I read about a 10year old boy who hanged himself because he was being made to repeat after failing to reach the cut off mark to advance to the next class by a few points.It broke my heart.A young life lost because people in places of influence are making decisions blindly to actually look like they are doing something!Who knows what his future held in store for him?Now we will never know because he is gone and all because of some silly rules that do not make a difference at the end of the day.
Class repetition is not a cup of tea for many students.It is embarrassing.It’s like telling the whole world ‘Hey,look,im stupid!’I am not saying that that’s true but ask around and you will find out what people think about it.It is not something most people are proud of and when I do not understand why exactly I am being made to go through something that is humiliating to me,I may just resort to some drastic measures of rebellion.Now,there are those who repeat willingly.I remember when I was in my last year of my O’ levels, a student who had finished her high school the previous and achieved a B I think willingly repeated because she believed she was an A student and she got an A- on her second attempt.She was proud of herself.Difference,she made a conscious decision based on her abilities to repeat.And if a decision is from within,then no one can make you feel bad about it.
Repeating,I think is supposed to generate better results.Looking at our current education system (Kenya),I can almost say it’s a waste of a student’s time.Why?because the condition in public schools is simply sad.What with one teacher having a population of at times up to 100 pupils to teach…I mean,as much as we love and respect and believe in our teachers,reality is very important and you do not expect half of these pupils to actually get quality education.
I do applaud the Government’s effort to make primary education free but I think they did not think strategically about that decision.They did not plan for it properly and that is why we end up with some obvious loopholes and something that was supposed to be positive,ends up being negative.Point of order,you need to think a plan to completion before you implement.You need to think about the possible challenges and come up with possible solutions or have like a ‘crisis’ department that can handle the unforeseen challenges.But this can only happen with a dedicated team that thinks deeply of what impact their decision will have rather than just doing things for the sake of doing things.
I am enraged.At the Ministry of Education and all responsible for making decisions on our education system because,they are not even consulting with the stakeholders of that specific industry.Have talks with teachers and parents and the students on ideas of how to improve the education system.These are the people on the ground.The people who get affected directly by the decisions you make,so please.
And this brings me to another point.I do not believe we are all cut out for white collar jobs!There I said it.Shoot me if you want!If that were so,then we wouldn’t have all these sports people or the artists etc.I mean,we are not all cut out to sit in an office from 8-5 to get a living.I agree,basic education is important but not pressure your child into becoming something they are not because society dictates that or because you want to live your dream through them.We all have our gifts and talents and the sooner we discover and develop these,the happier life and the world will be.I wish we had like Julliard’s School of art.Where,your talent is your entry to the school and this is nurtured while still getting some education.But we are still so stuck in our ways,and we end up wasting a lot of potential because of only looking at one side of the coin and not willing to look at the other side of possibilities.
All I am saying is there are people who earn so much money playing football than someone sitting in an office.I am not saying footballers are not bright.I’m only saying,at the end of the day,we work so we can be able to live a comfortable life;so we can enjoy one two luxuries.Well,there are 10 different ways to skin a cat!
Reactions to this are totally welcome.Maybe we can come up with a solution to the education crisis in Kenya and get a hearing with powers that be and make a difference for generations to come….
Peace out!
Miss Adoyo 
O.K. I agree with you. But all in all we have a problem in Society. Things have changed but principles must never change. What I mean is children should still be raised by the same principles that lead to success, only that parents must now change their tactics so that we all forge forward together. I think your tone towards the parents has been harsh. It is a mistake on their end but maybe, just maybe that is the only way they have known to raise their children. For us the new generation may we not make the same mistakes.