c h e e r i n g and players’ confidence, Wote Technical Training Institute (WTTI) emerged the overall winner, bagging most trophies in the just concluded Kenya Association of Technical Training Institutes (KATTI) regional ball games.

The tournament brought together ten colleges: Wote TTI, Tseikuru TTI, Katine TTI, Kibwezi West TVC, David Wambuli TTI, Mwala TVC, Masinga TVC, Nuu TVC, Yatta TVC and Ikutha TVC from the lower eastern region.

However, two of the colleges (Ikutha and Yatta) did not raise a team for unavoidable reasons.

Wote, being the host, garnered 39 points in football, securing position one followed by Katine and Nuu TVCs. The same Wote TTI scored three goals against David Wambuli TVC, which managed only one point. The match was played at Unoa Sports Ground in Wote town.

Still in football, Wote TTI women’s team thrashed Nuu TTI 3-0.

In netball, Wote TTI garnered 63 points against Nuu TTI, which scored only three points.

In men’s volleyball, Tseikuru TTI vowed they did not travel from the farthest end of Eastern in vain as they secured the men’s trophy

Lower Eastern Regional Technical and Vocational Education Director John Wamae. against Wote TTI. However, the women volleyball team did not let away the glory as they won the trophy, striking down Masinga TVC in both sets.

John Wamae, the director for Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET), Lower Eastern Region, who was the chief guest, said the tournaments were all about instilling the culture of sports and promoting national unity among students.

“I must admit it was a successful two-day event. Sports help in releasing energy since these young ones are very energetic and cannot be kept in class all the time.

We also nurture talents in sports,” he added.

Wamae pointed out that two of the teams will proceed to KATTI

National Sports Tournament in September this year. Three of the top teams were awarded trophies in each game.

Chairman for Sports and Recreation in Northern region Ken Njoroge welcomed the youths in technical institutes, saying there was a visible difference from the yesteryears and expressed confidence in the direction the country was headed.

“Skills play a major role in people. Theory work will not help much but with skills instilled in them they can employ themselves rather than tarmacking with their papers for a long time,” said Njoroge.

The host principal Joshua Munywoki said he had been confident his team would eventually win. His college won the hosting rights due to its accessibility and availability of accommodation.

Wote TTI Principal Joshua Munywoki.

“I was really prepared to receive the accolades because our team was thoroughly prepared. I am happy that we achieved what we wanted. Bagging over five trophies and being the overall

winner is not a joke. I wish my team all the best as they proceed to the nationals,” said the elated Munywoki.

He went on: “We are the only college in Eastern region which has the capacity to host such games. We had the advantage of having neighbouring institutions with standard playing fields like the Judiciary, KMTC, Makueni Girls and Unoa Sports Ground, allowing different teams to play concurrently, thus saving a lot of time,” The games were not all about competition but a propagation of the TVET spirit whose training mandate is at the core of every activity.

It was an eye opener to the community as it was sensitized on the existence of different institutions in Lower Eastern offering TVET programmes.

WOTE TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTE P O Box 377-90300 Makueni COLLCOLLEGE Cell: /0115779565/0728 658649/0787294782 Email: Info@wotetti.ac.ke

Web: www.wotetti.ac.ke

WOTE Technical Training Institute is a Public Institution under the Ministry of Education and registered with TVETA.

Location The Institute is located next to Makueni County headquarters along Wote-Makindu road next to Makueni Girls Secondary School.

The fees charged is subsidized as all students admitted benefit from Government capitation. They are also assisted in applying for HELB Loans.

The Institute is a center of excellence in Electrical and electronic engineering Well equipped with a state of art equipments provided through Government of China – TVET Project. The Institute is offering courses on Renewable energy(Solar PV System) through the UNESCO BEAR II Project – 2021.

The Institute is ISO 9001:2015 Certified and it’s committed to providing high quality service in Technical and Business Training.

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Some of the KATTI principals at Unoa Grounds.

Photo/Lydia Ngoolo

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C- (Minus) C- (Minus)

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Supply Chain Management Module I & II D (Plain) KNEC Social Work Development Craft – TEP D (Plain) KNEC Business Management Module I & II D (Plain) KNEC Secretarial Studies Module I & II D (Plain) KNEC Single and Group levels 1-3 Information Science D (Plain) KNEC Science laboratory Technology D (Plain) KNEC Food Science Technology D (Plain) KNEC PARALLEL COURSES DURATION 5 MONTHS & PART TIME CAMS D KASNEB ATD I C- (Minus) KASNEB ATD II ATD I KASNEB ATD III ATD II KASNEB CPA Foundation C+ (Plus) KASNEB CPA Foundation C+ (Plus) KASNEB CPA Intermediate CPA KASNEB Foundation CBET COURSES LEVEL Electrical Installation 3 CDACC Automotive Technician 3 CDACC Masonry 3 CDACC ICDL 3 ICDL Hair Dressing and Beauty Therapy 3 CDACC

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The KATTI principals are introduced to players just before a match at Unoa Sports Grounds.

Photo/Lydia Ngoolo Celebration galore for Wote TTI after emerging the overall winner.

Photo/Lydia Ngoolo

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KNEC KNEC KNEC KNEC KNEC KNEC

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Exam Body

26

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Shining St Mary’s Mumias cruising to academic excellence

S

Chief Principal, Esther Akiso Amukwachi.

Rt. REV. Joseph Obanyi, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kakamega.

t Mary’s Mumias Girls is known as a Centre of Excellence in Kakamega County and nationally due to its good performance.

The school is ranked among the cleanest schools in the region with a student population of 1357.

Registered as a six stream school, it has 35 teachers employed by TSC and 17 employed by the BoM. In 2020 KCSE, the school had a mean of 7.28, up from 7.01 in 2019. Out of the 228 candidates who sat the exams, 159 joined public universities under the government sponsorship programme.

For the 2021 KCSE, the school registered 250 candidates who have set a target of 9.84. They have a warcry slogan of ‘Attack, Defend and Score’, reminiscent of a bellicose football formation.

Determination and willingness to grasp new ideas are among the many singularities putting the performance of the school ahead.

Esther Akiso Amukwachi, the Chief Principal and an active teacher of Home Science, joined the school in 2019 and has completed many stalled projects and initiated workable programmes in the short stint she

The school recently unveiled a storey building comprising of science laboratories, a Home Science lab, a library, a guidance and counseling office and the Office of the Deputy Principal Academics.

BoM Chair Diosiana Ahindukha.

Joseph Mulama, Bursar.

P.A Chair Maurice Adipo and lecturer Rongo University.

Candidates in magnificent uniform are prayed for.

Teachers give to God.

Chief Principal Esther Amukwachi (left) inviting retired former Chief Principal Rosemary Kwendo.

Elegant Chief Principal’s family.

Prof George Magoha(centre) with staff and students after commissioning the CBC classroom in the school.

Inside the bakery.

has been around.

The school recently unveiled a storey building comprising of science laboratories, a Home Science lab, a library, a guidance and counseling office and the office of the Deputy Principal Academics.

The structure was put up by parents, Mumias West CDF and the Ministry of Education.

The school also opened a

bakery and is in the process of constructing a perimeter wall.

A new storey building in the school was commissioned by the Rt. Rev. Joseph Obanyi Sagwe, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kakamega. It will host the pioneer CBC classes when they join next year.

The chief principal has done landscaping in the boarding area, hence improving the aesthetics of the school.

The school’s academic programmes are fully supported

Miss Mercy Luvai, Deputy Principal, Administration.

Mrs Phoebe Chivile, Deputy Principal, Academics.

Recently unveiled multipurpose storey building comprising of a Science and Homescience laboratories, and a host of offices. by all stakeholders led by the students themselves.

“Students’ discipline and smartness is impeccable and focus is at the core. The form four students are strictly supervised so that they comply with expectations,” said Amukwachi.

She revealed that the students are also tested every evening so that they familiarize themselves with KNEC exams.

Rev Obanyi prayed for the candidates as they prepare to sit their national exams.

He called upon all students to remain focused and work hard to attain their desired grades.

The institution has two deputy principals; Miss Mercy Luvai is in charge of administration and class teacher Form Four West.

She teaches Maths and Business Studies.

Phoebe Chivile is Deputy Principal Academics. She teaches Kiswahili and CRE and the class teacher Form Three East.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

27

EDUCATION NEWS

SPORTS

Hockey enthusiast nurtures young talent through own academy

By Cally Imbai Hockey has been described as a combination of blood, sweat and beauty. More than any other sport, it’s a game of motion, hence the momentum of the game keeps flowing even when the referee whistles for an action to stop.

There are many reasons why hockey appeals to many people.

For some, it is the pure excitement of the sporting regalia and the speed with which players move around with their sticks. For others, it’s just the appearance of the players and the wilding of the sticks as they cut through the innocent air.

For others, it’s the pursuit of competition and challenge or Coach Anderson Musungu with young hockey trainees even the love of being around a team. championships. years.

In Kenya, not many schools The lack of hockey academies “I started the academy because nurture hockey players like in the regions is what pushed of two reasons. The first was to football players are nurtured. Anderson Musungu to start a pass my skills and experiences to Worse still, in Western, Nyanza hockey academy in Mumias West the children in a practical way and and Rift Valley regions, there Constituency, Kakamega County. the second reason was to enable were no hockey academies The hockey coach, lover and the children in the academy to get yet the regions have produced enthusiast of the game started scholarships to various secondary men and women who have Buchifi Hockey Academy, which schools as a result of their appeared on national and currently has an enrolment of dexterity and mastery of playing international platforms in hockey 30 players who are all under 12 hockey. It is said that one will get EDUCATION NEWS X

to places because of their talent,” Musungu said in an interview with Education News.

He added that the academy is designed to help the youngsters to improve their overall performance and enhance their understanding of the sport.

“These children come from very humble families. Through the hockey academy, I can bring together these children and nurture their skills with the hope that they will get sponsorships and or scholarships to various secondary schools, within and beyond Kakamega county. It is also my hope that the schools they join will not only value education but sports as well,” he said.

He added that courtesy of well-wishers, players in the academy are able to get training kits with hockey sticks and balls for practice.

Musungu, who is also a graphic designer, stated that the children at the academy have formed small teams amongst themselves for purposes of competition.

“We train during the weekends, as most of these children are primary school

day scholars from nearby local schools. After every training, we carry out mentorship sessions with the children. Through the sessions, we instill moral values in them and help them learn how well they can relate with other people in the society,” the coach revealed He opened up that his dream is to build a full hockey facility with the help of well-wishers, the academy graduates and any organization that may deem fit to support the sport.

He lauded Kakamega High School for coming in handy to nurture the talent of youngsters over the years.

“Besides being an academic powerhouse, Kakamega High School is among the few schools in the wider Western region that have heavily invested in sporting activities. Many talented students have in the recent past received scholarships to study in the school, courtesy of their prowess in different sports,” Musungu said.

He encouraged other schools to follow in the footsteps of Kakamega High.

MARCH, 2022

KINANGOP TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGE

022 M ay 2 e i n I n ta k s s ! ! e p ro g r

The Principal, Agnes Gachenge

THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS, PRINCIPAL, STAFF AND TRAINEES OF KINANGOP TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGE WISHES THE 2021 KCPE AND KCSE CANDIDATES SUCCESS IN THE FORTHCOMING NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS.

We offer the following courses at artisan, craft and diploma level:-

Success

Automotive Engineering Mechanical Engineering Business Studies Electrical & Electronics Engineering Information, Communication Technology NAROK (ICT) Food & Beverage Production and Service Hair & Beauty Therapy Building Construction Technology Civil Engineering For further information please contact us on: Tel: 0796 499 244/ 0790 715 715 E-mail: kinangoptvc@gmail.com

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

28

Ziwa TTI hosts festival to promote diversity, identify talent

By Dennis Bett

B

ased in Uasin Gishu County, Ziwa TTI recently held a jamboree for all its students at the college park to promote diversity, cohesion and nurture talents among the students.

During the event, Ziwa Exodus Dancers, Solo Vocal, Ziwa Classic, Oliwa and Ziwa Taekwondo were performed by students and tutors.

Speaking during the event, the institution’s Chief Principal Mr. Daniel Nyariki thanked the students for attending the event in large numbers and promised to roll out programmes that will help tap talents within the college.

Nyariki said they had rolled out

Mrs Mary Mueni, Deputy Academics. an elaborate plan geared towards making the college a nationally and globally recognized learning institution capable of producing job creators and polished students who can shine around the globe.

“Our plans are inclined towards infrastructure, innovation and research, which will make our institute soar higher,” he said.

He revealed that he had streamlined the marketing department to help recruit more form four leavers across the region to benefit from their programmes.

“I’m planning to increase the current student population to over 3,000 within the next three years,” he said.

Nyariki held that he had already created a college park to help in recreational activities where students can do their homework and other relaxation activities.

“I will install a Wi-Fi in the park so that students can do their

The school administration block.

Daniel Nyariki, Chief Principal.

The Deputy Adminstration. research,” he pointed out.

The visionary principal added that he would install a new modern gate as well as lay cabros on the walkways to enhance aesthetics.

He observed that the team of tutors at the institution is supportive and added that he will initiate capacity building and training programmes for effectiveness.

Nyariki said he will streamline the courses offered at the institution and introduce more courses tailored towards the target market.

He appealed to form four leavers to be part of the college by enrolling for courses at the institution.

“We would like you to be part of us in building the world and making it a better place than we found it,” he said.

Application and admission to the institute is through the KUCCPS portal. Candidates can also apply for direct admission to the institute though they will have to be regularized by KUCCPS for purposes of capitation.

A dance troupe showcases talent.

Nyariki revealed that the students at the school can apply for HELB funding and bursaries from the county and national governments, as well as other sponsors.

He revealed that an information centre is already being created at the college to help update students on all activities going on at the college.

He revealed that through the jamboree, they had given students a platform to interact and showcase their talents, adding that they were using such avenues to create employment opportunities for learners upon the completion of their studies.

In line with the festival, the principal revealed that they will host a three day cultural week to help identify talents.

He also revealed that the institute is set to hold its maiden graduation ceremony.

Nyariki decried the rampant abuse of drugs among the youth and said that to curb the vice, he plans to be closer to the students and advise them on the dangers of using drugs.

He also promised to invite various speakers to guide them on the vice.

At the peak of the event, a seasoned motivational speaker spoke to the students on various life

The school library.

The Taekwondo group displays defensive moves.

Chief Principal Daniel Nyariki (left) with deputies for academics and administration Mrs Mueni and ....

Tutors follow proceedings.

issues, ranging from diligence to focus.

The students and trainers were later treated to a sumptuous meal.

