Handle challenges in education sector carefully

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi releases 2013 KCPE results at Mitihani House, Nairobi, on December 31, 2013. Photo/BILLY MUTAI 

That there is looming trouble in the education sector is common knowledge. If the situation is not handled with care, we might witness the collapse of a very crucial sector.


 

The signs are already there and what we currently need is wisdom and common sense to prevail.

The Jubilee government came to power on the promise that it would revamp the education sector, address the perennial problems that have bedevilled the sector and introduce laptops to Standard One entrants this year. The time to walk the talk is now here and it must start at the policy level.

As schools open this week, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) is issuing a strike threat if its members, who have attained higher qualifications, are not promoted.

The union claims that the Treasury had put aside money for that and Teachers Service Commission has an obligation to issue the letters.

The unending rows between the teachers union and the government is characteristic of disorder in the sector. We cannot afford as a nation to always resolve such rows through industrial action.

Another constant trouble spot is failure to release money in good time to pay booksellers and suppliers.

The Kenya Booksellers Association want the schools to pay cash for the learning materials supplied. That means that the credit facilities previously available to schools have been scrapped.

This problem is exacerbated by the introduction of 16 per cent Value Added Tax and the new regulations that require the booksellers to make VAT returns.

This means that the traders will no longer be able to give credit to schools and the ministry of Education will have to release such funds without delay.

It is important to note that this is a major component of the free primary education and its failure will have deep ramifications in the sector.

Also, the government has not revised the school fees structure, even after imposing a 16 per cent VAT on various items used in educational institutions. This has left the school heads in a dilemma and it is time that such critical matters are looked into.

We believe that some matters should be left to the Parent- Teacher Association to decide on a school-to-school basis.

All these problems point to a sector that is in limbo. We cannot have a sector with a budget of more than Sh220 billion run in a carefree manner. The government has an obligation to look into these emerging problems and address them.

Any delay to find a quick fix to some of the largely administrative work would point to recklessness. Going forward, we need to rethink about the education sector and how to administer the relationship between all the stakeholders.