Improvement of modern Kenyan educational system

  

Date Posted: 7/9/2014 1:02:08 PM

Posted By: Wishstar  Membership Level: Gold  Total Points: 7507

---

Important values don't seem to be inculcated to learners by modern formal education. This can be proved by what we see happening in various government sectors. A majority of the sectors are led by well educated people. However, a good number never attained some core values in their learning.

Frequently on the news, we hear cases of government fund misappropriation, nepotism and tribalism among other negative issues. These are common occurrences in Africa and have become expected in higher learning institutions in Kenya. All the mentioned vices occur in our institutions as a result of something being wrong in our system of education.

The system of education in higher learning institutions of Kenya doesn't seem to adequately prepare someone to be accountable in their work place. It doesn't offer preparation to persons in the skills which are required to manage their affairs independently. This explains why a good number of graduates aren't able to sustain themselves. Parents have to come in for support despite them working, reason being the kind of education acquired wasn't helpful to them to enable them to be self reliant.

Education shouldn't only enable learners to write and read but more importantly should enable them tackle problems they expect to encounter in their life endeavors. It should make them be able to tackle issues concerning poverty, dependence and others that have made our country and continent lag behind in many areas. The education system shouldn't aim to produce scribes. It should offer motivation to the young and also the old to enable them contribute in developing the society. The content given and the form of education system should enable change that is needed at the various levels of independence. It is therefore important for examination of the current system of education in order for determination of appropriate strategies required

for self reliance and development.

The short coming brought about by the present educational model in our universities in particular should be corrected so that the system becomes integral. We require education that is targeted to the actual needs of the society, a system of education that encourages students to remain in their community and not migrating from rural to urban areas looking for employment.

The government spends a substantial amount of funds on education but ironically the contributions of the sector of education to the development of the nation have been minimal. This in part explains how irrelevant the current educational model is. Once a student graduates, he hasn't acquired enough practical skills to work professionally in his field. A period of training is necessary for them to be comfortably working in their field and this requires funds as well as time.

The manifestation of the poor education system is seen in the job market as most positions advertised clearly state that one needs experience. Thus students have been knocked over with the question: How are we supposed to get experience yet we are still in school? Partly answered is that an internship opportunity counts as experience. But what of the many years of experience some companies require? Does that mean that fresh graduates are incompetent in the job market? To a great extent, the answer is yes! Simply put, examinations are the main concern in the current education system. This has made most students to just concentrate on passing their examinations and thus the education can be termed as "paper education".

Matters made worse, our institutions of higher learning have become more concerned with money rather than the provision of quality education. Students are enrolled in institutions without considering the ratio of students to the available resources. As a result, strain of resources in our institutions is a common occurrence, starting from primary school way up there to higher institutions of learning. The drive towards making money has also made some institutions offer sub standard courses and in the end, the students may not be accredited by the relevant bodies in their field of study. This ends up as wastage of time and sincerely time cannot be recovered.

We cannot deny the fact that population increase has resulted into the springing of many private colleges and universities as well as the establishment of many campuses. However, quantity must be coupled with quality for successful positive development in the country. Education should be targeted towards development of the society. Let each stakeholder play his/her role in improving our education system.

---

Next: Consequences of rapid population increase in Kenya
Previous: Should college students be given pocket money?