The Standard Business Beat
Date: 01.12.2015
Page 9
Article size: 454 cm2
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Education, conveyor belts and an island nation
ECONOMIC! NSIGHT
with XNIRAKI
The poor in Kenya have
traditionally looked at
education as the conveyor
belt that takes them from poverty to
affluence — or at least improves
their socio­economic status. If you
listen to stories of affluent Kenyans
on how they have risen from
humble backgrounds, you will
realise there is no need to be
corrupt.
Interestingly, even in developed
countries, a good education still
remains a conveyor belt. The
popularity of private schools in
Kenya bears testimony to this deep
belief in the power of education.
OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE
The affluent go further and use
social engineering to ensure their
offspring get the best education
money can buy.
There is overwhelming evidence
that average students can still excel
if they go through good schools
Noted how private schools outper­
form public schools? I highly
suspect top­performing public
schools have a disproportionate
percentage of affluent parents.
EDUCATION ISLANDS
The third threat is the formation
of education islands. Did you
interact with any secondary school
students when you were in primary
school? Did you interact with any
university students when you were
in secondary?
Primary schools are islands,
secondary schools are islands, as
are universities. Yet the conveyor
would be more effective if these
three levels interacted more. The
If lecturers and teachers
interacted more, they would learn
more about the issues students face
and address them.
How often do neighbouring
schools meet? How often does
inspirational tutors and supportive
Alliance High School interact with
Mai­Ihii Primary School? What of
Mangu High School and Kuraiha
Primary School? What of UoN and
But the success of this conveyor
belt is under threat.
First, have we reformed the
content in our education system to
reflect the realities of modern
times, from globalisation and the
pervasiveness of technology to the
Constitution and Vision 2030? Do
we still see the phone and social
media as threats to education or as
tools to make learning easier?
State House Girls or Nairobi
Primary School? Some US universi­
ties allow bright high schoolers to
take undergraduate classes ....
It seems that the higher you go,
the further apart the islands drift.
Public universities rarely interact,
despite getting funded by the same
government. This island mentality
is inefficient and discourages the
For example, why do we
contest of ideas. The matter
confront Form Ones in Kenyan
becomes worse when universities
schools in the first term with a topic
hire their own graduates to teach,
on early man, where they have to
leading to in­breeding and reinforc­
remember Cro­Magnon, Ra­
ing the island mentality.
mapithecus, Australopithecus and
Most good universities in the
other pithecuses?
West do not hire their graduates to
On Sunday, the hapless students avoid intellectual incest. Noted how
are told of creation, while their
going abroad (majuu) to study is no
grandparents tells them where their longer fashionable, partly because
ethnic group came from. Why can't we want to remain in our islands.
The fourth threat is borrowed
we excite these young brains with a
topic like the possibilities of
from the wider society — pursuit of
modern technology?
shortcuts. Cheating has been cited
The second threat to the success
of the conveyor belt is a lack of fast
economic growth, which has left
many youngsters jobless. If there
are no jobs, why be serious in
school?
Teachers tell me that unlike in
the past when the most motivated
students were from poor back­
grounds, it is the opposite now, it is
now those from affluent homes.
The fifth threat to the conveyor
belt is the obsession with titles.
Noted how Kenyans nowadays
prefer to use more than one title,
like Rev Dr? Our obsession with
titles — some given by institutions
of dubious distinction — rather
than output, like research, new
businesses, socio­economic
transformation and inspiring the
next generation, creates islands
that rarely create any synergy.
The sixth threat is the existence
of two islands: humanities, and
science, technology and maths
(Stem). Each of the islands believes
higher levels inspire the lower ones. it is the best, yet they are supposed
with an enriched curriculum,
parents.
they put in defending tired ideas.
OBSESSION WITH TITLES
as a common problem in our
education system. Cheating
reinforces the island mentality
because cheaters know their
inadequacies. They avoid situations
where their ideas or thinking can
be challenged, leading to isolation.
Tired ideas and inert ideas are
often allowed to flourish. You can
easily identify cheaters by the effort
to co­exist.
Joseph Rotman, a Canadian
philanthropist, once said, "Science
empowers us; the humanities teach
us to use that power wisely."
In Kenya, Stem has not received
much attention. The phenomenal
expansion in higher education has
been in humanities.
The threat of two islands
becomes more pronounced when it
becomes evident that jobs are
created by Stem. Without an
emphasis on it, it is no wonder our
graduates are tarmacking.
It also seems that having a
humanities background is an asset
in becoming a leader, but not
necessarily in leading.
ECONOMIC BLOCS
Where do we go from here?
We need boats, tunnels or
bridges to connect the several
islands.
Incidentally, devolution is
creating new islands, with counties
rarely talking to each except to
argue over borders. The formation
of economic blocs among counties
is an interesting development, and
perhaps supports the observation
that we need fewer counties and
fewer islands.
We need more interaction
among all the levels of education,
humanities and Stem, with a focus
on ethics and integrity early on in
schools, and a constant renewal of
the curriculum to ensure contem­
porary issues take the day.
Such boats will ensure educa­
tion remains a conveyor belt that is
regularly serviced to take students
from one socio­economic class to a
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The Standard Business Beat
Date: 01.12.2015
Page 9
Article size: 454 cm2
ColumnCM: 100.88
AVE: 0.0
higher one.
University of Nairobi.
The writer is senior lecturer, [email protected]
Could the naming of a school slow down the conveyor belt? [photo: xn iraki]
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya