First school trimester in Kenya ended on April 10, 2015 with students going home for April break that will end on May 5th when they will return for the second trimester.
Generally learning and other school activities went on well in Father Ntaiyia Jubilee School. Newcomers who enrolled in the school this year became used to the new environment and as I had reported in the February news, with unusually warm weather in the first three months of this year in Kenya, the children’s health was reasonably good because there was not much of common cold and Malaria that comes with wet and cold weather.
We had enough teachers during the trimester who took care of all the classes (grades) and made sure that all the subjects were taught according to the curriculum and syllabus as required by the Ministry of Education in Kenya.
SCHOOL BREAK:
The day and especially the night before leaving for holidays the children get very excited about it and hardly sleep that night. They wake up early in the morning to tidy up and have breakfast and assemble briefly before each gets ready for parents to come. Some parents arrive as early as seven in the morning so that they may get the earliest vehicle (Bus) that goes their way. For some there may be limited means to their homes because of the distance and bad roads. Because of this parents come and stay in the township ready for an early departure with their children. There are others who have no problem with means to their homes, and others may have to walk part of the journey. Friendly weather is very much welcome on such a day.
CONCERN OF A PARENT:
All parents were able to come for their children on the closing day and end of trimester and report forms were handed over to them while teachers were all ready to explain to any parent who needed any clarification on the report. I was informed that one of the parents, a Maasai man who has three children in Jubilee school, reacted furiously when he was informed that his son an eighth grader was in position 27 out of 40. The man who never went to school was happy that his other two children were in higher positions but decided not to take the one he thought was not smart (bright) with him home. He told the teachers that his father did not take him to school and that he was doing all he could to have his children go to school so that they would not become like himself without education. After leaving his son in the school with the teachers, the matron had to telephone call another parent who knew this man to intervene and the two men caught up with each other in the town and went back to school. One of the teachers explained to him that his son had made progress and had gone up in points in comparison with past trimesters and on top of that he was informed that his son had passed in every subject. With this understanding he accepted that his son had made some progress and being in position 27 was better than his previous position.
This happening points out that the Maasai have understood the value of education, and are ready if able to take their children to schools where they will have a better chance of being educated. A man who never went to school wants his son to be in a higher position in class and knows that this means his son will continue with further education if he passes his examinations. This is very encouraging. I had wished to talk to this man but I was unable to reach him by telephone after I was told about him.
TEACHERS:
One of our founding teachers, however had to leave after she was offered a job by the government. Elizabeth Mwinzi has been with us from the beginning. Kenya has many trained teachers who are not employed by the main teachers’ employer, the Government. These are the teachers we employ in private schools but they keep longing for government employment because it has many benefits and better pension scheme which private schools cannot afford. These teachers therefore apply for government jobs when recruitment is announced, and we cannot stop them from going when the opportunity arises. We end up recruiting new teachers once the government takes teachers from us. We have been lucky in Fr. Ntaiyia School that this does not happen often because it is not good for students to change teachers now and then.
ACTIVITIES:
Each trimester schools in Kenya have different extracurricular activities. During the trimester that has just ended the children are involved in ball games. Volleyball for boys and girls, football (soccer) for boys and girls and net ball for girls. At the first state the local schools, about ten compete locally (sub-zonal level) after each school has been given time to practice. The best three schools out of ten proceed on to compete with other schools at the second stage at zonal level. Jubilee school had ten girls competing at zonal level and a team of boys at the same level.
NATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS:
There has been a concern of poor performance of public primary schools in examinations. Former President Daniel Moi was reported by a Kenya local newspaper on March 22, 2015 as he attributed the poor performance of public primary schools to inadequate attention by the government. He challenged the government to help improve standards in public primary schools, including those in rural areas, by deploying more resources and manpower. He said it was unfair for the Ministry of Education to pay attention to public schools in urban areas and ignore those in the rural areas, yet they are expected to compete in national examinations. “These schools have less teachers, poor infrastructure and pupils going without meals. The poor performance and the poor grading associated with them should be blamed on the government.” He asked the government to focus on improving the learning environment in all public schools. “All children, regardless of where they come from, must be provided with equal learning opportunities. They must learn without being interrupted by anybody or any circumstances throughout their time in school.”
Fr. Symon