It is not too late for Kenya to solve mess in education sector

Education is the foundation of civilisation in all societies worldwide.

Countries with high-quality education are rated highly in terms of development indices. In the same vein, quality education translates to higher labour indices, a critical factor of production.

At independence, Kenya had one of the best education systems on the globe. The 7-4-2-3 form of education had a clear career and professional development path. Those students who failed to advance to the next level had options such as technical institutes and training colleges that offered opportunities for students who were not able to join universities.

Studies by the World Bank compared Kenyan graduates favourably with their peers from top notch institutions internationally. For instance, an engineer from University of Nairobi was at par with his colleague from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology back then.

An economic graduate from Kenyan universities was as good as one from the London School of Economics. Better still, a hospitality graduate from Kenya Utalii College competed on equal footing with Florida State University, Strathclyde and Cornell. Not anymore.

What has happened to our education system? Where did the rain start beating us? The competitiveness of Kenyan graduates from basic to university education is increasingly questioned. At basic education level, pupils are challenged in elementary arithmetic and literacy. This is replicated in secondary and university education. Something must be done to diagnose and cure the root cause of the pathetic state.

Ignore quality

Many education experts attribute the sorry state of education to politics. In 1984, the Government initiated radical changes to the education system. Experts say this was done without proper planning.

Those of us who were in school then bore the brunt of the hastily implemented education system, 8-4-4. It anticipated a techno-savvy, skilled graduates in a short time. Yet curriculum review is a process requiring adequate time and resources which were lacking in this case.

With the politicisation of education in the country, Kenya has lost focus on quality education. Politics has placed emphasis on access and ignored quality. Best practices in education advocate both access and quality. We have simply lost track but we can reclaim our lost glory.

As a teacher, I still believe it is possible. Kenyans must keep politics out of education matters. Leave learning to teaching experts. Succession and promotion should be purely on merit. Only professionals working independently will rescue our dwindling education fortunes and the window is fast closing.

The Commission for University Education (CUE), for instance, will help Kenya regulate higher learning.

Our citizens are yearning for high standards of education and CUE provides part of the answer to the nagging question.

Any parallel initiatives must be carefully thought out so as not to undermine the CUE. Task forces have a history of frustrating constitutional bodies.