Don't punish successful exam candidates

The government is the custodian and manager of Kenya’s public education system. It has the power and resources to determine policy, make decisions and implement them. It can also change or reverse any of its policies.

The policies and decisions of the government in education and their implementation should be transparent and accountable. To be accountable means that at the very least, the decisions are fair and reasonable. These are ingredients of good governance anywhere in the world. They are also national values and principles of good governance under Article 10 of the Constitution.

The Form One Selection criteria for this year has come under public scrutiny and criticism as it appears to favour students from public schools at the cost of students from private schools.

Since the publication of the ranking of the performance of schools in KCPE was abolished, it is hard to compare the performance of students from public schools to those of private schools. However, in the past years, private schools have returned better public examination results for both their schools and their students. It is likely that this trend continued last year.

Stakeholders in education, who include parents and teachers of private schools, were not involved in the crafting and implementation of the Form One selection policy. Under Article 232 of the Constitution, they had a right to participate in the crafting and implementation of the policy.

A child is defined under Article 260 of the Constitution as any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. Article 53 of the Constitution grants every child the right to free and compulsory basic education. Therefore, every child in Kenya has a right to free and compulsory basic education at both the primary and secondary level.

The Constitution goes further to protect children. Article 21 recognises children to be vulnerable and places a responsibility on the government and all its institutions to address their needs. Articles 10 and 27 prohibit the discrimination of any person on the basis of their age, ethnic or social origin or birth.

The choice of school is not made by a child. It is made by the parents. The policy of Form One selection based on the distinction of whether a student is from a private school or a public school is discriminatory. It discriminates children on the basis of their birth and social origin. It also discriminates children on the basis of their age; they have no power to influence their social status, or birth.

Every child has a right under Article 53 to be protected from abuse, inhumane treatment and punishment. The government has violated these rights of the children who worked hard to attain the results that they did, and have to suffer the consequences of the choices of their parents to offer them quality primary education.

In 1926, a teacher in England was dismissed from employment because she had red hair. A court of law found that the decision of her employer was both unfair and unreasonable and returned her to work. The Form One selection policy and criteria is remarkably similar to the decision to dismiss the red-haired teacher.

If the public primary education system has failed to produce the same standards, quality of education and results as private schools, the government, not children, should bear the brunt of the consequences. The buck stops with the government to improve the standard  of education offered in public primary schools. These standards, quality and the results will not be improved by discriminating against private schools. The hard work of children, their intellectual capabilities and merit should not be punished. The failures and mediocrity of the government should not be rewarded.


 

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