Date Posted: 4/2/2012 2:50:42 AM
Posted By: sashoo Membership Level: Silver Total Points: 382
Causes of low academic performance in the free education system and possible recommendations:Despite the implementation of free education system in Kenya, education among school going students still remains an unsolved riddle. As a matter of fact, there are unmonitored aspects that undermine the free education. The most affected lot who are the students and their parents, keep hoping and anticipating for a new dawn that will see all of their misfortunes ultimately solved. That is why I have decided to discuss here the limitations and possible solutions of the free education system.1. School drop out cases are rampant in the free education system. These drop outs cause poor academic performance to students when they re-enroll to school again after a period of time. It takes time for them to readjust. The most possible reasons attributed to these drop outs are teen pregnancies, early marriages, and loss of parents among others. In addition, most students lack the proper guidance and counseling they need to motivate them in their education. The teachers assume that parents are the ones to offer this while parents assume that teachers are the ones to offer the counseling. This gradually heightens into a misunderstanding that eventually affects the students negatively.SOLUTION:Students should have access to a student counselor or to any other source of guiding and counseling. This counseling will go along the way to educate them on the bad effects of school drop out and the impact this might have on them like illiteracy and the likes. This will at least reduce the rampant school drop out cases in the free education system and induce quality academic performance.2. Absenteeism is another aspect that has established its roots in the free education sector. Absenteeism is caused by too many students in a single class such that it is hard to monitor their individual presence by the teachers. Consequently, since students have realized that they can absent themselves from classes unnoticed, they tend to take advantage of this aspect without caring at all. This adversely affects their education performance.SOLUTION:Record keeping like school registers should be effectively used here. Teachers should be advised to strictly monitor students’ attendance through these registers and even offer penalties to any absentees. This might as well help to reduce absenteeism and consequently increase student performance in the free education system.3. The free education system is also affected by class repetition. Repetition of classes demoralizes the student academically. Some students develop low self esteem when they face stigmatization by others. This state of affairs gradually affects the education performance of the affected students and they end up performing even poorer. You see in Kenya, it has been perceived that when a student repeats a class, he/she might be foolish or stupid; but this is not true. A student may repeat a class because of sickness, family issues or because parents are seeking good results in the final national examinations.SOLUTION:Students should be advised about this issue of repeating classes. That it is intended for the well-being of the affected students. It should be made known to them that students who repeat might even end up taking the first position, meaning that they were not as foolish as such. This will boost the education performance of the affected students.4. Student transfers are a common cause of poor academic performance. Parents, without realizing this tend to think that transferring their children to the best schools will make them improve academically. When students transfer, they are likely to miss part of the syllabus covered and it may cause them to adjust slowly to their new academic environment, hence undermining their education.SOLUTION:It is time parents are advised about the consequences of frequently transferring their children to the so called prestigious schools. They should be aware of the repercussions this will have on the academic performance of their children. Parents should realize that good education is not found in transferring children but through hard work by their children, of course with their assistance. This step will also boost academic standards.5. Adult enrollment is not an exception too. Free education is free to all, young and old alike. Adults have taken advantage of this free education programme by enrolling themselves in classes. When this happens, they are mandated to mix with other students in class. This usually raises a state of alarm in a class where by students do not pay attention to their teachers. They instead pay attention to this adult student or students, who then become their center of attraction. This will automatically lead to poor education performance in schools.SOLUTION:There is adult education in Kenya and I think adult students should enroll in the adult education system instead of mixing themselves up with children. This step will have a positive effect because it will enable the children to learn effectively hence improving their academic standards. Equally, the adult students will also learn effectively because there will be no one to make fun of them.
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