Kakamega leaders converge in Nairobi today to deliberate on the state of education in the county.
This follows dismal performance in last year’s KCSE exam. The county had only one A plain. The student was from Booker Academy - a private school.
Ikolomani MP Bernard Shinali on Saturday said they will explore causes of the poor results. He already blamed mass transfer of head teachers for the problem.
“Lack of As means is that we’ll have no sons and daughters trained as doctors and engineers. This is alarming and calls for concerted efforts by all players,” he said.
He spoke at the burial of former Idakho South councillor Nicholas Mwenesi in Eregi. He said the delocalisation policy has hurt top schools, like Kakamega and Musingu Boys’ high schools. Those posted to the schools lack the capacity to manage them, he said.
“We’re not against the delocalisation because a government policy must be implemented. However, let implementation take into account the capacity of those being moved to new stations. You can’t move a principal from a day school with 300 students to a school with over 1,000 students,” the lawmaker said.
Only elected leaders are to attend. They are MPs Justus Murunga, Johnston Naica, Ben Washiali, Tindi Mwale, Christopher Aseka, Titus Khamala, Emmanuel Wangwe, Justus Kizito, Shinali, Moses Malulu, Ayub Savula and Enoch Kibunguchy.
Others are Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya, Senator Cleophas Malala, Woman Representative Elsie Muhanda and nominated senators Naomi Shiyonga and Gertrude Musuruve.
On January 5, governor Oparanya accused the MPs of following DP William Ruto in rallies and funerals yet education standards had slumped.
“Despite Kakamega county having led the KCPE examinations for five years running, the standards at the secondary level are falling and elected leaders must address this trend,” he said. Oparanya spoke during the burial of Lugari MP Ayub Savula’s daughter Joanne Chiri.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Secondary School Head Teachers Association wants the government to channel more funds towards development of infrastructure in schools to ensure success of the new competency-based curriculum.
National chairman Kahi Indimuli said the 100 per cent transition policy by the government must correspond to expansion of physical facilities and teacher deployment.
“The Sh30 million allocated for infrastructure development in schools is a drop in the ocean. It can’t deal with the current crisis in our schools. The government must consider increasing the allocation,” he said.
Indimuli said the current situation threatens learning.
He also appealed to the government to expedite release of funds to the Teachers Service Commission so it can post more teachers to subcounty schools to keep abreast with the increasing intake.