Sheng not to blame for drop in KCSE English performance, scholars claim

Education CS Prof Jacob Kaimenyi when he released the 2013 KCSE results. [PHOTO: STANDARD/FILE]

By AUGUSTINE ODUOR

NAIROBI, KENYA: The use of 'Sheng' language may not be the main reason last year’s form four candidates performed poorly in English subject after all.

Education stakeholders have differed with the ministry of education’s claim that “sheng” is the cause of drop in English language performance by students in national examinations.

Regional education think tank Uwezo Kenya, Elimu Yetu Coalition and University of Nairobi lecturer have said reports by education cabinet secretary Jacob Kaimenyi on English performance may not be accurate.

Uwezo Kenya’s Country Coordinator, Dr John Mugo, said Kiswahili would have been affected more if that were the case.

He said there are other factors that contribute to poor performance in the English subject that need to be interrogated.

Dr Mugo also ruled out assertion that the uses of computers that offer automatic spelling checks or mobile telephone short text messaging also contribute to dismal performance in English language.

Last year’s KCSE results only Kiswahili, Biology, Physics, History & Government, CRE and Business Studies recorded major improvements.

English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Geography and Agriculture recorded a drop. Prof Kaimenyi attributed the drop to Sheng.

“… increased use of “Sheng” in our schools, the consistent use of electronic communication devices such as mobile phones and computers that have done away with the need to know how to construct sentences and spell words correctly due to “spell checking” and “predictive text” capabilities,” said Prof Kaimenyi.

Dr Mugo disagrees with this. “Our research has continuously pointed that the problem starts at primary school because the subject is poorly introduced at that stage,” said Mugo.

He blamed secondary school teachers for failing to acknowledge the fact that students from primary schools have a poor background of the subject.

“The teachers have also failed to embrace a culture that fosters proper learning of the subject, “said Mugo.

University of Nairobi lecturer has also said that the government should not condemn ‘Sheng’ and advised it should be introduced as an alternative instructional language in urban lower primary schools.

Socio-linguist and communications lecturer at UoN, Dr Silas Oriaso, said parents, teachers and education officials can no longer afford to brand sheng ‘a bad language’, as it constitutes about 80 per cent of language used among the urban children.

He said Sheng, just any vernacular language, can make children understand what they are being taught in class.

Dr Oriaso observed that the term ‘vernacular language’ often used to describe local languages for instruction is a derogatory term borrowed from the west to depict local languages as primitive and subordinate to English language.

“Strict English teachers who demonise Sheng and other local languages are pessimists who do not recognize that English, Swahili and Sheng share history, hence the latter should be recognized when it is still early,” he said.

He said the use of Sheng can never destroy the use of English because just like any other first language (Dholuo or Kikuyu) does not stop people from learning the second language.

“In any case, these second languages like Kiswahili, English, have some of their words borrowed to make the Sheng,” he said.

Dr Oriaso and Mugo were responding to the ongoing debate surrounding the 1976 Gachathi report of the National Committee on Education Objectives and Policies.

The report recommended use of predominant language in a catchment area.

The report recommends use of the predominant language spoken in the catchment area of the schools for the first three years of primary education.

It further says that English as a subject should be introduced from standard one and be made to supersede the predominant local language as the medium of instruction in standard four.

Prof Kaimenyi on Monday reaffirmed recommendations of the report.

“Learning theories backed by research indicate that the use of local languages as a medium of instruction in the formative years offers many advantages because it ensures smooth transition from home to the school environment for first time school goers,” said Kaimenyi.

On Thursday, EYC national director Janet Muthoni said fresh studies should be conducted to ascertain whether Sheng is a factor in diminishing performance in English.

Dr Oriaso said children use Sheng most of the time in the urban estates and noted that it is not reasonable to shun that language just because of the perception people hold against it.

“Even parents themselves speak 'Sheng' with their children.

There is nothing completely wrong with using 'Sheng' as an alternative language of instruction in school because children are increasingly enjoying it and identifying with it.”