Ziwa TTI was established in 2011 by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology under the Economic Stimulus Package under the mentorship of The Eldoret National Polytechnic as Ziwa Campus.

It started its own operations in

January 2015 as Ziwa Technical Training Institute. Since then, the student enrollment has grown to over 1900 as of January 2022.

The institute offers courses that are market driven aimed at closing the gaps in the labour market. The institution also seeks to empower learners with skills and expertise and be the driving force behind the technological agenda of the country.

Lecture halls under construction.

Students follow proceedings.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

29

EDUCATION NEWS

Ministry of Education State Department of Vocational and Technical Training

ZIWA TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTE P.O BOX 1055-30100 ELDORET Tel: 0705 98 11 11,0720998595

JANUARY 2022 INTAKE IN PROGRESS

Republic of Kenya

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT COURSE

LEVEL

DURATION

KCSE MEAN GRADE

ADDITIONAL ALT. MIN REQMT

ALT. REQUIREMENT

INTAKE

EXAM BODY

Electrical and electronics Engineering (Power option) Mod. I Electrical and Electronics Engineering (Telecom. option) Mod. I Electrical and Electronics Engineering (Instrumentation and Controls Option) Mod. I Electrical and electronics Engineering (Power option) Mod. I

Diploma (Modular) Diploma (Modular)

3 YRS 3 YRS

C- (Minus) C- (Minus)

C- (Minus) in Maths and Physics C- (Minus) in Maths and Physics

-

January January

KNEC KNEC

Diploma (Modular)

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

C- (Minus) in Maths and Physics

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KNEC

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Pass in Artisan

Artisan (TEP)

D- (Minus)

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January January

KNEC

Artisan in Electrical Installation

2 YRS 1 YR

D (Plain)

January January

KNEC KNEC KNEC

Craft (Modular)

KNEC

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Mechanical Engineering (Plant Option) Mod. I Automotive Engineering Mod. I Automotive Engineering Mod. I Welding and Fabrication

Diploma (Modular) Diploma (Modular) Craft (Modular)

3 YRS 3 YRS

C- (Minus) C- (Minus) D (Plain)

-

D (Plain)

-

Pass in Artisan Pass in Artisan

Craft (TEP)

3 YRS 2 YRS

Welding and Fabrication

Artisan (TEP)

1 YR

D- /K.C.P.E

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January

Refrigeration and Air conditioning

Artisan (TEP)

KNEC

1 YR

D- (Minus)

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-

January

KNEC

January January

KNEC

BUILDING AND CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Building and Construction Technology Mod. I

Craft (Modular)

2 YRS

D (Plain)

-

Pass in Artisan

January

KNEC

Building and Construction Technology Mod. I

Diploma (Modular)

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

C- Maths &Physics

January

KNEC

Certificate in Plumbing

Craft (TEP)

2 YRS

D (Plain)

-

Pass in Artisan

January

KNEC

Artisan Certificate in Plumbing

Artisan (TEP)

1 YR

Craft (Modular)

2 YRS

-

Pass in Artisan

January

Certificate in Masonry

D- /K.C.P.E D (Plain)

January

KNEC KNEC

Artisan Certificate in Masonry

Artisan (TEP)

1 YR

D- /K.C.P.E

-

-

January

KNEC

Painting and decoration

Artisan (TEP)

1 YR

D-/K.C.P.E

-

-

January

KNEC

Diploma in Civil Engineering

Diploma (Modular

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

-

Pass in Craft

January

KNEC

Diploma in water engineering

Diploma (Modular

C- (Minus)

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Pass in Craft

January

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BUSINESS & DEVELOPMENT STUDIES DEPARTMENT Diploma in Accountancy

Diploma (TEP)

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

-

Pass in Craft

January

KNEC

Business management Mod. I Business Management

Diploma (Modular) Craft (TEP)

3 YRS 2 YRS

C- (Minus) D (Plain)

-

Pass in Craft Pass in Artisan

January January

KNEC KNEC

Supply Chain Management Mod. I Certificate in Supplies Chain Management Mod. I

Diploma (Modular) Craft (Modular)

3 YRS 2 YRS

C- (Minus) D (Plain)

D Plain in Maths

-

January January

KNEC KNEC

Craft certificate in Human Resource Mod I

Craft (Modular)

2 YRS

D (Plain)

D Plain in Maths

-

January

KNEC

Accounting Technician Diploma

Level I, II & III

2 YRS

C (Plain)

-

Pass in CAMS Level II

January

KNEC

Certificate in Accounting and Management Skills(CAMS)

Craft (TEP)

1 YR

D+ (Plus)

-

-

January

KNEC KNEC

Secretarial (Single & Group)

Craft (I,II,III)

2 YR

D (Plain)

-

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January

Secretarial Human Resource

Diploma Diploma

3 Yrs 3 Yrs

CC-

-

-

January January

KNEC KNEC

Social Work

Craft

2 yrs

D(plain)

-

-

January

KNEC

Social Work

Diploma ( Modular)

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

-

-

January

KNEC

HOSPITALITY AND INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT Certificate in Hair Dressing & Beauty Therapy

Craft (Modular)

2 YRS

D (Plain)

-

Pass in Artisan

January

KNEC

Artisan Certificate in Hair Dressing & Beauty Therapy

Artisan (TEP)

1 YR

D-(Minus)/K.C.P.E

-

-

January

KNEC

Food and Beverage

Artisan (TEP)

1 YR

D -(Plain)

-

-

January

KNEC

Food and Beverage

Craft (TEP)

2 YRS

D (Plain)

-

-

January

KNEC

Food and Beverage Mod 1

Diploma (Modular)

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

-

-

January

KNEC

Catering and Accommodation

Craft (Modular)

2YRS

D (Plain)

KNEC

Catering and Accommodation

Diploma (Modular)

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

-

January January

Fashion and Design

Craft (Modular)

2YRS

D (Plain)

January

KNEC

Fashion and design

Diploma (Modular)

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

-

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KNEC

Level I

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AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT General Agriculture Module I

Diploma (Modular)

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

-

-

January

KNEC

Craft Certificate in General Agriculture

Craft (TEP)

2 YRS

D (Plain)

-

Pass in Artisan

January

KNEC

Artisan Certificate in General Agriculture

Artisan (TEP)

1 YR

D- (Minus)

-

-

January

KNEC

INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT Computer Studies

Diploma (TEP)

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

C- (Minus) Engl/Kisw and Maths

Pass in Craft

January

KNEC

Information Communication Technology (DICT) Mod. I

Diploma (Modular)

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

-

-

January

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Information Technology Mod. I

Craft (Modular)

2 YRS

D (Plain)

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-

January

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Diploma in Information Science Mod. I

Diploma (Modular)

3 YRS

C- (Minus)

-

-

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Craft Certificate in Library and Information Science Mod. I

Craft (Modular)

2 YRS

D (Plain)

-

-

January

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Certificate in Graphic Design

Craft

1YRS

D (Plain)

January

KASNEB

Diploma in computer Networks and System Administration

Diploma

2YRS

C- (Minus)

January

KASNEB

Certificate in Information and Cyber Security

Craft

1YRS

D (Plain)

January

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Cyber Security

Level 4

D+ Plus

January

CDAC

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Level 4

D+ Plus

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Level 4

D+ Plus

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Office Administration

Level 4

D+ Plus

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SHORT COURSES OFFERED

NOTE: WE ARE A GOVERNMENT ACCREDITED INSTITUTION AND ALL OUR STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM HELB LOAN AND KUCCPS

Location: 45 Km, Eldoret—Kachibora Road

CBET COURSES

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COMPUTER PACKAGES

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DRIVING SCHOOL

Correspondence should be addressed to the Chief Principal Ziwa Technical Training Institute P o Box 1055—30100, ELDORET. Please send your copies of K.C.S.E Results slip/Certificate, School Leaving Certificate, National ID, and Birth Certificate. Alternatively use college email address: admission@ziwatti.ac.ke Limited Hostel facility available ACCOUNT NUMBER: 01129672837200 CO-OPERATIVE BANK

30

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

KENYA TEACHERS SACCO ASSOCIATION Police Sacco Building, 4th Floor. +254 20 5231186 | +254 713 614 609.

Www.Ketsa.Co.Ke

info@ketsa.co.ke

KETSA holds leadership summit sharpens leaders’ skills

By George Otieno

K

enya Teachers Sacco Association (KETSA), on 15th February, held a leadership summit themed ‘Journey to the Top in Contemporary Times’ that brought together over 120 Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officers of the various Saccos.

The summit, which took place at the Pride Inn Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, was envisioned to equip the top management with the different significant leadership skills and relevant knowledge that would eventually assist them in rendering quality services to their members and ensuring that the various institutions are well placed in the market, making them competitive by offering value added and upto-date products and services that meet members’ current needs.

KETSA chairperson Mr. Robert Njue Kithanju, who has been at the helm of the association for almost a year now, said that he was pleased by the response he received from the members when the idea of the summit was first mooted. He added that the leadership summit had a huge turn out that exceeded the 100 member attendance mark that they had anticipated as organizers.

“This being our first summit, we had set a very ambitious target of bringing together about a hundred leaders.We never imagined we would meet such a target, so having this big number is actually goals being achieved,” Kithanju said.

Mr. Kithanju further added that during the 3-day summit, he noticed high level of focus and interest from the members to learn following the extremely minimal in and out movements that were witnessed during the facilitation of the various topics.

Speaking on matters Saccos and regulations, Mr. Peter Njuguna, the SASRA CEO, who was the chief guest at the summit, applauded KETSA for organizing such a beneficial event, stating that there was power in industry coordination to transact around their own welfare and interests.

He said when Saccos mobilize well, they have the power to influence, drive their own agenda, steer the direction of change and

KETSA Chairman, Robert Njue Kithanju.

KETSA Vice Chair Kennedy Lidanya Keya.

take part in major decision making and not leave it to the government. He added that lack of the same often results in the society suffering in diverse spheres.

“The primary goal and the intention of the regulator has always been to enhance stability and financial inclusion. However, regulations alone cannot solve business problems. When the government, the regulator, and the industry players work together, they are able to balance and identify the real and actual challenges that directly affect the society and authoritatively articulate them in order to address them,” said the SASRA CEO. Mr. Njuguna also commended the Sacco society for remitting their taxes in good time and encouraged KETSA members to work together to position themselves better and make the society resilient.

KETSA Manager Mrs. Ivy Kageni Njagi stated that their main objective as an association is making their operations as smooth as possible and making sure they are on top of things at any given time.

She added that they ensure they are abreast with anything that is developing in the industry or that which has been there.

They also address the issues that affect their members, sensitize them and assist them make appropriate changes and decisions whenever there is need.

She added that such leadership summits and training are crucial to the Saccos as they put the organizations at an advantage especially on matters leadership, governance and regulation.

KETSA Secretary Mr. Peter Ngugi noted that in a movement of 19 active Saccos, it was prudent that the Society came together time to time to tackle common challenges and exchange ideas.

He added that such summits and trainings were a creative way of bringing Saccos together. He explained that such meetings helped in disseminating information quite easily so that it reaches members at the right time.

“Our main objective is to bring in more Saccos to KETSA so as to approach Sacco issues as one body. KETSA strives to facilitate such educative and informative inhouse trainings for its members, Boards, staffs and the Supervisory Boards and at the same time carry out capacity building. We work together to help members address taxation issues and work closely with SASRA and the Commissioner’s office in order to abide by

the law and take the Sacco journey as a team,” Ngugi said.

Mr. Ngugi also revealed that KETSA currently has a central fund where Saccos can borrow at a minimal interest rate.

He added that the association was working to jerk to reality Sacco shared services and mortgage financing as a product to meet members housing needs.

The summit, which was also a bonding and networking platform, saw the leadership trained on various areas such as Change Management, Influence in Leadership and Mental Wellness. The Saccos were challenged to be vibrant, relevant and to respond to the environment in which they operate so as to stay afloat to satisfy members’ needs. They were urged to adjust to current technological trends for a memorable experience and provide products and services that members can relate to and interact with. They were also encouraged to identify weaknesses and turn them into strengths by strengthening social capital to build trust and empower members.

KETSA has Ecopillar, Jumuisha and Boresha Saccos as its new recruits and aspires to register 20 more with time.

ABOUT KETSA AND ITS MEMBERSHIP

Cosmopolitan Sacco Society Ltd. Ideal Sacco Society Ltd. IG (Invest and Grow)Sacco KETSA Treasurer Mr. David Rono.

Kitui Teachers Sacco Society Ltd. Kwetu Sacco Society Ltd. Mentor Sacco Society Ltd. Metropolitan National Sacco Ltd.

Peter Ngugi, KETSA Secretary.

Solution Sacco Society Ltd. The Noble Sacco Society Ltd. Tower Sacco Society Ltd. Trans-Nation Sacco Ltd. Transnational Times Sacco Ltd. Winas Sacco Society Ltd. Boresha Sacco Society Ltd Trans-Elite Sacco Ltd.

New Fortis Sacco Society Ltd.

Eco Pillar Sacco Ltd.

Ollin Sacco Society Ltd.

Jumuisha Sacco Ltd.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

31

KENYA TEACHERS SACCO ASSOCIATION

+254 20 5231186 | +254 713 614 609.

Www.Ketsa.Co.Ke

Police Sacco Building, 4th Floor.

KETSA Chair lauds association’s progress alone, despite being the Chair.

I involve my fellow CEOs, Board members, staff and the members in general.

By George Otieno

I

n KETSA’s first ever Leadership Summit held in Mombasa, KETSA Chair Mr. Robert Njue Kithanju, took us through the association’s responsibilities and his role as the leader of 19 member Saccos.

Tell us who Mr. Robert Njue Kithanju is.

Robert Njue Kithanju is the chairman of Winas Sacco from Embu County and the Chair of KETSA. One of my roles as KETSA’s Chair is to organize and coordinate meetings and activities of the association. The association is basically meant for advocacy, bringing leaders together for capacity building, trainings and exposure to deepen the knowledge and the scope of thinking for leaders in the Sacco movement.

As the KETSA Chair, what values are the most important to you?

First and foremost, one has to be forthright. I greatly value honesty, integrity and positive relations.

Through integrity, we ensure that members’ funds are well taken care of. Through positive relations, we seek to ensure that we do not cause friction between members within the business environment that we operate in.

As Saccos, due to the open borders as well as market dynamics, we have crisscrossed each other’s territories.

You might find that Saccos with strong bases in, say region A, have opened a shop in region B that is perhaps known to be a strong base of another Sacco.

In such circumstances, we make sure that all the Saccos and their members have good relations and carry out their functions without any conflict.

