We should abolish national schools, redirect public funds to where they're needed most
Fred Matiang'i, the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Nairobi on September 9, 2016. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
One does not need a “national” school to bring children from diverse backgrounds together.
Promotion of national schools has turned out to be a case of the solution being worse than the problem – attempting to cure ethnic cleavages by creating social class-based fragmentation.
What is a national school?
There is no classification of schools in the Basic Education Act.
I was privileged to participate in one of the many low-key events organised to mark the Equity Week, whose purpose was to reflect on the many facets of inequality in our society. It was disconcerting how low key the week-long series of events turned out to be. This set me wondering whether, as a society, we fully understand the extent of inequalities in our nation and the ominous cloud they cast on our collective future.
Our society is dangerously, systemically unequal. No sector illustrates this fact better than our secondary school system. I make this argument while cognisant of the government’s efforts to improve access for all children. It is noteworthy that the primary to secondary school transition rate has improved significantly from 72.5 per cent in 2010 to 82 per cent in 2016.
