Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has called for a review of the education system to allow students with exceptional sports talent to focus on nurturing their skills earlier instead of spending years studying subjects unrelated to their abilities.
Kindiki questioned the relevance of keeping students in school for years learning subjects such as mathematics and history when their talents are already evident.
“Why waste the three years in high school for someone whose skill and talent is already clear? he asked.
"...and then you’re teaching them mathematics, you’re teaching them history, you’re telling them about Vasco da Gama. Now, how does Vasco da Gama assist? This is a footballer,” the Deputy President said.
The DP made the remarks on Thursday when he held consultative talks with sportsmen and women from Embu, Meru and Tharaka Nithi at home in Irunduni, Tharaka Nithi County.
He stressed the importance of giving learners with clear sports potential the chance to concentrate on their careers at an early age, noting that professional sportspeople have a limited period before retirement.
“The child is a footballer. They just need to be nurtured, improved. They are good to go early enough," he stated.
"Don’t waste their youth because sports and games have early retirement compared to other areas,” Kindiki stated."
Kindiki stated that delaying the development of sports talent by overemphasising academic subjects not aligned to an individual’s strengths undermines their ability to maximise their potential.
He argued that early preparation would enable such students to begin earning a livelihood sooner.
“They start earning early, they use their talent early, because the retirement age for sports is quite early compared to other areas,” he said.
The DP said the government is streamlining the sports sector to make it more profitable for players and athletes who depend on it as their main source of income.
He assured sportspeople of the government’s interest in making sports one of the highest-paying sectors in the country.
He said the focus on academics alone is a thing of the past, noting the change in approach to learning through the new studying curriculum, which will pay more attention to harnessing talent and nurturing it from formative years to senior levels.
“We have concentrated much on academics and condemned those who are not good at it, yet they are excellent in sports and the creative industry,” Kindiki stated.