How do you manage to perform your roles both as KETSA and Winas Sacco Chair?

I delegate. As a leader, I cannot perform all the responsibilities of the Saccos. That’s why we are a team.

For instance, during the Leadership Summit that just concluded, I did very little as chairman because the different responsibilities were spread across the different staff and members. I make sure I let my team take part in KETSA’s endeavours as I lead from behind as is required of me as a leader.

Were your expectations met in the leadership summit?

Winas Sacco Chairman Robert Njue Kithanju.

To begin with, this was our very first summit and we managed to surpass our target of bringing together 100 members.

We had over 100 leaders from the different Saccos converge at Pride Inn, Paradise Hotel.

Secondly, the summit was meant to be a learning platform where leaders could exchange ideas, bond and network. Seeing how members were glued to their seats as one couldn’t really see the frequent in and out traffic, I can say that goals were achieved.

Can you describe your journey as KETSA chair?

I took over as chairman from my predecessor on June 18, 2021 and the first event I organized was a delegates’ conference in Kasarani. During the conference, we completely changed the model and mindset of members.

As KETSA, we managed to put in place structures that would ensure the members were as comfortable as possible during the conference.

From the conference to hotel rooms, we made sure we changed how we ordinarily did things before and members felt like their dignity was safeguarded. That really made me happy since I understood then that as KETSA, we were not where we had been before.

How would your colleagues describe you? (laughing) I cannot quite exactly answer that since am not them.

However, from the few feedbacks we have received, I can tell that they find me to be very involving.

I ensure that I take every step with my team and not alone. This makes everyone take part in decision making and running the association since I cannot run things

KETSA delegates at the summit.

How do you motivate your team?

The best motivation I give my team is availing myself to them.

This makes it easy for anybody who needs my attention.

I work very closely with my team such that from a distance, you might not even realize the chairman-staff space.

We work at one level and through that, the team feels relaxed to share with me and to challenge me.

Adequate engagement, sharing and challenging one another is where success comes from as nothing beats teamwork.

How do you resolve conflicts between Sacco members?

When it comes to conflicts, especially in a big organization such as KETSA, how one approaches conflict is very important.

Identifying the root cause of a problem without bias is also key.

Employment of diplomatic means can also be very helpful.

What is your preferred method of communication and why?

Personally, I am a people’s person. I prefer a one-on-one mode of communication, unless it is completely impossible to do so.

One-on-one communication allows me to connect directly with whoever I am communicating with and get to see their body language and know whether we are really communicating or not.

My second preference is the use of mobile phones simply because unlike text or email, one can read the mood and tone of the conversation very easily.

Who is your favourite leader and why?

At the moment, I would say the President. This is because he has demystified the notion and the image that people once had about the State House.

Previously, it was thought that State House was only for the chosen few and the rich people in authority.

The president has made it easy for people to interact and relate with him, especially looking at how sometimes he breaks protocols and freely joins the public to mingle and converse.

What advice would you offer young people and other leaders hoping to be in your shoes someday?

I would say the journey to the top is tortuous: long and sometimes rough and tiresome. You have to be focused and endeavour to be the best in whatever you do. You must be driven by the inside force and be self-motivated to reach your goals. Transparency, strong values, honesty and integrity are key especially when you are managing public funds. Follow your dreams at all times.

info@ketsa.co.ke

What KETSA stands for Core Values

PROFESSIONALISM INTEGRITY EQUALITY RESPECT QUALITY SERVICE DEDICATION EQUITY TEAM WORK

KETSA’s Objectives a) To bring together and unite the teachers’ Saccos in the region in the pursuit of common interests and to provide a forum where the merger of teachers’ Saccos into a larger unit is promoted. b) To provide the means for co-operation among the committees of member Saccos and to facilitate the expression of their collective views and opinions and to secure effective representation as may be required. c) To participate in all matters calculated to lead to the economic improvement of the member Saccos general membership. d) To foster education and training of the members and employees through exchange programs and to provide a forum to disseminate and exchange information and experiences for the mutual benefit of the members. e) To establish and maintain funds by means of entrance fees, yearly subscriptions and levies or from any other source approved by the Association. f) To cooperate with other organizations in order to promote the members’ interests and in furtherance of this objective, this Association may affiliate to other approved relevant organizations and institutions. g) Any other objective in furtherance of the above objectives.

Key Business Drivers & Result Areas A. Governance Membership growth Capacity strengthening and learning Partnerships Compliance to legal framework Research and Advocacy B. Operations Optimization of the Organization structure Human Resource Management Risk Management and Internal Control Frameworks Operational Efficiency

C. Enterprise Development -Projects Land purchase and sale Developed property purchase and sale Electricity Generation and sale D. Finance Share Capital growth Deposits growth Loan portfolio growth Investment Mix and Income

EDUCATION NEWS

32

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

KENYA TEACHERS SACCO ASSOCIATION

+254 20 5231186 | +254 713 614 609.

Www.Ketsa.Co.Ke

Police Sacco Building, 4th Floor.

info@ketsa.co.ke

From phantom idea to a corporate behemoth Ivy Njagi recalls how an idea blossomed into a big organization with a national appeal, as she reveals how they have set their eyes on building a billion shilling empire in the next five years. It is a story of resilience, determination, purpose and courage.

By George Otieno

D

uring KETSA’s leadership summit held in Mombasa in February, we managed to catch up with the association’s manager Ms. Ivy Kageni Njagi. She was in the banking industry before finding her way into the Sacco movement, and holds a Bachelor’s degree and an MBA in Finance.

Here are her thoughts about the organization and what the future holds for the umbrella body.

as possible for our Saccos and informative trainings through came together remotely these things, and I happened Final word? even take it a notch higher to the various topics such as through phones and other to be that person even though I would like to advise not only touch and change change management, business means to address their issues.

I didn’t know where the young people that there’s a things in the Sacco, but also to evolution, leadership influence KETSA was first formed association wanted to go or process to everything. You touch and change members’ and many others. in 2007 but come 2012, they what it stood for. I began then don’t just wake up and find lives.

In the beginning, before realized they needed to make as an accountant and now here things at your disposal. Most As KETSA, our top KETSA became what it is their movement known and we are as the manager! young people don’t want would be making sure we today, the entire journey was legal and so, they registered to go through the process. are on top of things by being not looking very straight nor the association that year.

What do you do to ease off Some try, but they give up abreast with everything that was there even a ray of light After some time as they grew, the pressure? halfway. You see others doing is developing in the industry at the end of the tunnel as bigger issues were coming At my free time I enjoy better and you want theirs. and that which has been there, there was no office as I had and they needed to converge, travelling, seeing new places Trust the long and tedious addressing members’ issues, mentioned earlier. They had organize and even start and meeting new people. If process. There are valleys and sensitizing them and helping the idea, looked for a place and making contributions to keep am not working, I am either countless challenges, you will EDUCATION NEWS 2021 JAN 2022 them make appropriate24 then they put me there. There them together. travelling or socializing, in DEC get22, there.

Do- not be10, distracted EDUCATION NEWS JAN 10, 2022 changes and decisions24 was no physical location or They then had to open a good way. I love watching DEC by22, the 2021 grass -that always looks 20 5231186 +254 713 614 609. whenever there is need. anything since all thisTEACHERS began as an office and of course put movies. I also like to cook and +254greener on|the other side.

KENYA SACCO ASSOCIATION +254 20 5231186 +254 713 614 609. info@ketsa.co.ke Www.Ketsa.Co.Ke I am eagerly looking an advocacy where members someone inSACCO it toBuilding, coordinate4th all Floor. bake.

Water |your grass.

KENYA TEACHERS ASSOCIATION Police Sacco info@ketsa.co.ke Www.Ketsa.Co.Ke Police Sacco Building, 4th Floor. forward to when, as an association, we will acquire an asset base MENTOR TO PAY OTHER MPESA NUMBER of a billion shillings. I MENTOR Allows TO PAY OTHER MPESA NUMBER you to transfer money from your account want us to grow and be direct you to another person’s Theaccount other Allows to transfer money MPesa. from your big. Currently, we are at person to doesn’t necessarily need to be The a member another person’s MPesa. other *276*1# direct of Mentor Sacco. person doesn’t necessarily need to be a member about Shs 200 million; *276*1# The easiest way ofDial Mentor Sacco. *276*1# a very huge milestone The easiest Select*276*1# (5) pay other Mpesa to bankway Dial FOR FUNDS TRANSFE FOR FUNDS TRANSFER made considering that Select pay otherPhone Mpesa Number to bank Enter (5) recipient FOR TRANSFE FOR FUNDS TRANSFER Or OrFUNDS Allows a member to Phone internally transfer money to Allows a member to internally transfer money to when I first joined, we Amount Enter recipient Number Or Select (3) t Select MP niOr Kwetu any ofinternally his/her accounts i.e.

Loans savings or to(3) to Pay Anothers Enter any of his/her accounts i.e. Loans savings ortransfer Allows aPIN member toorinternally money Allows a member to transfer money toorHapa Enter Amount were at about Shs 20 EnterNumbe recipi Enter recipient Phone other Members Select (3) t other Members account.

(3) to Pay Anothers MP niSelect Kwetu any of his/her accounts i.e. Loans savings or Amount Enter PIN any of his/her accounts i.e.

Loans oraccount. savings or orHapa Enter Amou Enter Enter recipi Enter recipient Phone Numbe million.

TO WITHDRAWAL CASH anyDial other Members account. anyDial other Members account. *276*1# *276*1# Enter PIN Enter PIN Enter Amou Enter Amount WITHDRAWAL CASH Dial Select (6) Funds Transfer (6) Funds Transfer Dial *276*1# We have already Enter PIN Enter PIN AllowsTO one to withdraw cash Select from*276*1# OrAnothers Select (4 Or Select (4) to Pay A TO AIRTIME Select (2) to Any own MPA Enter recipient Phone Select (2) to Any ownBUY MPA (6) Transfer Funds Transfer Funds Transfer EnterNumbe recipie your account to your Mpesa Allows one todirect withdraw cash from (6) Transfer started putting some OrAnothers Select (4 Or Select (4) to Pay A TO BUY AIRTIME Enter Account type Enter Account type Select (2) Transfer to Any own MPA Enter Accou Select (2) Transfer to Any own MPA Enter Account type Allows a member to purchase Safaricom airtime EnterNumbe recipie Enter recipient Phone your account direct to your MpesaAmount Enter Amou Enter Amount Amountortype measures in place Dial *276*1# Enter Account Enter Account typeaphones Enter Account typeEnter Accou to their any other persons phone Allows member to purchase Safaricom airtime Enter PIN Enter PIN PIN Enter PIN Enter Amou Enter Amount Enter Amount Amount Select (1) - Cash Withdrawal Dial *276*1# TO CHECK GUARANTORS & GUARANTEES such that if we stick to their phones or any other persons phone Enter PIN Enter PIN Anthony Kamau, Dial Enter PIN*276*1# Enter PIN Enter Amount Select (1) -check Cashon Withdrawal TO CHECK GUARANTORS & GUARANTEES Allows you to your guarantors and work extra hard, Mentor SaccoKamau, chairman.

Anthony Buy *276*1# airtime Dial TO PAY BILLS PIN Enter Amount and those you have guaranteed.

Allows you to check on your guarantors Hapa ni Kwetu Mentor Sacco chairman.

Ownairtime Phone/ Phone Buy in accordance to those TO PAYother BILLS Enter PIN and those you have guaranteed.

Allows a member to pay any paybill and transfer Dial *276*1# Hapa ni Kwetu EnterPhone/ Amountother Phone Own laid down measures, Select (1) for Guarantors to another bank account Allows a member to pay any paybill and transfer Dial *276*1# Enter PIN Enter Amount Enter PIN for GOODS Guarantors to another bank account TOSelect PAY (1) FOR we are going to hit the Select (2) for Guarantees& SERVICES Enter PIN TO CHECK BALANCE Dial *276*1# Hapa ni Kwetu Enter PIN PIN TO CHECK BALANCE TOEnter PAY FOR &and SERVICES Select (2) for GOODS Guarantees Select (8) Pay Bills Allows one to pay for goods services billion mark in about Dial *276*1# Allows one to check account Hapa ni Kwetu Enter PIN via till number Select (1) Pay any paybill Hapa ni Kwetu (8) one Billsto check Allows one to pay for goods and services Allows account current Savings and Loan balances five years.

Enter Paybill via till number Select (1) Paynumber any paybill Hapa ni Kwetu

*276# *276#

Hea d Of f i ce, Mu ran g a Town – Uh u r u Hi g h wa y St reet .

PO B ox 7 89 -102 00, Tel: 02 0-35 80167 ; 07 39 -745 2 2 0; 07 04- 06682 7 Hea d Of f i ce, Mu ran g a Town – Uh u r u Hi g h wa y St reet . i n fo@men tor s a cco.co. ke Web s ite: www.men tor s a cco.co. ke PO B ox 7 89 -102 00, Tel: 02 0-35 80167 ; 07 39 -745 2 2 0; 07 04- 06682 7 i n fo@men tor s a cco.co. ke Web s ite: www.men tor s a cco.co. ke

Ms. Ivy Kageni, KETSA Manager.

Tell us about yourself and your work at KETSA My name is Ivy Kageni Njagi, manager of KETSA; an institution that I have been a part of since 2017.

Looking at how far we have come as an association and as an individual, I can largely attribute the milestones in the society and the growth achieved as a person to the unshaken and strong support system that I have around me as its first ever office holder.

As an individual, I couldn’t have done it but because the team that was entrusted with the offices was committed, everything worked out well.

What are your ambitions and driving force as a person and as an organization?

As KETSA, our achievements have always ridden on our unity, just as our motto rallies: “Unity, Our Strength.”

As Ivy, my primary goal is to see that we take the movement to the next level. Our theme in this year’s leadership summit was, “Journey to the Top in Contemporary Times,” and we have been challenged to define the top. I agree it is high time we defined the top and my top as a person is to make sure operations are as smooth

What are your strengths as an organization?

One of our objectives as KETSA is to create forums to interact, share and exchange programmes.

We have been doing this by organizing trainings that focus mainly on staff until this year when we decided to come up with programmes that also touch on the leaders of the Sacco.

Late last year, in one of the boardroom meetings, the idea of the leadership summit was conceived. The second and last summit of the year will come somewhere in the other half of the year, perhaps after the general elections.

How have the summits been coming along?

I am very pleased about the success of the summit considering the huge unexpected attendance and the overwhelming encouraging feedback that came in immediately after the summit came to an end. The members received extremely educative and

Joyce Ndegwa, Mentor CEO. Joyce Sacco Ndegwa, Mentor Sacco CEO.

