• While a section thinks it is a noble idea, some have opposed the proposal as shallow thinking and ignorant
• In Kenya only 30% of children attend boarding schools, the others are enrolled in day schools
A proposal by a task force looking into the competency based curriculum to progressively end boarding schools in the new education system has been received with mixed reactions.
There are some who think it is a noble idea, while others see it as shallow thinking and ignorant.
Mutheu Kasanga, the Kenya Private School Heads Association chief executive, says abolishing boarding schools will greatly disadvantage families that rely on them for the smooth schooling of their children.
Many boarding schools in Kenya date back to the colonial period. Top boarding national schools were reserved for whites only.
They included Nairobi School, which served children of the top colonial government officials, and Lenana School, which served children of white settlers.
In former British colonies, such as India and Nigeria, boarding schools are one of the preferred modes of education.
Worldwide, however, more children attend day schools compared to those in boarding schools.
In Kenya only 30 per cent of children attend boarding schools.
Julius Jwan, recently appointed Basic Education principal secretary, argues that the upbringing of children is the direct responsibility of parents and close family and as much as possible, the child should be able to return home after school.
This at least for the first 12 years of life, he says.
However, Jwan agrees that some circumstances have given boarding schools an edge over their day counterparts.
Examples of these situations are very bad or dangerous home or community situations, a lack of parental care or barriers to establish a school nearby.
Another situation that leads to the preference of boarding schools is the case of (semi-) orphans or lack of good parental care for children.
Being away from home at an early age means being unable to learn many cultural values, beliefs, practices and customs that children need to function in the community. The institutions also cause a sense of alienation. Children in boarding schools feel unloved, unwanted or uncared for.
Kasanga also notes that reasons for establishing or attending a boarding school include a search for intensive quality and holistic education.
Wealthy parents, for example, send their children to exclusive boarding schools to receive high-quality education.
These schools usually offer extra-curricular activities to broaden the education experience and offer opportunities for social, cultural and personal development.
Some children are sent to boarding schools to improve their academic performance. Boarding schools offer supervision and coaching outside official hours.
Some boarding schools are designed for children with special needs to benefit from extra care. In many of these cases, parents are unable to take care of their children at home.
Boarding schools can also act as a safe haven for children from difficult or bad home situations, such as violence.
For children living in conflict-prone or unsafe areas, the lack of safety keeps them from going to and from school daily. Besides, conflict can lead to displacement and separation of children from their parents.
For children whose parents live a nomadic life, boarding schools offer the only opportunity to get an education. The government established low-cost boarding schools in arid and semi-arid areas for these children.
However, boarding schools have been criticised for contributing to cultural extinction.
Being away from home at an early age means being unable to learn many cultural values, beliefs, practices and customs that children need to function in the community.
The institutions also cause a sense of alienation. Children in boarding schools feel unloved, unwanted or uncared for.
Indimuli Kahi, the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association chairman, says teachers try to provide a sense of family belonging to children in boarding schools but some never get used to that environment.
“This is where you find a child struggling with things such as homesickness and this affects some of the learners' performance, they just are not able to recover from the idea of being far from home,” Kahi told the Star.
Physical and sexual abuse have been reported, albeit in hushed tones. Although no study has reported this, individual schools have been caught in a tight spot in the past over cases of bullying.