National teachers’ unions have accused the government of inadequately funding public learning institutions in order to commercialise and privatise the education sector.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) said that the government had failed to build quality and adequate public education infrastructure amid serious teacher shortages.
The failure to meet the high demand for education, they argued was driving parents with children in public primary and secondary schools to private institutions which are perceived to be better resourced and offering better quality education.
“The government must facilitate access to and quality education for all children. You cannot give substandard education and say you have provided education,” said Kuppet Deputy Secretary-General Moses Nthurima.
He asked the government to prioritise human resource, insisting that the 36,000 teachers hired for junior secondary school (JSS) were inadequate and only a mere gimmick because one teacher cannot handle the 12 core subjects.
He added: “The government is facilitating privatisation because when Grade 7 learners land in JSS and find there is no learning taking place there because there are no teachers, they will run to private schools.”
The unions spoke during the launch of research findings on the privatisation and commercialisation of education at the Kenya Institute of Special Education. They accused the government of excluding them in education discourse when they have the expertise.
Knut Secretary-General Collins Oyuu noted that basic education is a public good and must not be turned around for profit making.
He observed that public schools, especially in urban informal settlements, were adversely affected, leading to a mushrooming of low-cost private schools that were not properly regulated and only sought to maximise profits.
“Our study shows that only 4 per cent of schools in slums are public,” he said. He added that commercialising and privatising education would undermine the right to education, entrenching and exacerbating inequalities.
Uasu Secretary-General Constantine Wesonga accused the government of attempting to evade financing universities and handing the management of education to cartels.
“We were taken aback by the pronouncement by Trade and Investment Cabinet Secretary (Moses) Kuria that the government wants to leave its responsibility of funding university education to outside investors,” said Dr Wesonga. He faulted Education CS Ezekiel Machogu for not issuing a statement on the matter and accused Mr Kuria of overstepping his mandate.
“Machogu must now come out and say whether he is supporting this plan or not,” Dr Wesonga said.