Chairman, Chairman, Evans Sichangi.

Evans Sichangi.

BEST BEST WISHES WISHES TO TO 2021 2021 KCPE/KCSE KCPE/KCSE CANDIDATES CANDIDATES

CEO, CEO,Malavi.

Mr George Mr George Malavi.

PRODUCTS (BOSA) PRODUCTS (BOSA) • •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •

SHARES SHARES DEPOSITS DEPOSITS EMERGENCY LOAN EMERGENCY FEES LOAN LOAN FEES LOAN DEVELOPMENT LOAN DEVELOPMENT TOP-UP LOAN LOAN TOP-UP LOAN LOAN SUPER SAVER SUPER SAVER PREFERENTIALLOAN LOAN PREFERENTIAL LOAN SMART SAVER LOAN SMART SAVER LOAN

CONTACT US CONTACT US

current Savings and Loan balances Dial *276*1#

Dial *276*1#

accountnumber number Enter Paybill Select (4) pay forof goods & Services The Board Directors, Management and Staff at Select (2) - My Balances Dial *276*1# Dial *276*1# Enter amount account number Enter Till Number Select (4) pay forof goods & Services Hapa niat Kwetu Select -- for Savings Balances The Board Directors, Management and Staff Select (1) (2) My Balances PIN Mentor Sacco wish the 2021 KCPE and KCSE candidates Enter Amount Enter amount Enter Till Number Enter PIN Hapa ni Kwetu Select (1) for Savings Balances Enter PIN Enterand PIN Mentor Sacco wish the 2021 KCPE KCSE candidates Enter Amount success in their National examinations.

Having SelectPIN (2) for Loan Balances Enter Hapa ni Kwetu Enter PIN Hapa ni Kwetu Enter PIN success in their National examinations.

Select (2) for Loan Having Balances prepared well for the exams, confident that you Hapa ni Kwetu we are Hapa ni Kwetu Enter PIN prepared well for the exams, we areBless confident that you God You. will emerge victorious. will emerge victorious. God Bless You.

Success Success

The Board of Directors, Management and The at Board of Directors, Management Staff the Trans National Times Saccoand wish Staff at the Trans National Times Sacco wish the 2021 KCPE and KCSE Candidates Success the 2021 KCPE and KCSE Candidates Success in their National examinations.

National examinations.

We in aretheir confident that you will emerge We are confident that you will emerge victorious. victorious.

God Bless You!!

God Bless You!!

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PRODUCTS (FOSA) PRODUCTS (FOSA)

• •• •• •• •• •• •• •

AKIBA ACCOUNT AKIBA JUNIORACCOUNT ACCOUNT JUNIOR PIONEERACCOUNT SALARY ACCOUNT PIONEER SALARY ACCOUNT JIINUE SALARY ACCOUNT JIINUE SALARY ACCOUNT FIXED DEPOSIT ACCOUNT FIXED DEPOSIT ACCOUNT SACCO-LINK DEBIT CARD SACCO-LINK DEBIT CARD MOBILE BANKING MOBILE BANKING

PRODUCTS (MCU) PRODUCTS (MCU) • •• •• •

MICRO CREDIT ACCOUNT MICRO CREDIT ACCOUNT BUSINESS LOAN BUSINESS LOAN ASSET FINANCING ASSET FINANCING

• •• •• •

PREMIUM LOAN PREMIUM LOAN INSTANT LOAN INSTANT LOAN TULIZA LOAN TULIZA LOAN

ADVANCES ADVANCES

Postal Address: 2274,30200 Kitale Cell-phone: 0712585874, 0728337194 Physical Adress: Teachers Postal Address: Cell-phone: 0712585874, 0728337194 Physical Adress: Teachers Plaza, Next to 2274,30200 Kitale PoliceKitale Station Email: info@tntsacco.co.ke | Website: www.tntsacco.co.ke Plaza, Next to Kitale Police Station Email: info@tntsacco.co.ke | Website: www.tntsacco.co.ke

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

33

EDUCATION NEWS

KENYA TEACHERS SACCO ASSOCIATION

DEC 22, 2021 - JAN 10, 2022

31

EDUCATION NEWS

EDUCATION NEWS KENYA TEACHERS SACCO ASSOCIATION Police Sacco Building, 4th Floor.

Www.Ketsa.Co.Ke

+254 20 5231186 | +254 713 614 609.

X

FEBRUARY, 2022

Police Sacco Building, 4th Floor.

Police Sacco Building, 4th Floor.

+254 20 5231186 | +254 713 614 609. info@ketsa.co.ke

Www.Ketsa.Co.Ke

Imarika Sacco Together, We Grow Ollin Sacco Ollin

APRIL 2015

sAcco review | 13

FOCUS ON SACCOS IN KIRINYAGA COUNTY

Rebranded Ollin Sacco all fired up to meet its mandate

By Munene Maina

T

he first Sacco to operate Front Office Saving Activity (FOSA) countrywide, Ollin, is set to attract more members as it plans to expand its area of operation and better service delivery.

Formerly known as Muhigia Sacco Ltd, Ollin Sacco rebranded in line with its strategic plan geared towards success in fulfilling its mission and vision.

The Sacco was registered on June 1976 and has had a remarkable growth. From a membership of 163 on inception, the Sacco today boosts of over 6,000 loyal and dedicated members. Last year, Sacco’s BOSA deposits grew by 17 per cent to Sh 1.3 billion. The loan portfolio increased by 19 per cent to Sh 2.0 billion while the dividend/interest paid to members increased by 20 per cent.

Ollin is a fully licensed Sacco by the regulator Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA).

It has fully computerized its operations hence enabling branch networking and connectivity.

Members are also able to access their accounts through MBanking (Spot cash) services. The Sacco also issues them with ATM cards.

To ensure that it remains committed to its vision and mission, Ollin Sacco has developed a Strategic Plan and other necessary policy documents.

This has made the Sacco stabilise on interest on deposits and dividend payments to members. It has no backlog on loans.

Chairman, Cyrus Kabute Mungai

Mr Harrison Kinyua, Ollin Sacco Chairman.

The Sacco regularly conducts training for members, Board of Directors and staff which has seen it be in tandem with changes in the co-operative sector.

Ollin Sacco,located in Kerugoya town, Kirinyaga County has bagged many awards owing to its outstanding performance.

In the year 2011, it was awarded a trophy for the highest average savings in the teachers Sacco category nationally which it also won in 2012. The Sacco Ollin was also ranked the best managed Sacco in Kirinyaga County both in 2011 and 2012.

In 2013, it emerged second nationally in both the best managed Government/Local Government Sector Sacco and highest average savings in the Teachers Sacco category. The same year it topped County Saccos as the best in audit compliance and highest interest payment deposit savings in the urban Saccos category.

The Sacco currently has two branches at Kerugoya and Mwea Ngurubani towns and a satellite centre in Athi River town.

More branches are set to be opened soon. As its tradition, Ollin Sacco will be launching more innovative and attractive products and services to members and customers. It also plans to start a micro-credit progamme in future.

The Sacco draws its members from teachers, civil servants, business community, farmers, among other sectors.

Ollin is a Sacco for ‘all in’ and ‘together we prosper’.

Sacco

Together We Prosper A. BANKING (FosA) sERVIcEs 1.

savings

1

JoINT AccoUNT

LOANS

ACCOUNTS

Capital Loan

SAVINGS ACCOUNT

An account for those willing to do savings only 3.

Investment Loan

BUsINEss AccoUNT A convenient way to manage business funds.

4.

5.

Prime Loan

sToP GAP AccoUNT

2

BUSINESS ACCOUNT

An easy and affordable way of building finance security to cater for retirement era.

6.

FIXED DEPosIT AccoUNT

Premium Loan

An easy way to have your savings earn competitive rates 7.

GRoUP sAVINGs AccoUNT.

Emergency Loan

A convenient way for groups to mobilize savings for members.

8.

3 4

MAPATO ACCOUNT

5

JUNIOUR EDUCATION FUND

KILIMo AccoUNT

A savings account to channel farm proceeds.

FIXED AND CALL DEPOSIT ACCOUNT

B. BANKING (FosA) sERVIcEs

BEST WISHES TO 2021 ImarikaKCPE/KCSE Sacco Chairman, Imarika Sacco CEO, CANDIDATES Mr. Renson Ndoro Mr. George Yongo.

I. ii.

Savings account.

Fixed deposit account at competitive intrests rates iii. Children accounts. iv. Group savings accounts v.

Stop-gap accounts vi. Joint accounts vii. Business accounts. viii. Encashing of cheques.

Board of Directors, Management The The Board of Directors, Management and Staff at Imarika Sacco pleasure to the wish2021 the and Staff of have Ollinthe Sacco wish 2021 KCPE, KCSE Candidates success theirof KCPE and KCSE Candidates theinbest forthcoming national examinations.

You’veYou luck in their National examinations. prepared well and we trust that you’ll have worked hard and we trustexcel thatin you of trophies awarded to the exams. Some Ollin Sacco Headquarters.

Ollin sacco. will emerge victorious.

God Bless You!!

God Bless You

ix.

Banker’s cheque.

x. xi. xii. xiii. xiv. xv. xiv.

M-Pesa services ATM services.

SMS banking.

Pension payment.

E-banking services M banking (sp[ot cash services) Kilimo account

Alfa Loan Stawi Loan

1.

2.

3.

Success Good Luck

Okoa Loan

Advance/FOSA loan Fanikisha Loan Okoa Loan

D. BosA LoANs

6

Development Loans BOSA Plus Loan School Fees Loan

7

iii.

Be our member.

TOGETHER WE PROSPER.

Fosa Loan PAMOJA ACCOUNT 4.

Emergency Loans 5.

6.

Supa Loan.

Biz Loan - i. ii. iii. iv. v.

Fanikisha Loan

Pamoija Loan STOP GAP ACCOUNT Kilimo Loan

Mapato Loan

Savers Loan Stop-gap Loan.

Alfa Loan.

Headquarters: Ollin Sacco Building, Off Karatina - Kutus Road Mobile: +254 0724 256 461 Mail: info@ollin.co.ke, Web:Headquarters: www.ollin.co.ke Ollin Sacco, Off Karatina - Kutus Road Facebook: Sacco.

P. O. Box 83 - 10300,Ollin Kerugoya

E. oLLIN INVEsTMENTs LoAN i. ii.

Supa Loan Biz Loan

c. FosA LoANs 1.

2.

3.

Scholar Loan

It is a Long term investment loan It is meant to finance major projects that members wish to undertake for future benefits.

Its repayment period is 72 months.

Kahawa Loan Chai Bonus Loan

Tel: +254 060 21582, Wireless: +254 020 2423398, Mobile: +254 0724 256 461.

Mwea Branch, Ngurubani Town: Mobile: +254 0722 781 461.

Athi river / Kitengela area Mobile: +254 0724 951 575 Mail: info@ollin.co.ke, Web: www.ollin.co.ke

SOLUTION SACCO LIMITED

Ollin Sacco Members during the recent 38th AGM.

Your Ultimate Financial Partner

X | SACCO REVIEW

Vision

BEST WISHES TO 2021 KCPE/KCSE CANDIDATES To be accessible,

universal Sacco of Choice for excellent and vibrant economic growth

The Board of Directors, Management and the Staff of Solution Sacco wish good luck to the 2021 KCPE and KCSE Candidates in their national exams.

God Bless You!!

Success!!

MORTGAGE FINANCE

BEST WISHES TO 2021 KCPE & KCSE CANDIDATES

Solution Sacco Chairman Francis Rimberia.

The Board of Directors, Management and Staff of Tower Sacco wish the 2021 KCPE ,KCSE Candidates Success in their National examinations.

God Bless You.

To mobilize, offer diversified SOLUTION SACCO•• Integrity LIMITED Confidentiality sustainable financial products Sacco matters

Ultimate Financial Partner” and services“Your at competitive • Efficiency Vision: rates to uplift social-economic • Effectiveness To be a champion sacco providing financial solutions and services to clients in Kenya. standards of members within • Teamwork the Republic of Kenya andMission: • Equality To be a preffered financial provider of competitive and high quality market driven products beyond. and services through innovative technology.

• Equity Motto: • Creativity Truly where you belong.

• Innovation PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

OUR SERVICES SAVINGS PRODUCTS

1. Ordinary Savings Account 2. Hippo Junior Account 3. Holiday Account 4. Education Account 5. Stop-Gap Account 6. Mavuno Savings Account 7. Group/Corporate Account 8. Fixed Deposit Account 9. Retirement/Pension Account

CREDIT PRODUCTS FOSA LOANS 1. Salary Advances This product enables members to own either residential, 2. Jawabu Loan commercial properties or land.

3. Mkombozi Loan 4. Chapaa Mkononi SACCO AGENCY SACCO AGENCY

Good Luck

Solution Sacco CEO Daniel Marete.

JANUARY, 2022

Core values

Mission

on all

3. Super Loan

4. School fees Loan 5. Solution Prestige 6. Emergency Loan 7. Dividend Advance 8. Self Guaranteed Transact onLoan 9. Imarika Loan

MOBILE BANKING

your mobile

phone MICRO-FINANCE LOAN 1. Boda boda Loan 2. Business Loan 3. Agri-business Loan 4. Group Loan 5. Institution Loan 6. Asset Financing

DIAL

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OTHER SERVICES 1. Mobile Banking 2. Agency Banking TOWER SACCO BANKING 5. Solution Moderator Loan AGENCY (Solution Mashinani) For seamless cash 3.transaction ATM Card BOSA LOANS 4. Free Paybill (997960) • Funds Transfer 1. Normal Loan • Cash Deposit 5. M-Pesa Services • Loan Repayments • Cash Withdrawals 2. Development Loan 6. Personal ChequeRegbooks • School Fees Payment • Mini Statements ister at your nearest branch today HEAD OFFICE Mwalimu Plaza Building, Gakoromone Road.

Head Office: Ol’Kalou P.O. BOX 259-20303, OL’KALOU, TEL: 051-8000822 P. O. Box 1694 - 60200 Meru, Kenya.

CELL: 0733| 416 492,064 0723836421, EMAIL: info@towerTEL: +254 064 32192 FAX: +254 32075 | MOBILE NO.: 0728 787972/0734 321924 sacco.co.ke EMAIL: info@solutionsacco.com | WEB: www.solutionsacco.com Website: www.towersacco.co.ke, Tower Sacco is liand regulated byTimau, SASRA OURcensed BRANCHES: Meru, Nkubu, Maua, Kathwana, Isiolo, Nanyuki, Marimanti, Nairobi, Marsabit, Mikinduri, Chuka, Laare and Tseikuru.

