By Alistair Gould in Education — Apr 12, 2024

School transport safety refuses to be eclipsed

The world went dark on Monday, if you were in the right place at the right time as the sun and the moon aligned in syzygy (its a real word). Despite it being another short week, it was one where KNEC examiners found mistakes in their exam results and we saw one group of university students vote on how to split a presidential donation amongst themselves.

To get you started, these are the top headlines from the week as we get this issue going:

Ministry to issue guidelines on re-categorisation of schools
KNEC Admits Error That Led to Results Discrepancies of 3,018 Candidates
Sh11.6 billion arrears rock teachers, police medical schemes

SPOTLIGHT

Ministry of Transport feels the heat

In last week's edition, we highlighted the opportunity to do more for road safety in Kenya. This week, the Ministry of Roads and Transport alongside the Ministry of Interior and National Administration issued an Inter-Ministerial Joint Press Statement on Road Safety. Special attention was paid to public education and risk targeted enforcement. A number of measures focused specifically on school transport.

In a bid to curb the surge in road accidents in the country, Transport Cabinet Secretary, Kipchumba Murkomen directed all schools to have their buses undergo inspection by May 1, 2024. The exercise will be conducted by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).

The CS further directed that all learning institutions are required to present their vehicles for inspection by May 1, 2024, to assess their mechanical soundness and whether speed limiters installed on them are functional. Also, school vehicles carrying children are restricted to operate between 6 am and 7 pm.

Moving forward, drivers of school vehicles must validly be licensed by NTSA for the category of school vehicle being driven. Drivers shall have to successfully undergo and pass an annual assessment for criminal record. This shall include convictions of child abuse and incidents of arrests for driving under the influence or other drugs.

These are some among an array of measures announced by the transport ministry towards addressing a larger problem of road safety. Actions will speak louder than words.

HEADLINES

Ministry to issue guidelines on re-categorisation of schools: The exercise announced last week by the Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang will effectively end the ranking of secondary schools by merit. On Monday, the Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala announced that the government will soon issue guidelines on how the senior schools will be categorized.

KNEC Admits Error That Led to Results Discrepancies of 3,018 Candidates: In a statement shared by Parliament on Wednesday, April 10, it indicated that according to documents submitted before the Education Committee, KNEC officials encountered technical difficulties during the printing process, leading to the omission of minus signs (-) for some grades.

Sh11.6 billion arrears rock teachers, police medical schemes: Sources within the Medical Administrator Kenya Limited (MAKL) have revealed that the teachers’ medical scheme has accumulated Sh7.6 billion while that of the police owes up to Sh4 billion, painting a grim picture of the country’s financial crisis.

INSIGHT

STEM in focus

Earlier this week, the US Embassy Counselor for Public Affairs, Carla Benini, visited Education Cabinet Secretary, Ezekiel Machogu to discuss the creation of a framework that will strengthen STEM education in Kenya.

Last week, Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang revealed that most Senior Schools will offer STEM as a career pathway to Grade 10 to 12 learners from 2026. Senior Schools will offer at least two of three career pathways which are Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Social Sciences commonly known as humanities and final one is performing arts, music and athletics. The 2024 Grade 8 learners were the very first CBC class and will be the first Senior School cohort in 2026.

This move is in line with the Ministry of Education’s broader strategy which started with the introduction of CBC unveiled in 2017 as a skills-based curriculum to replace the previous 8-4-4 knowledge-based curriculum. CBC puts emphasis on seven core competencies namely, communication and collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving, creativity and imagination, citizenship, digital literacy, learning to learn and self-efficacy. These are some of the key skills STEM helps students develop.

STEM education is an interdisciplinary teaching method that combines science, technology, engineering, and math. It's designed to help students learn how to apply the scientific method to real life, and it also teaches computational thinking and problem-solving. STEM education begins in elementary school with introductory courses and awareness of STEM fields and occupations. The overlap and alignment with the CBC will be beneficial to learners.

The partnership between MOE and the US is a positive development and one that we shall continue to follow.

NEWS

What else is brewing?

Teachers unions have expressed concern over increasing cases of teachers dying by suicide due to what they described as intolerable working conditions. Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) national chairman Omboko Milemba said about 100 teachers have died by suicide in the last three years.
Dedan Kimathi University students' welfare sparked debate online for the better part of Tuesday afternoon. This was after a communique of a resolution to share Sh180 per student out of a Sh1 million donation by President William Ruto weeks ago emerged online.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) have reached an agreement to promote over 30,000 teachers who had stagnated in one position for over seven years. TSC will also recruit 20,000 teachers to address the shortage in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in a joint exercise that will cost the exchequer more than Sh7.8 billion.
The government through the Ministry of Education has heavily invested in sports and other co-curricular activities as a way of developing talents among learners. Head of the directorate, Field Coordination and Co-curricular Activities, Nelson Sifuna said the government was committed to growing talents in line with the tenets of Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).

One liners

REGION

What's happening next door?

[UG] Minister slams Muni University for graduating only 143 students: The minister of state for primary education, Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu, has slammed Muni University authorities for passing out fewer graduates at its sixth graduation ceremony. Dr Moriku was speaking Saturday at the University during the 6^th graduation of the University where 143 students graduated from seven programs. [Read]

[UG] Govt suspends issuance of transfer letters for teachers: Government, through the Ministry of Education and Sports, has suspended the issuance of transfer letters for newly recruited secondary school teachers and support staff. The suspension is intended to avoid interfering with first term activities. [Read]

[TZ] Digital tech programme improves education landscape: Vodacom Tanzania Foundation is committed to support the government in creating a conducive learning environment by providing educational institutions with the necessary resources. Through the programme, more than 215,000 students and 15,000 teachers have been reached with access to the educational content in the e-Fahamu portal. [Read]

CURIOUS

Did you know?

Research on learning shows that there is an ideal amount of time that you can spend on focused work in a single sitting. In this short video, neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman breaks down optimal learning based on ultradian cycles. You might find this interesting.

Enjoy the weekend ahead, and may your plans align in perfect syzygy.