By James Mwai
The ban on the August holiday tuition in Kenya
in all primary and secondary schools by Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo has
thrown the spanner to the works in the country. Learners have been left
under a lead-heavy cloud of confusion after being turned away from schools
when they went to open for tuition while the rest were forced to close their
books after beginning the remedial classes.
The performance on the up-coming KCPE and
KCSE national examinations is hanging in the balance since it mostly rely on
the August holiday tuition. The worst is even in the offing after a recent
announcement by the giant Kenya National Teachers Union (KNUT) that there will
be a nationwide teacher’s strike on 3rd September when schools are
expected to resume for third term.
The declaration by the minister that the August
remedial teaching famously referred to as tuition be terminated countrywide
like any other illegal activity was received with mixed signals. It came as a
hard blow to students and some parents who had been funding the exercise in the
past. KNUT also did not welcome the move.
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| Students going home after Education Minister banned holiday tuition |
In Sipili area of Laikipia West District,
students have arranged for private tuitions in several locations. Some gather
in churches while others in homesteads. They have also hired tutors to
facilitate the exercise. Currently, parents are willing to cater for these
tuitions after noting that their children spend most of the time idling around.
This has been instigated by lack of heavy manual work this season.
Ng’arua Maarifa Centre has witnessed an
influx of student population visiting the Centre to utilize its library
services. Both primary and secondary school students come to the centre to
study and borrow books.
A vox pop conducted by Laikipia Rural Voices (LRV)
in the area revealed that many teachers are ready to distance themselves from
any liability should the KCPE and KCSE performance be dismal. However, some
students are expressing deep regret for registering for the national exams
since they are not adequately prepared to undertake it. They were concerned
that 3rd term is the shortest learning season in the Kenya schools
calendar and they may not clear the syllabus which had been scheduled to be
taken care of by the August holiday tuition.
Part of the reasons advanced by the minister
for prohibiting the tuition is its use by teachers to cash on poor parents. He
also argued that the recent unrest witnessed in schools are contributed by
these tuition since students do not get enough time to rest after studying.
Schools are scheduled to open for third term
on 3rd September, 2012.
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