EDUCATION NEWS

MARCH, 2022

KERICHO TOWNSHIP TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGE The Governing Council, the Chief Principal, Staff, Trainees and the entire

KERICHO TOWNSHIP TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGE

Wishes the 2021 KCPE and KCSE candidates success in their forth-coming national examinations.

Mr. Tonui Principal.

For further information please contact us on: 0713107307

CEOs Forum Chair promises to transform lobby

By George Otieno

Development Loan

cHILDRENs AccoUNT An avenue to train children the importance of saving and spending wisely.

John Gathige, CEO, Richard Njagi Ndaka Ollin Sacco CEO.

Finance Manager, John Gathige

savings Account

It is an account that can be ussed for processing of salaries, pensions and normal 2.

info@ketsa.co.ke

info@ketsa.co.ke

Www.Ketsa.Co.Ke

KENYA TEACHERS SACCO ASSOCIATION

X

+254 20 5231186 | +254 713 614 609.

Jan/May/Sept 2022 Intake in progress!!

M

B. OTHER SERVICES C. FOSA LOANS Banker’s cheque.

Advance/FOSA loan M-Pesa services ATM services.Fanikisha Loan Okoa Loan Pension payment.

E-banking services M banking (SPOT CASH SERVICE)

rs. Joyce N d e gD. w a LOANS BOSA Development Loans is Mentor School Fees Loan S a cEmergency c Loan. o Loans Supa Biz Loan CEO and the chairperson of Pamoja Loan Loan KETSA CEOs Forum. Scholar Alfa Loan She describes Investment her loan leadership style as one that is people oriented.

Mrs. Ndegwa said that while carrying out her duties both at KETSA and at Mentor Sacco, her main objective is to bring people together to ensure they achieve their goals as a team Mrs Joyce Ndegwa, since they all work towards Mentor Sacco CEO one major objective.

“I am a person who believes in people and and bad for me to be the teamwork.

I believe CEOs Forum chairperson whatever I have achieved yet Mentor Sacco isn’t has been because of performing. I really feel working with others and like I have to begin from believing in them by home. I really want to be allowing them to do their and I am involved so much work,” she said. in Mentor Saccos’s issues She reveals that the and transactions so that I greatest motivation a am sure we are doing what’s leader can give their team supposed to be done, we are members is giving them achieving our goals and are room to do their work actually working towards without nagging them or our members achieving micromanaging everything. what they should,” she She pointed out that explained. leadership isn’t easy as She expressed it comes with various satisfaction in KETSA’s challenges and numerous just concluded leadership criticisms. summit held in Mombasa.

She pointed out that she She said the response takes criticism positively from member Saccos and as it helps her work on her the sponsors was very weaknesses and be a better positive and the organizers version of herself. were tantalized considering “However, when the it was their first summit criticisms are negative ever. and biased without any She revealed that they substantial facts, it can surprised themselves by sometimes make you feel surpassing their target of let down because you can’t hosting 100 members and publicly defend yourself. managing to bring together Nevertheless, you have to 117 participants. move on and prove to them “It is good when we all that they were wrong,” come together like this as she added.

KETSA in good times to Mrs. Ndegwa revealed learn, interact and exchange that originally, KETSA was ideas. As an association, we formed by the teachers of feel low when we see one of Mount Kenya region. It our member Saccos going later changed its original through a difficult situation name from Mount Kenya in business. We certainly Teachers Sacco Association try to work together as to KETSA upon realizing CEOs by lifting each other’s that it was crucial to bring hand and making sure that a on board other teachers’ Sacco’s CEO , who might be Saccos countrywide so as to undergoing some business solve matters that affected challenges, is back on their them all as one big team. feet,” Mrs. Ndegwa said.

Mrs. Ndegwa explained As a leader, Mrs. that her biggest strength Ndegwa resonates with other comes from standing on and leaders who diligently work relying on Mentor Sacco, to leave a mark in people’s the Sacco that got her to lives, those who positively KETSA and in her current touch people’s lives directly position as the chairperson or indirectly through value of its CEOs Forum. professionalism, teamwork “It would be wrong and integrity.

34

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

Sponsored Content

Noble Sacco assets hit Sh3 billion as incomes reach all time high The growth of the Sacco is manifested in its robust expansion plans that aim to make transactions easy and convenient. Through the resolution of delegates, the Sacco is doing a feasibility study to open new branches and satellite offices. They also intend to introduce agency banking to enhance growth in membership and asset base.

By Dennis Bett

T

he Noble Sacco based in UasinGishu County has seen its asset base rise to Sh.3 billion and its income grow to Sh.5.1 billion in the year ending December 31, 2021.

Loan disbursement, which is its business pillar, rose to Sh.2.6 billion up from Sh.2.2 billion in 2020, representing an increase of 21 percent. The loan book portfolio also rose to Sh.2.3 billion up from Sh.2.0 billion, an increase of 13 percent.

As a result, there was a remarkable improvement The chief guest Mr Robert Njue (Left) receives a gift from Board Director Ruth Limo in’ nterests on deposits while Dr Charles Nyabero, Hon Secretary looks on.

Membership has grown to 14,226 due to the intensive work by the marketing team despite the stiff competition from other financial institutions.

Mr David Rono, Chairman.

with a cumulative figure of Sh.187,794,435 being disbursed at 11 percent as dividends.

Speaking during the 42nd Annual Delegates Meeting (ADM) held at the Eldoret Sports Club, the chairman Mr. David Rono thanked members

for continued cooperation and sacrifice even as the adverse effects of Covid-19 were being felt across board.

The colourful event saw members being issued with calendars, branded pens and notebooks, plus other gift hampers.

The event was pre-

sided over by the Kenya Teachers Sacco Association (KETSA) chairman Mr. Robert Njue who is also the chairman of Winas Sacco. He encouraged members to invest fully in the Sacco by channeling their salaries through the FOSA section as well as borrowing and repaying loans promptly.

“Membership has grown to 14,226 due to the intensive work by the marketing team despite the stiff competition from other financial institutions,” remarked Rono.

He urged existing members to adopt a memberrecruit-member strategy, where old members bring new ones on board.

The chairman said that the management, through the resolution of delegates, is doing a feasibility study to open new branches and satellite offices. They also intend to introduce agency banking to enhance growth in membership and asset base.

Also present was the Sacco Chief Executive Officer Mr. Meshack Maru, who observed that they were the most tax compliant society according

computerized all departments including the registry to avoid manual file movements, adding that the Sacco was training the Board on ICT to appraise forms electronically and utilize the services with ease. He said they will soon start displaying their service charter as well as marketing materials in strategic places like banking halls and reception areas.

Encouraging members to invest in share capital to help grow the Sacco, the CEO disclosed that the society’s share capital rose to Sh.196,477,463 up from Sh.166,842,234, which represents a growth of 18.36 percent.

Mr Philip Rirei, Treasurer.

The Sacco is the most tax compliant society (in Kenya) according to the KRA, which feted Noble for the achievement.

Mr Meshack Maru, CEO.

to the KRA, which feted them for the achievement.

He said their land, dubbed ‘Mafikiro’ , will be put into good use through income generating activities.

The CEO said that they

Present also at the ADM was Uasin-Gishu County Cooperative Commissioner Mrs. Roseline Rae who observed that the society should continue aggressively recruiting more members to enhance their stability.

Soy MP Caleb Kositany lauded members for making good decisions affecting the Sacco, urging management to diversify Sacco’s products to reap more from the market.

Cont next page....

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

35

EDUCATION NEWS

Remarkable growth of Noble Sacco prompts new aspirations THE NOBLE SACCO SOCIETY LTD

...from previous page

OUR SOURCE OF WEALTH

A Uasin-Gishu County education official Alex Nyakweba and Ambassador Julius Bittok separately praised members for building their society.

Moiben KNUT Executive Secretary Mr. Sammy Bor congratulated the chairman for his election as the KETSA chairman. He said the Sacco was bound to reap bountifully from the ongoing CBA talks.

At the end of the event, an election of delegates was conducted to replace representatives who were due to retire according to the Cooperatives Act, which requires a one third rotation applicable after every three years. The delegates are set to represent the Board.

Those who were elected include Dr. Nyabero Charles, representing the Central region, Dr. Ben Kiptoo for Ainabkoi, Sarah Maiyo from Kaptagat and Zablon Biwott who will join the Supervisory Committee.

Noble Sacco Society was registered on February 10, 1977, with a membership of 674 and a share capital of Sh.56,000 at the end of that financial year.

BEST WISHES TO 2021 KCPE, KCSE CANDIDATES

Sacco Chairman Mr David Rono (Right) together with his Vice Chairman Dr Ben Rono and Treasurer Mr Philip Rirei (Left) follow proceedings.

Mr David Rono, Board Chairman.

Mr Meshack Maru, Sacco CEO.

The Board of Directors, Management and the Staff at The Noble Sacco have the best wishes for the 2021 KCPE and KCSE Candidates in their National examinations.

God Bless You!!

A delegate makes her point.

Success www.noblesaccosociety.co.ke Delegates participating in elections.

info@noblesaccosociety.co.ke +(254) 796 094 842

THE ELDORET NATIONAL POLYTECHNIC

NORTH EASTERN

Garissa partners with KLB to supply EDCE learning materials

By Amoto Ndiewo

The Governing Council, the Chief Principal, Staff, Trainees and the entire community of

THE ELDORET NATIONAL POLYTECHNIC Wishes the 2021 KCPE and KCSE candidates success in their forthcoming national examinations.

Charles Koech, Principal

For further information please contact us on: :0714 871 685,0738 092 126, Fax: 053 203 31 88.

The Eldoret National Polytechnic, P.o Box 4461-30100, Eldoret. KENYA.

April / May 2022 Intake in progress!!

The county government of Garissa and Kenya Literature Bureau(KLB) have signed an agreement to supply learning materials to Early Childhood Development Education(ECDE) and Technical and Vocational Education Training institutions.

Speaking after being gifted the partnership business model by KLB sales and marketing representative Ali Bille, Garissa County secretary Abdi Ali welcomed the partnership saying it will go a long way in improving learning at the said institutions.

He urged the institutions to make good use of the quality learning materials from KLB. ‘’ The county government is committed to addressing the plight of teachers, and setting a strong base for our children’s education ,’’ said Ali .

He further urged the youth to join tertiary institutions as the county needed personnel with such skills. ‘’As a county, we have pumped in a substantial amount of funds to improve infrastructure, as well as equip the TVET institutions,’’ he said.

Bille said the partnership came as a boost to capacity building training on Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).

36

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

Godoma Technical Training Institute

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Payment of Fees 1. Annual Fee for a KUCCPS admitted student is Ksh. 56,400. (Exclusive of Exam & Accommodation Fee) 2. surAll payments to the institution are payablea topivotal the KCB,role Accounthelp No. 1172676828 Kilifi Branch and the drive Requirements the communities communication plays save lives, significantly Requirements

By Michael Oduor Short Courses rounding us,” he said. community advancement and ofdown health-related costs and corbanking in slips presented to the Institution to facilitate issuance official receipts.

The signing of the that there is soInstitute muchdoes rect misinformation about health Rongo University signed 3.Mean GodomaC Technical Training NOT accept cash payments.

1 has Diploma (Minus) 3responsibility Years KNEC Diploma in Social Work in Social Work KCSE Mean -KCSE (Minus) 3-Years Full-Time MoUC comes months attached to communication objec- Full-Time issues. KNEC a1 Memorandum of Understanding 1 Brick Making, Tilling Open 3Months Full/Part Time GTT 4.

Fees can also be paid through Mpesa Paybil Number 522522 and Account No. 1172676828 after a workshop on tives.

Through the collaboration, with African Health Solutions Jour2 inonSales Diploma in Sales and Marketing C3-Years (Minus) 3graduates Years 5.Mean Accommodation Fee payable is Ksh. 15,000 per term.can (InclusiveFull-Time of Meals)KNEC 2 Diploma and Marketing KCSE Mean C -KCSE (Minus) Full-Time ‘Solutions Journalism This will ensure Rongo University’s SchoolKNEC of Infornalism Initiative (AHSJI) train(SoJo)’ was conduct- effectively provide health solution mation, Communication and Media ing of Journalism students. ed for the department following the approach Full-Time StudiesKNEC lecturers have benefited the for the 3 MoU Diploma Supply Chain Management Mean Creports (Minus) 3SoJo Years KNEC 3 While signing Diploma in Supply Chain in Management KCSE Mean CDEPARTMENT -KCSE (Minus) 3-Years Full-Time BUSINESS of Communication, which aims at “effective solutions- from solution journalism training. collaboration, Rongo University Journalism and Me- oriented media coverage”. It has a The communication, media and Vice Chancellor Prof.4Samuel Gudu Diploma in Business Management KCSE Mean (Minus) 3 Years KNEC 4 Diploma in Business Management -KCSE (Minus) 3-Years KNEC dia C Studies in Mean Sep- C huge potential to Full-Time bridge the health Full-Time journalism students from the instituemphasized that in matters health, tember 2021. information gap and help people tion have also gained from interneverybody has a role to play and Minimum Entry 5 obliged Diploma in Human Resource Management Mean Cacross (Minus) 3with Years KNECExam 5 Diploma in Human Resource Management C -KCSE (Minus) 3-Years Full-Time Chairman Africa cope various Full-Time ships inKNEC solution journalism.

University was to From L-R, prof. Samuel Gudu, VCKCSE RongoMean AHSJI S/NoRongo Course Duration Mode Of Study Mr. Otula Owuor health challenges that they grapple The RU-AHSJI Workshop in improve the community within its University, AMB. Simon Nabukwesi, Requirements commended the Mean col- C with.

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6 in Clerical Diploma in Clerical Operations (Minus) Full-Time 3 Years Full-Time KNEC 6 Diploma Operations C -KCSE (Minus) 3-Years KNEC PS Ministry of Education -State KCSE Mean laboration made beAccording to AHSJI, effective, writers from Rongo University; Mr. “Everyone has a role to play in Department for University Education tween the two institusustainable and credible solutions Kioko Nyamasyo and Ms. Lydia matters Diploma to do with health. a Uni- Work 1 Social KCSE Mean C - (Minus) 3 2Years Full-Time KNE and Research, Dr. Rachael Masake, 7intoAs Certificate in Socialand Work D reporting 7 Certificate in Social Work KCSE Mean 2 Years Full-Time KNEC tionsgrade soKCSE far.DHe Mean said grade journalism inYears Africa can Full-Time Opee as interns with SoJo. KNEC versity, we have a role improve Chair Rongo University Council.

tisan 8in Sales Certificate in Sales and Marketing Certificate in Sales andMarketing Marketing 2 in8Plumbing Diploma and

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MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

37

EDUCATION NEWS

Sponsored Content

Imarisha Sacco plans to establish Imarisha Sacco Foundation The Sacco’s move to set up a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme comes after Kericho County Co-operative Commissioner Dr. Leonard Otii urged societies to develop CSR programmes that will benefit the local communities.

