Teachers and parents oppose new rule on language in schools

PHOTO | FILE A teacher at Amani Primary School in Mombasa engages pupils in an exercise on opening day earlier this month. Two teachers’ unions have opposed a policy which recommends that local languages be used to teach pupils in nursery and lower primary.  NATION

In Summary

• Kenya National Union of Teachers officials asked the Ministry of Education to suspend the policy and consult teachers before implementing it.
• Kuppet chairman Omboko Milemba described the policy as retrogressive and difficult to implement.
• Mr Musau Ndunda, the secretary-general of the Kenya National Association of Parents, also criticised the policy, saying, it was not conducive for national cohesion and would be difficult to implement.

By JEREMIAH KIPLANG'AT
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Teachers on Monday opposed a new policy by the Ministry of Education requiring them to teach pupils in lower primary school using indigenous languages.

They said the policy was not only difficult to implement but also retrogressive.

Kenya National Union of Teachers officials asked the Ministry of Education to suspend the policy and consult teachers before implementing it.

Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) officials also said the proposed policy — contained in Sessional Paper 14 of 2012 — was not applicable in view of technological advancements and the push for national integration.

The ministry has proposed that children under the age of eight be taught in mother tongue. However, the Sessional Paper also requires teachers to help their pupils master both English and Kiswahili.
The policy, if implemented, will affect teachers and pupils in nursery and lower primary school as it applies to children who are in Standard Four and below

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In urban and cosmopolitan areas, the policy prefers Kiswahili to be used as the language of instruction in lower primary school classes.

Yesterday, Mr Wilson Sossion, the Knut secretary-general, said the union had not been consulted on the proposed changes.

“You do not issue a policy without first consulting key players,” he said. “We are urging the ministry to take it back to allow consultation otherwise it would be difficult to implement.”

RETROGRESSIVE POLICY

Kuppet chairman Omboko Milemba described the policy as retrogressive and difficult to implement.

“We are asking the ministry to abandon it. We think it was prepared by the old men and women at the ministry who are eager to push for directives not in tandem with current happenings,” Mr Milemba said.

He accused the ministry of failing to engage various education stakeholders when formulating the policy.

“Let the ministry put it aside, consult widely with everyone involved in the education sector. We were never consulted on this. We are surprised that such a policy could be thought of and all teachers will be required to observe yet unions were not consulted,” Mr Milemba said in a telephone interview with the Nation.

NATIONAL COHESION
Mr Musau Ndunda, the secretary-general of the Kenya National Association of Parents, also criticised the policy, saying, it was not conducive for national cohesion and would be difficult to implement.

“We are meeting with the curriculum developers at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development and we will sure raise the dangers of adopting such kind of policy,” he said. “I don’t see how this will promote the national cohesion.”

Mr Sossion said local languages could be promoted in schools, but should not be used for instructions.

“If you would like to promote local languages, then they should be taught as subjects and the two national languages remain for instruction,” Mr Sossion said.

“If a teacher from upcountry is sent to Tana River County, for instance, how will you expect him or her to teach in a local language he or she does not understand?”

The Sessional Paper of 2012, which was made public on Sunday says: “The language of the catchment area (Mother Tongue) shall be used for child care, pre-primary education and in the education of Lower Primary children (0-8 years).”

The unions also said it would be difficult to observe the directive considering that most teachers were never taught how to teach in mother-tongue.

“Where will we get the teachers to teach in mother tongue? There is no training for teachers to conduct instructions in local languages,” Mr Milemba said.