Level playing field in education sector

On Wednesday, a report on secondary schools provided insights into drivers of learning and academic performance.

It pointed to inequalities that exist in various categories of secondary schools, which require an urgent intervention.

One of the key findings of the Usawa Agenda survey was that the category of school a student attends contributes more to his or her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) than the entry Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) marks.

According to the survey, the highest ranked schools, which are national schools, enjoy great privilege compared to the lowest ranked ones — sub county schools — in staffing and funding.

This disproportionate resource allocation based on the category of school one attends thus impacts their performance in KCSE examinations more than their secondary school entry marks.

In essence, the survey indicates that sub-county schools offer the least opportunity to excel while national schools offer the best opportunity .

Another finding was that national schools lead in ownership of not only a library but also one that is linked to online resources compared to other categories of schools.

These are part of findings that show the need for the government to put extra effort to deal with unfair competition that disadvantages learners.

There is a need for the government to take more seriously, the aspect of level playing field in the education sector to ensure justice for all children.

Already, the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms proposed abolishment of the current categorization of public secondary schools in favour of a career-based system for learners.

It is our hope the Competency Based Curriculum, which seeks to nurture every learner’s talent, will address some of these inequalities and ensure more inclusive and equitable education that promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The government should continue placing education as a priority to empower more people and help break the cycle of poverty.

It should be noted that the Kenyan society has placed education as the pathway to personal growth as well welfare of the nation. Education empowers young people with life skills that become their careers. This explains the huge amount of resources allocated to the sector as part of efforts to build a national human resource base.