Mathew Ruto, Imarisha Sacco Chairman.

By Benedict Ng’etich

I

marisha Sacco has plans to set up Imarisha Sacco Foundation in order to effectively benefit the community.

Speaking during the Sacco’s 33rd Annual Delegates Conference (ADC) held at the Kebo Plaza in Kericho town, the Sacco chairman Mr. Mathew Ruto said that the Sacco aims to establish the foundation in order to enhance its public image as it gives back to the community.

“We shall be reaching out to well-wishers to finance the establishment and running of the foundation,” he said.

The move comes after Kericho County Co-operative Commissioner Dr. Leonard Otii implored societies to develop CSR programmes

that will benefit the local communities.

He also advised Boards of societies to set aside funds to be used to offer scholarships to bright students from the pool of members and the community.

During the conference, Mr. Ruto said that his team of directors, staff and delegates were determined to steer the society to the highest pinnacle of success.

“My team and I wish to state that the growth of Imarisha Sacco is always our number one priority.

The Sacco was established to promote the social and economic interests of its members in accordance with cooperative principles.” he said He further revealed that the Sacco had continued to perform well despite the tough economic times.

The Sacco membership increased by 34% from 102,134 in 2020 to 136,456 in 2021.

He attributed the increase in membership to the intense marketing strategies employed and the hiring of sales executives assigned to each branch and marketing outlets.

He said the Sacco’s asset base rose by 21 percent from Shs.14,164,023,173.00 in 2020 to Shs.17,104,892,713.00 in 2021.

“The turnover grew by 31% from Shs.2,152,162,485.00 in 2020 to Shs.2,818,837,685.00 in 2021,” he said.

He further added that the society managed to increase its share capital by 60% from Shs. 1,092,144,344.00 in 2020 to Shs.1,752,540,438.00 in

Increase in

from 34% membership 102,134 in 2020 to 136,456 in 2021.

21% 60%

Asset base rose by from Shs 14B in 2020 to Shs 17B in 2021.

Increase in share capital from Shs 1.092B in 2020 to Shs 1.752B in 2021

2021.

Members’ deposits grew from Shs.9,855,850,021.00 to Shs. 11,778,191,428.00 in the same period.

“The society managed to grow its loan book portfolio to Shs. 13,461,338,818.00 compared to Shs.10,795,008,055.00 in 2020.

That represented an increase of Shs.2,666,330,763.00,” he said.

As a result of the Sacco’s good performance, it recommended a pay-out of dividends on share capital amounting to Shs.237 million at the rate of 13.52 % while the interest on members’ deposits rose to Shs.965 million disbursed at the rate of 11.30 % .

The Board encouraged members to retain or capitalize their interest on deposits and dividends by setting up a fixed account for a period of six months to earn a 10% interest on maturity, or to top up shares/deposits so as to earn bonuses at the rate of 10% upfront. Still, they could transfer it to the share drive account to earn 20% predetermined interest per annum.

Imarisha Sacco was registered in 1978 as a teachers’ Sacco. In the recent past, it opened its doors to professionals and entrepreneurs from all walks of life.

The Sacco’s vision is to be a Sacco with customer-centric experience. Its mission is to provide effi-

Ernest Langat, Deputy CEO

Imarisha CEO Mr. Mathew Rotich giving a present to Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot.

Senator Aaron Cheruiyot (Kericho) presenting an award to Bernard Soi.

Delegates follow the ADM proceedings.

Mathew Rotich, Sacco CEO

cient financial services to customers through continuous innovation supported by its slogan is ‘Unity is Strength’.

Its core values are respect, team work, creativity and innovation, God first, equity, equality, integrity, transparency and accountability and effectiveness and efficiency.

38

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

RIFT VALLEY TURKANA

NAKURU

A step closer to new system as CBC classes are completed

The team open a ready CBC classroom. Photo/Anne Mwale.

By Michael Oduor 103 Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) classrooms in the Rift Valley region have so far been completed and are ready for commissioning.

Speaking at Nakuru Plenary Hall during a meeting of heads of departments and state agencies chaired by Rift Valley Regional Commissioner Maalim Mohammed, Regional Director of Education Mr. Jared Obiero revealed that the government projects to deliver at least 1,737 new classrooms in the region by the end of the year to enable Junior Secondary School rollout.

Obiero added that companies awarded contracts to put up the new classrooms have until March this year to complete the projects.

“Companies awarded contracts to build new classrooms have

until March to complete the work.

Contractors should also ensure their work is up to the standards set. No contractor will be allowed in schools after the deadline as the students will be sitting national examinations,” he added.

Nakuru County was allocated 541 CBC classrooms at a cost of Shs.426.3 million.

“Contractors whose tenders were approved by evaluation committees at sub-county levels are constructing the classrooms in 322 selected secondary schools to provide the additional learning space required for the over 54,000 new students set to join junior secondary,” Obiero stated.

He said the building of the classrooms, each at a projected cost of Shs.788,000, is being done by contractors based near the schools and the money is dispatched directly to the contractors in their

respective sub-counties.

“We have reduced the cost of building each classroom from Shs.1.26 million to Shs.788,000, inclusive of taxes. The initiative is to tap into the skilled manpower in counties and empower locals with enhanced economic opportunities,” he added.

He assured contractors that they will be paid once the work is handed over with the right paperwork.

He assured candidates and parents that the government had put in place measures to ensure registered candidates sit the KCPE examinations without any problem.

On the other hand, Maalim said his office is keenly monitoring the CBC classrooms project to guarantee good quality work and a process free from bribery, conflict of interest and political favoritism.

He further pointed out that the construction of classrooms by contractors based near the schools are tenable as they own the projects and are accountable.

The first phase of the countrywide construction of 6470 CBC classrooms is ongoing. The second phase is set to start in May after the national exams have been marked.

A total of 2,571,044 Grade 6 and Standard 8 learners will be expected to join secondary school next year.

Last year, the government allocated Shs.4 billion for infrastructure development in schools. The money can construct to completion 5,000 new classrooms.

UASIN GISHU

Teachers threaten to boycott school if insecurity is not addressed

Turkana University gets accreditation to offer KASNEB examinations

Turkana University received accreditation from KASNEB to offer accounts and secretarial courses as well as being an examinaton centre for KASNEB.

By Edwin Echwa The Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examination Board (KASNEB) has accredited the Turkana University to offer its courses after a rigorous assessment by the KASNEB Board.

KASNEB is a state corporation under the Ministry of Finance and Planning with the mandate to accredit institutions offering accounts, secretarial, and business studies courses in order to prepare the students for the job markets.

Addressing the media at the Turkana University precincts, the KASNEB chief executive Nicholas Ng’etich said that while being a multi-national body operating in 45 countries, they are now devolving their services to the people in different institutions by first sensitizing the institutions and finally giving them accreditation, allowing the institutions to become examination centres for KASNEB courses.

Turkana University stands

By Wasike Elvis Teacher union officials in the North Rift region have vowed to go on strike if the government will not beef up security in Kerio valley.

Officials from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (KUPPET) say they will paralyze learning in the volatile Kerio valley.

“We will mobilize our members to shut down schools if the government will not have addressed the situation by May. The insecurity in Kerio valley has put our members’ lives at risk. If the government cannot provide security by next term, we shall have a major demonstration in Tot and close all schools to avoid killings of children and teachers,” said Kipchunba Arusei, KNUT Secretary Rift Valley region, adding that the government should give permananet solutions rather than treating the symptoms.

Kerio Valley has been hit by a wave of insecurity as bandits terrorize locals.

“It’s very sad that we have a government that has instruments of power to end the killings but it has done nothing,” he lamented.

“Let the children do exams but if the situation will not have been sorted and security addressed,

a great chance of becoming an examination centre that can now serve the three neighbouring countries of Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

While appreciating the accreditation, the institution’s principal George Cheming’wa said the community around the institution will have a chance of training at the university, bearing in mind that any student who sat KCSE with even an E in exams can train as an accountant by upgrading from certificate levels moving up.

The introduction of the KASNEB curriculum at the university will now rekindle hope for students who failed to secure university slots by rising from bottom to a meaningful education and training.

Early this year, the university also signed an MoU with the Kenya Public Policy Research Authority to train Turkana University students and lecturers on how to write a policy paper and also understand about the government policy agenda.

WEST POKOT

These little angels badly need assistance Fabian and Shavin in class.

North Rift teacher union leaders in a solidarity show after addressing the media on the planned boycott of classes over rising insecurity. Photo/Elvis Wasike. we will close down those schools because we’re concerned about our children, teachers and locals. We want the government to enhance security before our children sit for the exams,” he went on.

Chepkoilel Branch KNUT Executive Secretary Sammy Bor said the lives of children, teachers and locals were at risk, and should the government take no action, the national exams should be cancelled.

“What is so difficult to calm the situation in Kerio valley? The government has failed in its duty to protect lives and property,” he said.

John Cheberi, Marakwet KNUT branch executive, gave an ultimatum to government to beef up security, failure to which they will mobilize the closure of schools in the volatile

region.

“The government should use police to beef up security as our children will be sitting their exams.

The government should also give students lunch to avoid them moving from one place to another,” Biwot Paul, KUPPET Elgeyo Marakwet secretary, said.

KUPPET Executive Secretary Uasin Gishu County Elijah Maiyo called for an affirmative action by KNEC as children had been home for a long time due to insecurity.

“We are calling upon KNEC to at least have an affirmative action so that students from the affected areas are given special treatment while marking their national exams since they have not been in class,” he said.

By Martin Ruto Fabian Rotich,6, and Shalivn Cheyech,4, are PP2 ECDE pupils at Tampalal Primary School in West Pokot County.

The learners say their mother abandoned them about three years ago, while the father is believed to reside in a place known as Pkopoch along Kapenguria- Kacheliba road.

The harsh reality of life to the two angels is manifested by lack of basic items like food and clothing.

Their aging grandmother, who lives with them, cannot provide these basic necessities sustainably.

Mr. Isaac Krop, their ECDE teacher, says that Fabian and Shalvin are bright learners but most of the time they dose in class, perhaps due to hunger and inadequate shelter.

The two children also reveal that one of their elder sisters was forced by the harsh conditions at home to walk away and live with their aunt at Kapkoris in Kapenguria Division.

Their other sister in grade 4 has also been absent from school and her whereabouts are unknown.

Any well-wisher out there?

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS

39

FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Holy Rosary Girls brave deficits to post good results

Senior Principal Monica Kirwa.

teachers, supported by 13 employed by the BoM. Senior Principal Mrs Monica Kirwa, who joined the school in February 2020, has steered the institution to greater heights in terms of performance and infrastructure growth.

She is on a mission to cement excellence through elaborate inclusive programmes that fine tune the learners through a series of internal rigorous study and revision, which have improved results.

“I want to expand the school to move to 5 streams and we are equal to the task,” assured Kirwa with confidence.

There is an ongoing construction of two dormitories; one funded by the CDF with a capacity of 160 and another

20192020 candidates receiving awards.

Teaching staff in pomp and colour.

By Leonard Angatia

H

oly Rosary Girls’ secondary school located in Sirwa Subcounty,Nandi County is on course to produce good results as they have seen prudent performances in the past.

In that light, they held a Thanksgiving-cum-Prayer Day to celebrate and bless the excellent results in 2020 KCSE in which they had a mean of 5.98. Out of the 114 candidates who sat the exams, 34 joined public universities. The school had a mean of 5.42 in 2019.

The school registered 118 candidates for this year’s exams and they have set their target mean at 7.0.

The current trailblazers have coined a slogan “I Can, I Will and I Must”, a war cry that digs deep into their determination to keep their resolve and optimism alive.

The extra-county school has 3 streams with a population of 502, whose naming system such as Champions, Achievers and Heroines reflect their motivation to succeed.They have 14 TSC

Administration block.

IN NUMBERS

Former principal Monicah Buchichi addresses the gathering.

Former principal Monicah Buchichi with acting Deputy Principal Edna Oundo.

They produced a mean of 5.98, sending 34 students to join public universities compared to 2019 mean of 5.42.

This year’s candidates are 118 who have set their target mean at 7.0. Candidates in 2020 were 114.

one put up by Maintenance and Improvement vote head( M&I), which will host 80 students.

Yet all is not rosy amidst the resolve and conviction. The school has only one laboratory to contend with and there are no teachers’ houses and a dining hall.

It is against this backdrop that they are looking for financial support. The school has received a 52-seater bus, which will help in transportation of students, especially for academic and cocurricular activities.

Edna Oundo, the acting deputy principal, said team work and honesty makes Holy Rosary Girls to remain focused and committed to their studies.

Chief guest former principal Monicah Buchichi, who graced the occasion, thanked all stakeholders and urged students to remain disciplined and ever committed in their work to uplift performance.

2021 candidates dance to guests.

BoM Chair Dr Dennis Agui.

Ongoing construction of dormitories.

Parents Association Chair Ernest Taurus.

40

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

Cardinal Otunga - Mosocho on a journey to reclaim lost academic glory placing it among the top performing schools in the nation. However, that started fading a decade ago.

The posting of chief principal Mr. Chrispinus Owino to the school has seen its performance Chief Principal Chrispinus Owino. improve within Kisii County

By Norah Musega for the past three years.

In 2020 KCSE, the school ardinal Otunga High posted a mean of 7.69 and it has School-Mosocho set a target of 8.56 in 2021 KCSE. is set to receive a Mr. Owino applauded the major boost from its alumni association for creating alumni association following the time to hold a motivational and school’s steady improvement in academic counseling session with its academic performance. the 2021 KCSE candidates as they Through the support, the prepare to sit their exams. alumni seek to help the school on He noted that the schools’ its journey to reclaim its lost glory. academic performance had been For decades, the school going up steadily since 2017. had been posting exemplary “In 2017, the school had a performance in the Kenya mean of 5.3. In 2019, we had a Certificate of Secondary mean of 7.29 up from 5.9 in 2018.

Education (KCSE) exams, In 2020, we had a mean of 7.69

and we’re currently targeting a mean of 8.56 which we are confident is achievable,” he said.

Mr. Owino revealed that the school administration made many changes in the running of school programmes and rules so that the school reclaims its lost academic glory.

“I want to thank the teachers for the sacrifice they make daily to report to work early before the stipulated reporting time and for

C

Deputy Principal (Administration) David Mayaka.

Deputy for Academics Mr. Gerald Ayiera.

School BoM chairman Rev Father James Obaigwa addressing the students.

PA Chair Brian Ongondi addressing Students.

leaving late just to ensure that they attend to students’ challenges,” he said.

The chief principal also called on the old boys association to trust the school management and administration and asked that they continue partnering with the school and elevate it both academically and in co-curriculum activities.

He revealed that the school had overstretched its resources and facilities owing to its fast growing student population, which stands at 1860.

“I urge you to assist us get more infrastructure to help reduce congestion of our classes, dormitories and other facilities.

Your assistance is needed at this time and highly valued to ensure that the school remains one of the best in the region,” Owino told the alumni.

He encouraged the alumni to create time to visit the learning institution and to share more tactics on how to improve the mean and develop the school.

The Parents’ Association Chair Mr. Brian Ongondi challenged the students to remain focused on their studies so as to achieve their dreams and make the stakeholders proud.

“Nothing is impossible,” stated Ongondi.

He also assured the alumni that the school will get back to the top national academic performers.

The Board of Management Chair Reverend Father James Obaigwa thanked teachers for working hard through teamwork to help the school grow.

“The school’s academic performance has been on an upward trend. All this has been possible because of the faith in

God and the hard work of the school’s administration, teachers and the students themselves,” he said.

The old boys association led by their president Dr. Erick Okong’o, a doctor attached to Bondo District Hospital, challenged the students to believe in themselves as every dream is valid through discipline, focus, hard work and prayers.

“The idea was for all successful former students of the institution to challenge and motivate the students and to assure them that nothing is impossible.

We also wanted them to develop a positive attitude and appreciate the facilities and resources within the institution,” Okong’o recounted.

He urged other old students of various institutions to visit their former schools and motivate the students and help curb indiscipline.

7.69 The MEAN the school posted in 2020 KCSE. It has set a target of 8.56 in 2021 KCSE. Dr. Nyambaro Obed, the association’s Secretary General, noted that giving back to the society would attract more blessings.

He added that they were keen on giving their former school a new facelift through infrastructural development, career motivation, skills and talents development and sports among other activities.

The school was named after Cardinal Maurice Otunga, a Catholic Cardinal who served as the Archbishop of Nairobi between 1971 and 1997.

Along the same period in 1973, he was elevated to Cardinalate as Cardinal-Priest of San Gregorio Barbarigo alle Tre Fontane.

It has a rich history and an alumni that dots the map of Kenya’s academic galaxy.

Students listen to speeches during the event.

A section of the teaching staff.

Millennial alumni reciting the school’s loyalty pledge during the occasion.

School Gate.

School Library.

School Chapel.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

41

EDUCATION NEWS

NYANZA KISII

SIAYA

50 year-old school still grappling with low enrollment, poor facilities

Dilapidated structures that date back to the school’s conception.

By Stephen Maranga

Located in Macheo Location in Borabu Constituency of Nyamira County, Macheo Secondary School has been in existence since 1973.

The mixed day and boarding institution has a capacity to enroll 500 students, though it currently has only 170. Form one has 40 students (15 boys, 25 girls), form two 44 (21 boys, 23 girls), form three 55 (25 boys, 30 girls) and form four has 31 students (17 boys, 14 girls).

It has 9 teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and four under BoM terms.

The average performance is D+ in KCSE. The newly posted principal Bonface Magoma said the school lacks a laboratory and a modern library. They use a bookstore for that

purpose.

He revealed that the classrooms, some offices and the girls’ dormitory need renovation since they leak during the rainy seasons.

He further said there is an incomplete storey building whose construction was started by the area MP Ben Momanyi.

“The school has obsolete computers and an incomplete twin house meant for my deputy and I,” he said.

The principal revealed that they were targeting projects like a girls’ dormitory for an estimated cost of Shs.5 million, a school laboratory costing Shs.2 million, a Shs.2 million library, staff houses amounting to Shs.1.5 million and a bus of about Shs.10 million.

Magoma appealed to all stakeholders to support the school financially in order to revive its lost glory.

Through the principal’s and the BOM’s efforts, they have approached the Ministry of Education through the Deputy Director of Education in the State Department for Early Learning and Basic Education John Matiangi for urgent funding of the mentioned projects.

Matiangi observed that the population was increasing while the resources stagnated.

Macheo area chief Moses Onchera, his two assistants and several clan elders promised to mobilize parents to invest in educating their children at Mecheo Secondary.

On the positive side, the school is registered by the MoE, has a Title Deed, a strategic plan and a spacious dining hall. It also has the goodwill of the surrounding community.

Due to its low population, the school has enough books to pupil ratio of 1:1. It also boasts of having a reliable electricity supply with an operational standby generator.

The school has churned out several high ranking personalities in Kenya like Daglous Moseti, the Director of Public Prosecution at Kianyaga, Doris Monyoro, Director of Public Works Nairobi, Jason Nyakundi who works with the United Nations, Maxwell Karaita, Deputy Principal of Nyakeore Secondary School, Father Edwin Nyaoma, Shem Aunga, a teacher at St.Moore Riangombe, and Timothy Osoro who works at Kenya Seed Company in Kitale.

Alego-Usonga schools have received all Grade 6 books

By Erick Nyayiera

All 132 schools in Alego/Usonga Constituency have received grade 6 books.

The books, including English, Maths, Kiswahili, Science and Technology, CRE, Art, Craft and Music, were collected by school head teachers. Agriculture, Physical Education, and Home science text books had already been received a week earlier.

The sub-county examination officer Philip Ngoga said they were ready for the Grade 6 learners.

“All the primary schools in the sub-count have received Grade 6 books. Infrastructure, books and teachers are ready as pupils will move to Grade 6 in April,” said Ngonga.

The delivery of the books confirms earlier insistence by Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha that grade 6 must kick off in April.

“The government is extremely serious about these classrooms so the big picture of having 5,400 of them ready by end of March is go-

ing to be realized ahead of time,” said Magoha.

Prof. Magoha urged the contractors building the CBC classes countrywide to speed up the work so that they beat the deadline.

“I want to challenge the schools to push for the constructions so as to pave way for opening. I would want to know where the second complete building is going to be.

I hope it will not be in Nyanza region,” said Magoha.

He said by the end of March, the first phase will have been completed and that the same contractors will move to the second phase to be finished by the end of April.

According to the revised academic calendar, third term, which started on January 5, will end on March 4.

The 2023 academic year is scheduled to start on April 25, to run until July 1 for first term.

This is the time the pioneer Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) learners, currently in Grade 5, will move to the final year of primary education.

AlegoUsonga schools receiving books from Ministry of Education.

KISUMU

1,510 Muhoroni students get NG-CDF bursaries Muhoroni MP James Onyango Koyoo displays a dummy bursaries cheque.

Photo/ Fredrick Odiero.

Fredrick Odiero

Learners in Muhoroni Constituency have received a major boost after area MP Onyango K’oyoo gave Sh.15m through the National Government Constituency Development Fund for bursaries.

MP Onyango Koyoo said the money will benefit 1,510 students from the five Wards in the constituency.

Of the beneficiaries, he said 612 are in tertiary colleges and 898 in universities.

Koyoo, who was accompanied by CDF chairman Bernard Del, said beneficiaries had been carefully picked from the many applications. The presentation took place at Pawteng Primary School in Masogo/Nyangoma Ward.

Muhoroni Constituency NGCDF manager Sospeter Ngere, Kisumu County Knut chairman Fred Kibwana and Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Associa-

tion Muhoroni Chapter chairman George Ombok were also present.

The legislator said 102 college students from Miwani Ward received bursaries alongside 135 who are in universities.

A total of 119 college students from Muhoroni/Koru Ward benefited together with 199 who are in universities.

In Chemelil Ward, 161 and 229 students in colleges and universities respectively benefited.

The MP urged the beneficiaries to work hard and excel in their studies, saying education remains his priority and hopes will be his legacy when he retires from active politics.

“I want to ensure that Muhoroni surpasses other constituencies in terms of professionals when I retire from politics,” he said.

Koyoo said he is committed to ensuring all students, regardless of their backgrounds, accessed education.

He added that those taking

Engineering, Medicine, Law and Architecture were fully funded to encourage more to enroll for the courses. 123 students under this category are sponsored to a tune of Sh.5 million.

At the same time, a total of 259 students in national schools are fully sponsored at Sh.12 million.

He said his office was tracking the performance of the students under the programme.

“The statistics in the CDF office indicate that most of the sponsored students have joined universities and are undertaking various courses,” he remarked.

The fund is disbursed in five categories—national schools, special-course universities, vulnerable students, college and university, and other secondary schools.

Ombok lauded Koyoo and his CDF team for being steadfast in supporting education.

He praised his bursary model, saying it should be adopted by other constituencies.

Kibwana acknowledged his commitment to sponsoring students and improving schools infrastructure within Muhoroni Constituency, noting that there were 23 classrooms under construction in various schools.

The legislator has been widely acclaimed by senior leaders in the education sector for his unwavering focus on the education sector.

NYAMIRA

Kitutu MP pledges to improve school facilities

By Enock Okong’o

The NG-CDF will continue to complement the Ministry of Education in the improvement of all schools in Kitutu Masaba Constituency, area MP Shadrack Mose has said.

Speaking in the constituency during the inspection of education projects, he asked members of his fund committee to be non-partisan as they distributed the money for development projects.

The MP said he had directed that each school in the constituency receives more than one million shillings to complete the projects.

He said he prioritized the renovation of the available classrooms for primary schools to make them conducive for the young learners.

“We have to use the little available resources in improving the classrooms to accommodate the young pupils who can’t withstand the harsh weather conditions,” he said.

The MP said he was horrified to see children housed in ragged buildings and poorly ventilated classrooms that are a risk to learners.

During the inspections tour, Mose oversaw the issuance of

Kitutu Masaba MP Shadrack Mose. cheques worth Ksh.7 million to schools in Manga Ward.

The primary schools that benefited are Nyaisa, Manga and Ikobe, while the secondary schools that received Ksh.1.2 million each include Sengera-Manga, Ikobe, Tombe Mixed and Moromba.

The NG-CDF Committee directed that the main parts to be prioritized for renovation are the painting or removal of iron sheets, replacement of worn-out doors and windows, and construction of modern pit latrines.

The MP cautioned various school management committees against using the funds for purposes not intended.

42

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

EDUCATION NEWS FOCUS ON TOP SCHOOLS

By Dennis Bett

K

apkenda Girls, a school with a huge desire to succeed, is putting in place programmes which will ensure that the 2021 candidates produce excellent results. It is domiciled in Keiyo South Sub-county of Elgeyo-Marakwet County.

The general address is Chepkorio township along the Eldoret-Eldama Ravine road. It is known for the crème de la crème in academia and leadership, shining examples of career personalities in different fields across the globe.

The school recently held a colourful prayer day presided over by a university Don Dr. Koros at the school grounds to seek spiritual guidance for the candidates as they prepare for their final examinations.

The event was marked by a procession of candidates who lined up the way to the venue, accompanied by their teachers led the Chief Principal Mrs. Joyce Mulunda who was also dressed in

Mrs Joyce Mulunda, Chief Principal.

I thank the teachers for the efforts and sacrifices they have made. The non-teaching staff have also been supportive to our course. complete school attire.

After entertaining the guests with songs and dances, the exihilarated candidates showered their class teachers with gifts to express their solemn gratitude for their support throughout the four years of pupillage.

Speaking during the event, the chief principal said they were targeting a mean of 7.8 and were hopeful to attain the target given the energy they had put into the

The school gate.

Kapkenda Girls maps way to higher academic goals Hellen Kipserem, Deputy for Adminstration.

Students follow proceedings. preparations.

She stated that they had taken their 267 candidates through constant revisions and had already done more than seven mock examinations after officially launching the revision process.

The Principal thanked the girls for their impeccable discipline, saying it would be rewarded in excellent academic performance when the results are announced later in the year.

Mrs. Mulunda said the slogan ‘Bidii Huleta Ushindi’ has imputed confidence on the girls, and greatly boosted their self-

esteem.

She said they were working on pushing the school transition rate to university to 80 percent under the government sponsorship.

“Today is a defining moment for our girls whom we have prepared well to face the exams.

I thank the teachers for the efforts and sacrifices they have made.

The non-teaching staff have also been supportive to our course,” she declared.

She also praised all students for affording the candidates a conducive environment for learning, encouraging

them to be prayerful at all times and to be good ambassadors of the school.

The leader thanked the school’s strong Chaplaincy and the Guidance and Counselling department for the good discipline of the girls.

She was satisfied that the school had enough modern infrastructural facilities, which had created a favourable environment for learning. She thanked the BoM team for supporting the plans.

Present during the event

David Maboko, Deputy Academics.

Dr Benard Malakwen, BoM chairman.

Kapkenda form four candidates in a procession.

Chief Principal Joyce Mulunda and BoM Chair Benard Changwony lead the guests in cutting the ceremonial cake.

Mr Changwony The PA Chairman.

The clergy prays for the students.

Newly completed classrooms.

The 2022 class teachers with the principal.

The school library.

was the Board Chair Dr. Benard Malakwen, who blessed the students with biro pens and promised to reward straight A students with laptops.

He exuded confidence that they were going to surpass the set target considering their detailed preparations.

The Parent Association Chair Mr Changwony disclosed that the school launched a revision programme after completing the syllabus, which he said had paid off. He called on parents to follow up the academic progress of their children.

MAR 11 - MAR 26, 2022

43

EDUCATION NEWS

WESTERN BUNGOMA

KAKAMEGA

Protect schools from bandits, KNUT tells Gov’t

By Achola Mathews The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Executive Secretary Collins Oyuu has asked the national government to beef up security in bandit prone areas to give learners ample time and peaceful environment to do their examination.

Addressing the media in Bungoma town after attending a meeting with KNUT officials from Bungoma South branch, Oyuu said that as the country approaches elections, the government should be keen and provide security in schools to protect children from indiscriminate attacks.

“The class eight and four form students that are preparing to sit their national examinations should be provided with security as it will give them peace to write answers without panic,” Oyuu said.

Oyuu’s sentiments come barely two weeks after bandits in ElgeyoMarakwet attacked a school bus, killing the driver and injuring 13 students and two teachers.

“It was a sad moment for the school to lose a driver as well, injuring 13 students. I want to humbly ask Interior CS Fred Matiang’i to work closely with his Education counterpart to ensure that school kids are in a secure

By Andanje Wakhungu

L-R: Bungoma South KNUT Executive Secretary Ken Ng’ang’a and KNUT National Secretary General Collins Oyuu addressing the press in Bungoma Town. environment. We don’t want to lose more students,” the unionist said.

