Private schools fault ministry on interpretation of affirmative action

Kenya: The Ministry of Education has been accused of ‘misinterpreting’ the principle of affirmative action in the selection of students to Form One as private schools continue to cry foul over ‘alleged discrimination’ in favour of public schools.

Affirmative action in selection is supposed to enable pupils from disadvantaged areas access and get support to proceed with secondary education.

While the ministry has maintained that selection is based on principles of choice, merit, quotas and affirmative action, private schools argue majority of their candidates have been denied placement to National schools despite having excelled in the 2014 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations.

Data from the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA), on selections to at least 75 national schools, shows majority of the slots were taken by students from public primary schools. Of the total 15,875 slots in these institutions, 12,199 went to pupils from public primary schools, (78 per cent), while those from private schools had 3,676 slots. This accounts for 22 per cent of the total 15,875 slots.

While the data given by KPSA is not inclusive of all national schools , it is believed to be fairly representative of how the slots have been shared out among candidates from public and private primary schools. There are currently about 100 national schools in the country, which translates to an increase in the number of slots available from about 16,000 to 20,000.

According to the data, Alliance Girls High School, for instance, selected 206 pupils from public schools(77.7 per cent) and 59 (22.3 per cent) from private schools. Alliance High School, on the other hand, registered slightly higher figures, with 218 ( 77.9 per cent) pupils from public primary schools set to join the institution as opposed to 62 from private schools. The percentages are, however, much lower for pupils from private schools selected to join Form One in some of the national schools, like NEP Girls, for example, that has only one student selected from a private school (1.01 per cent), compared to 98 from public primary schools.

At Moi Girls Marsabit , the number of those selected from private schools stands at five compared to 101 slots snapped up by pupils from public institutions. The scenario is, however, different in national schools like Moi Forces Academy Nairobi, that has 99 (73.3 per cent) slots going to pupils from private primary schools as opposed to 36 (26.7 per cent) for public schools.

This is replicated at Moi Forces Lanet, where the number of pupils selected from private schools is higher than those from public schools at 136, and 120, respectively. The case is similar at Utumishi Academy, with 177 (57.1 per cent) pupils from private schools selected to join the institution and 133 (42.9 per cent) from public primary schools.

The media has been awash with stories of pupils who excelled in last year’s exam but failed to get schools ‘that matched their performance’. Private schools are going to court next week to challenge the Government on the criteria used in placing Form One students and want the court to make a ruling on the selection formula to be used in future.

“We have no problem with use of merit, choice, quotas and affirmative action in selection, but let us use parameters that can be verified as deserving cases.

Affirmative action should be applied to individuals cases and not institutions because there are some high cost public primary schools that are actually more advantaged than low cost private schools,” says KPSA Chief Executive officer Peter Ndoro.

The Ministry of Education, he says, should be compelled to provide statistics of quotas available in each district.

“We are currently forcing students to select schools even where districts have no quotas. Some districts have higher quotas than others based on factors such as population, but this information isn’t made clear to the candidates. It is unfair to subject children to such a process yet we know they cannot get some of these schools,” says Ndoro.

According to the data a district like Nyakach, for instance, was allocated 55 slots for national schools. Of these 25 went to Nyabondo Boys boarding, a high cost public school and 20 to Nyabondo Girls. The other 144 schools in the district had to fight it out for the remaining ten slots.(See table on public schools allocation per district).

But Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi, has rebutted the private schools claims and blamed candidates for 'being ambitious' in their selection of secondary schools.

Some of the candidates, he said, chose high-end schools whose entry grade they could not achieve. "How do you choose Alliance, Mangu and Nairobi School in that order? You must also select day schools so that you get a school," he said.

The CS said the outcry that has greeted this year's selection of Form One is based on ignorance. "These schools attract more than 120,000 candidates and it is possible you miss out on first, second and third choices. Choose a national school, an extra county school and a sub county school. That way, you must get a slot," he said.

He said this explains why some candidates who scored 400 marks missed out on prime schools. "We take you to schools you chose. If you did not choose a school, we give priority to those who showed interest," he said.

The CS took a swipe at private schools for disputing the selection formula and threatening to move to court, but said it was their right to do so. Kaimenyi said the selection criteria were circulated to County Directors of Education, high school principals, head teachers, and directors at the Ministry of Education.

The ministry's formula also has support from other quarters that argue it is the best to ensure pupils from public schools get an opportunity to access national schools.

“Why is it that there is confidence in public secondary schools and not public primary schools? The investors in private primary schools should be telling us why they are not gearing the same efforts towards setting up private secondary schools,” says Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Secretary General Akelo Misori. He says it is crucial for the government to target development of infrastructure in all public schools and motivate those running private institutions to set up secondary schools.

University of Nairobi’s Dr Andrew Riechi, cites recommendations of the Prof Douglas Odhiambo Taskforce on Realignment of the Education sector to the Constitution, on standardising all schools in terms of equipment, staffing, management and ensuring learning processes are well monitored.