In most schools that have two or more education systems, one would expect a difference between students undertaking the 844 and the international curriculum.
Rarely will you see students on these different curriculums but in the same school have anything in common, be it uniform, school amenities or even playgrounds.
However, a Kilifi school has outdone itself and is changing the narrative and misconception around such schools.
Mudzini School is also doing its best to change the perception international curriculums are only meant for children from well-off families.
In 2017, Anthony Butali established Mudzini in Kikambala, Kilifi county, after operating a rescue centre, Mudzini Kwetu Centre Trust, for years.
The centre rescues, accommodates and educates children from vulnerable backgrounds, including orphans, the less fortunate and even children from troubled families.
Butali said children from the home needed not only good but quality education, which was hard to come by, especially in the area where the orphanage was located.
“These children needed to school. My first thought was, why not open a school that will benefit them and also be a safe place for them? An environment they are familiar with? And that is how Mudzini School was born,” he said.
Aside from the children from the rescue centre, the school went ahead to enrol students from poor backgrounds in the area.
The students would study free of charge and their only responsibility was to perform well in their exams. This was key in integrating the pupils from the centre and children from the nearby communities.
For the education, Mudzini started by offering British-based Cambridge curricula before being certified by the British Council to teach and examine its students in 2018.
The reason why an international curriculum was Butali’s first choice was because the 844 is a grade-based curriculum that creates unnecessary academic competition.
Butali’s vision was for the learners to acquire some knowledge and learn how to utilise it. This was to change the African notion, which perceives education as a tool for acquiring wealth and status.
First, pupils were from the orphanage but he went a step ahead by enrolling more students from disadvantaged families in the area.
Kikambala being a host to the who's who in the society in search of a peaceful and serene environment to live in, the area lacked a good school that could accommodate children from well-off families.
Most families of such calibre had to either take their children to Nyali or Kilifi, which are a long distance from their homes.
UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITY
Seeing this gap in services, Butali grabbed the opportunity and opened Mudzini’s school to the world, welcoming more students from different backgrounds.
To make the school friendlier to students from all walks of life, the Mudzini management diversified by providing both the Cambridge curriculum and the local 8-4-4 and CBC systems.
“Our top priority is for all students, no matter the curriculum they are attending, to have life skills. Our focus is not competition-based but ensuring our students are ready with knowledge they can use at any stage in their lives,” he said.
According to head teacher Leah Gathungu, the school’s transformation from a single curricula to three systems was implemented in such a way that none of the students felt more superior or inferior to the other students from other academic systems.
Gathungu said Mudzini makes sure all students, whether from CBC, 8-4-4 or Cambridge, are equal in all aspects as from the moment they step into the gate.
Gathungu said unlike other institutes where each system will have its own uniform, at Mudzini, all students wear the same uniform.
Also, the school does not allow meals from outside as it provides every meal taken by the pupils.
In this institute, all students share the same uniform, facilities and classrooms. They even eat in one hall, where all foods are prepared and served from the school’s kitchen.
This has ensured pupils from the local community do not feel out of place while their colleagues from the upper society are enjoying their homemade meals.
“This way, we have had children of politicians or top business people mingling freely with children from our local community without fear of superiority. In a way it also opens up the minds of our students from poor families as they are challenged to work harder to change their lives,” Gathungu said.
She said this has also instilled humility, discipline and respect for each student and other school staff.
As a result, parents feel more comfortable and at ease whenever they plan to shift their children from one system to the other.
HOLISTIC GROWTH
The school not only focuses on studies but co-curriculum activities.
It is well equipped with a technology lab, science labs as well as a fully equipped music room, which contains modern musical instruments.
Pupils as low as kindergarten have an opportunity to start a career in coding, robotics or making of apps or games.
For aspiring actors and actresses, the school has an acting academy, which prides in producing well-known child actors, including Ndela Mwiri of Maza and Aziza drama series.
Other amenities include outdoor sports such as basketball, lawn tennis and swimming.
The institute has taken note of people with disability as it has incorporated ramps and has special teachers whose duties are to assist students who need special attention.
With these gaps filled, it has been easy for parents to shift their children from one system to the other within the school without the worry of a societal gap that will come with the transition.
In the class of 2020 who sat for their KCPE early this year, 11 of the 16 candidates had shifted from the Cambridge system.
They were only two months into the 844 system when schools were closed due to coronavirus.
FROM CAMBRIDGE TO 844
The school’s academic officer Julius Kassim said the top challenge was changing the students’ mindset on how to deal with the Kenyan system of education.
“844 is a bit complex compared to Cambridge, especially when it comes to examination. 844 gives a student optional answers. Therefore, you must know the exact answer. While Cambridge allows the student to answer however they understood the question,” he said.
Some of the students were learning Kiswahili as a language and as a subject for the first time, and the teachers had to start from the basic education.
Kassim said after schools were closed to curb the spreading of coronavirus, the institute had to quickly shift to online classes because they could not afford to lose even a second.
“We had not even touched on class eight syllabus and we had to do everything to have our candidates ready for KCPE. And truly with the KCPE results, our efforts were not futile,” he said.
The 16 candidates were able to beat the challenges of transiting from Cambridge to 844 as well as closure of schools to post exemplary results.
The top student, Sharon Kazungu, scored 406 marks, while the school posted a mean score of 347.6 marks.
Kassim said as the academic in-charge, they have learnt lessons on uncertainties and how to deal with students changing curriculums.
He said parents should not be afraid of taking the risk of shifting their children from one system to the other.
“844 is considered tough, so it toughens the thinking of students. While Cambridge opens them up to more international possibilities and, therefore, people should be at ease to pick what is good for their children,” Kassim said.