In a related matter, earlier the Interior CS had asked school heads to ensure that students travel only during the day to avoid such incidents and accidents.

The KNUT boss lauded teachers for being patient despite the squeezed education calendar that was brought by the Covid- 19.

“Teachers should be greatly appreciated for the wonderful job they are doing and their welfare should be looked into,” he affirmed, adding that KNUT was still having conversations with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to ensure that teachers’ welfare was taken care of.

The unionist urged teachers to remain patient, assuring them

of full representation in talks with their employer.

Oyuu asked parents, teachers and the community to support their learners, saying sitting an exam was not an easy task.

“Both class eight and form four candidates need maximum support from parents, teachers and the community,” he remarked. “Sitting examinations is not a walk in the park,” he added.

Oyuu said that the economy had tremendously improved and asked the government to allocate more funds to the education sector.

On his part, Bungoma South KNUT Executive Secretary Ken Ng’ang’a urged other unionists to support Oyuu’s administration, arguing that he was committed to the fight for teachers.

Education comes first in Bumula NG-CDF budgets, says MP

BUSIA

Bumula MP Moses Mabonga with regional KESSHA chairman Kong’ani Mabonga, also Principal St Kizito Mayanja Secondary, during the official launch of the NG-CDF 2022 bursaries at the Cardinal Otunga TTI.

By Mathews Achola Bumula Constituency MP Moses Mwambu Mabonga has committed to give the education sector top priority in funds distribution from the NG-CDF kitty.

Speaking at the Cardinal Otunga Techinical Training Institute during the official launch of the 2022 NG-CDF bursary scheme, Hon Mwambu noted that the funds will benefit students from humble backgrounds.

The MP hinted that at least each school will receive Ksh.100,000 on the minimum, urging school principals to minimize sending away students for lack of school fees.

He said once the Supplementary Budget is approved in Parliament, his office will improve the infrastructure of all the public primary and secondary schools.

“Bumula Constituency has a

Kakamega North students mentored on quality grades

total of 48 public secondary schools with some still grappling with inadequate classrooms and other learning infrastructure like libraries and Science laboratories, so I shall continue uplifting them once funds are available in our accounts,” Mwambu stressed.

Present at the event was immediate former Bungoma County KUPPET official, who is gunning for the county’s woman representative Mrs Rebecca Masibayi. She called upon parents to take advantage of the various government capitation initiatives like bursaries and HELB loans.

She challenged the youth to join TVET institutions to gain industrial skills.

Kimaeti Sub-county Director of Education Mrs Christine Valentine Wafula urged school principals to ensure their teachers continued to be dedicated in their work.

Mrs Wafula said the Competency-Based Curriculum

will be a success if full cooperation of all stakeholders in the education sector is realized.

She decried the increasing rates of school dropout especially among boys, saying parents should work together with teachers and the larger community to reduce the menace.

“Boys are an endangered lot if the current situation prevails,” Mrs Wafula noted.

The Bumula Sub-County Deputy County Commissioner Mrs Hadiya Abdalla told learners to be disciplined as cases of unrest in schools escalate.

She noted that security is beefed up to ensure this years KCPE and KCSE candidates sit their national exams in a conducive environment, wishing them good luck and success.

She called on parents to provide guiding and counseling to their children during the upcoming long holidays and pray earnestly for them.

The Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) Bumula Branch chairman, also the principal of St Kizito Mayanja Secondary School Mr Mabonga Kong’ani, noted that 90% of schools in the area are day schools and hence the bursary kitty is a big boost as most NG-CDFs favoured boarding schools.

Mr Kong’ani added that principals should ensure that the KCSE exams were done with a high level of integrity.

Also present were KNUT officials Mr Walter Khaemba and Mrs Florence Nyangweso.

As the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education draws near, the Kakamega North Sub-county examination council is putting plans in place to ensure they record quality grades.

The TSC Sub-county Director Philip Korir called on the candidates to seriously revise for the exams and make the sub county proud. He was addressing the mentorship seminar for the top cream candidates numbering 300.

“This is a crucial and critical period in your lives and your decision will determine your future.

Make the right academic decisions and today we are here to motivate and assure you of our full support,” he said.

The director told them to adopt a reading culture if they intended to change their lives not only at high school level but even beyond.

He stressed the need for them to exercise discipline, tolerance and persistence as pillars of their success.

Motivation guest speaker Moses Sitati took the candidates through power point presentations on how to succeed and pass exams without struggling too much.

“You need to know which ones are your three best subjects and score highly in them and then focus to avoid an E, D- and D plain. At least score D+ in the remaining subjects to attain a 46 point C+ grade that will take you to university. And as you are now on

your home stretch, your end results will be determined by how you finish and not how you started the race, so focus on proper finishing,” he advised.

The sub-county quality assurance officer Odhiambo Olel, representing the sub-county Director of Education, pushed for the attainment of the elusive grades that have not been recorded since 2013, assuring the candidates that they stood a better chance of even doing better considering the kind of coaching they were receiving.

“It has been 9 years and we are still chasing quality grades despite the number of university entry growing, yet I can tell that this time round we are definitely on the right track,” he decreed.

The academic chairman Bernard Mikangi said the sub county was committed to sending more students to university and that they were working round the clock to that end.

“We are happy to have this mentorship programnme and we are optimistic that it will bear fruit and so far we have seen the hunger for results in our candidates who are all fired up to soar high and we are supporting their mentality fully,” he promised.

The Kakamega North Subcounty Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) office, represented by Rose Abuko, called on the 300 students to disseminate what they had learnt to fellow candidates back at school.

Guest motivational speaker Moses Sitati addressing Kakamega North top students. Photo/Andanje Wakhungu.

Kakamega schools optimistic to improve KCSE scores

By Richard Shichangi

Most high schools in Kakamega County have prepared their candidates to tackle the forthcoming KCSE, with majority aiming at improving from their previous mean scores.

A spot check revealed that most principals expressed confidence that their candidates were sufficiently prepared for the exams.

At St. Mathias Mwitoti High School in Mumias East, the principal Dennis Munyendo noted that they were done with syllabus coverage and the candidates were engaged in revision. More than 564 candidates will sit the exam.

He said they were looking forward to sending more than three hundred of them to university while

pushing the school mean score to 7.4 from 2020’s 6.4 At Friends School Mbale in Vihiga County, the principal Peter Omutiti was optimistic that the school was going to attain its target of 7.5 from last year’s 6.5, while increasing the quality grades from 135 to 150 from an entry of 341.

At Ibokolo High School in Butere Sub-county, the head Levy Muleya observed that they had a competitive class equal to the task, who are set to give them their target of 6.18 from last KCSE’s 5.3 and raise the quality grades to 24 from 91 candidates.

In Matungu Sub-county, Munami High School principal Patrick Siketi noted that teachers had done their ground work and the candidates were well positioned for the exams.

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Why there will be no transfer of learners at Grade 6

No transfer shall be allowed at Grade 6 due to preparations for the summative assessment that will be taking place at the end of the year - KNEC

By Roy Hezron There will be no transfer of learners as from May this year when the current Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) pioneer Grade 5 learners will transit to Grade 6, the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) has confirmed.

According to KNEC, the Grade 6 learners will be preparing to sit their National Summative Assessment which will take place towards the end of this year.

“No transfer shall be allowed at Grade 6 due to preparation for the summative assessment that will be taking place at the end of the year,” said KNEC in one of its official documents on Understanding the Competency-Based Assessment (CBA).

KNEC adds that transfer of learners shall be done by the Sub-county Director of Education and will be allowed to take place at Grades 3, 4 and 5 and all the four levels of the StageBased Curriculum Pathway.

Almost 1.2 million candidates are through with their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations, paving way for another 831,015 candidates who are sitting their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

There are 34,085 more candidates sitting this year’s KCPE compared to 2020, which had 28,248 examination centres across the country and supervised by 242,406 teachers assigned by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

This will be the third last group to sit the KCPE and KCSE examinations under the 8-4-4 education system as the transition to the 2-6-3-3-3 gradually takes shape.

The next lot, which entails the current Grade 5, Class 7 and Form 3 will do their tests later this year, with the last group set to wrap up the decades-old national examinations in

Education CS Prof. George Magoha meets some head teachers attending the 15th annual KEPSHA meeting in Mombasa. Photo/Bonface Msangi.

December next year.

According to KNEC, the procedure for transferring learners starts with the Head of the school where the learner is stationed, who will write a letter releasing the learner, attaching the learner’s Assessment Number and name as it appears in KNEC registration database.

Thereafter, the head teacher receiving the learner must write an acceptance letter to the Sub-county Director of Education, acknowledging admission of the learner, after which the Director of Education will log into the KNEC portal (www.cba. knec.ac.ke) using the sub county log in CP2 credentials to transfer or add a learner, with deletion of learners left to KNEC alone.

Assessment records of learners will be maintained both at school and at KNEC, where learners will be captured in the KNEC system every year at Grade 3 onwards, with each learner provided with a Unique Personal Identification (UPI) number. Moving forward, it will be either a NEMIS number from the Ministry of Education or an assessment number from KNEC (for those who do not have a NEMIS number). The numbers will be used by the learners up to the end of Grade 12.

After phasing out the 8-4-4 system epitomized by KCPE and KCSE examinations, Competency Based Assessment (CBA) will take over.

The CBA will take the form of classroom assessment which will be a

continuous process carried out at the entire basic level of education; notably early years, middle school and senior school. The teacher develops the assessment tools and school-based assessments from Grade 4 to Grade 12.

Here, KNEC develops and uploads the tools for this assessment on the Council’s website. The teacher downloads the tools from the website and administers them.

Then finally, there will be a Summative Assessment which will be a National Assessment to be carried out at Grades 6, 9 and 12 to inform policy and education stakeholders on level-specific interventions for quality education of learners.

At the end of PP2, the learners are assessed internally then all transi-

Education CS fronts TVETs to shift market needs Fredrick Odiero Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has urged Technical and Vocational Training institutions to be more practical to produce graduates who are skills-oriented.

Magoha, who presided over the 9th Graduation Ceremony of Kisumu National Polytechnic, said theoretical teaching has now been overtaken by events.

A total of 3,781 students graduated.

Saying TVETs should stop being examination-oriented, he regretted that most public universities produced graduates who do not add much value.

“There is no need of graduating with a degree certificate and thereafter ‘tarmacking’ for years looking for jobs,” Magoha said.

He said the craze for universities should now stop and more students Firefox

should join TVETs where they can equip themselves with necessary life skills, which are market-oriented.

“There are shortages of plumbers and electricians. For instance, where I come from, I have to look for an electrician 40 kilometres away,” Magoha said, adding that those with required skills do not look for jobs; instead jobs look for them.

Magoha noted that every occupation is important and Kenyans should stop focusing on white collar jobs.

He said TVET skills are required globally and cited plumbing which is supporting livelihoods worldwide.

“There is a shortage of plumbers worldwide. While Kenyan plumbers feel inferior, the course earns a lot of money in foreign countries,” Magoha said.

The CS directed tutors to focus on equipping learners with needed skills to succeed in lives.

He also challenged the TVETs about:blank

TVET Principal Secretary Margaret Mwakima said the government had increased the number of TVETs from 52 in 2013 to 238 in 2021 at a cost of Sh.10.6 billion, out of which 198 are operational and 46 are almost complete. management to embrace accountability in the implementation of projects to avoid loss of public funds.

During the graduation, Magoha also presided over the ground-breaking ceremony of a textile industry worth Sh.394million.

TVET Principal Secretary Margaret Mwakima said the government had increased the number of TVETs from 52 in 2013 to 238 in 2021 at a cost of Sh.10.6 billion, out of which 198 are operational and 46 are almost complete.

Mwakima noted that there had been an increase of TVET enrolment from 55,945 in 2013 to 241,316 in 2021. This had been made possible by injecting Sh.10.3 billion capitation and a grant of Sh.11.1billion in form of loans to trainees.

Additionally, a conditional grant of Sh.2 billion was allocated to Vocational Training Centres(VTCs) every financial year.

The PS urged county governments to prioritize the standards of quality assurance for the VTCs to equip learners with needed skills, now that funds are channelled directly to counties.

“For this reason, I want to urge all

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tion to Grade 1 in Lower Primary at Grades 1, 2 and 3. At Grade 3 they take a school-based national assessment that is not used for ranking or placement, after which they all proceed to Upper Primary at Grades 4, 5 and 6.

On Upper Primary assessments, learners are tested at each of the Upper Primary classes to track their learning progress ahead of the National Assessment at Grade 6, where school-based assessments will account for 60 percent of the total score.

At Grade 6, a summative assessment will be administered at the end of the grade, which will comprise the remaining 40 percent of the total scores. This marks the end of the primary cycle. Performance of the learners at this level and their interests will be used to place them in Junior Secondary School (JSS), that is Grades 7, 8 and 9.

At Grade 9, learners will again be formatively assessed with a summative assessment at the end of JSS (Grade 9). Their scores and preferences will be used for placement in Senior Secondary School (SSS) where they will follow one of their preferred career pathways.

Learners will be required to take 12 core subjects at JSS which are English, Kiswahili or Kenyan Sign Language, Mathematics, Integrated Science, Health Education, Pre-Technical and Pre-Career Education, Social Studies, Religious Education (where learners will choose from either Christian, Islamic, or Hindu Religious Education), Business Studies, Agriculture, Life Skills, and Sports and Physical Education. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be used as a delivery tool for all subjects.

On optional subjects, learners are provided with an opportunity to choose a minimum of one and a maximum of two subjects according to personality, abilities, interests and career choices from Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Home Science, Computer Science, Foreign Languages (German, French, Mandarin or Arabic), Kenyan Sign Language and Indigenous Languages.

Most teachers at the primary school level have already been trained on the new curriculum protocols, as plans are underway to train the rest. the national Polytechnics to benchmark, collaborate and partner with top international institutions,” Mwakima said.

The PS said the government will enlist some 3,000 trainers with the aim of addressing shortages.

“This will no doubt go a long way in creating employment opportunities for the Big Four Agenda,” Mwakima added.

Kisumu Governor Professor Peter Anyang Nyong’o said the polytechnic was a landmark within the Lake Region Economic Bloc.

He said the Kisumu National Polytechnic had registered a remarkable growth in the past two decades, with new courses being introduced to keep up with the job market trends.

He observed that TVETs are the most important ingredient in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Vision 2030 and the Big Four Agenda.

He said they were sincerely committed to building a vibrant TVET sector down to the Ward levels.

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