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Kenya’s education system doesn’t nurture talent, innovation – Expert

Every year, both KCPE and KCSE results are released with students, parents and teachers celebrating their performances, while others are dejected not knowing where they went wrong/FILE

Every year, both KCPE and KCSE results are released with students, parents and teachers celebrating their performances, while others are dejected not knowing where they went wrong/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 4 – Is the current system of education and curriculum nurturing talents and innovations in our children?

Every year, both KCPE and KCSE results are released with students, parents and teachers celebrating their performances, while others are dejected not knowing where they went wrong.

With the overreliance on the end-year tests, we are failing to address the need to nurture talents and innovation to address the current unemployment crisis facing the country.

The quality of education is also not clearly spelt out so that the curriculum delivery could focus on development of specific expected competences.

In an exclusive interview with Capital FM News, Acting Director General Vision 2030 Gituro Wainaina said basic education should be designed with a view of equipping the learners with relevant knowledge that emphasizes on technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.

“We are still in the mode of teaching to get better grades and school ratings but we are not really into innovation. Teachers also lack a clue of what it’s all about.”

“If the country is going to be globally competitive, then our leverage as clearly stated in our vision needs to be knowledge based.”

Wainaina states that the national examinations are not about nurturing talents and innovations but the scramble for admission to public universities.

“This is unfortunate considering that there not many jobs in the country to cater even for the huge number of students graduating annually.”

“We need to ensure the development of an individual’s potential in a holistic and integrated manner, while producing individuals who are intellectually, emotionally and physically balanced.”

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He adds that our current mode of teaching and examining styles doesn’t encourage our students to be more involved in technical activities.

“To address the unemployment in the country, students need to be exposed to the industrial sector e.g. the Juakali, Information Technology etc to broaden their thinking and capabilities.”

“Let’s also have competence based exams that encourage innovation in the secondary level,” says Wainaina.

Currently, Kenya’s unemployment rate stands at 40 percent, up from only 12 percent in 2006.

Wainaina states that parents have a role to play in encouraging and supporting their children’s talent, to address the influx of unemployed youth, a crisis that Kenya is currently facing.

“Young people account for more than 35 percent of the national population, yet they account for a whopping 67 percent of the country’s unemployed workforce.”

“If we don’t invest in our children, if we don’t give them hope, if we don’t give them channels to pursue a decent living, then we as a country have failed the generation of tomorrow,” says Wainaina.

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