Schools could soon be allowed to conduct tuition if a Bill presented in the National Assembly is approved.
The Bill which seeks to amend the Basic Education Act (2013), the law that guides primary and secondary schools’ operations, is sponsored by Murang’ a Women Representative Sabina Chege. While appearing before the National Assembly Education Committee chaired by MP Julius Melly (Tinderet), Chege said that tuition will only be intended to help children with learning difficulties by providing extra coaching.
“Clause ten seeks to allow tuition where there is prior written consent of the parents or the guardians of the pupils and only if the holiday tuition is remedial in nature or seeks to enhance opportunities available for students to improve their performance both in their studies and co-curriculum activities,” Chege said.
“Chair you know tuition is a major issue in this country and there is a government directive so there is a clause that had already banned tuition.”
Chege also wants the Act amended and make it a duty of the Education Cabinet Secretary to put measures in place to ensure that needy students who perform well in their primary and secondary school final examinations are assisted to complete their education.
“We have had very bright students who do well in their primary examination and a fundraising is done in their village they join secondary school and somewhere in Form Two they drop out because they cannot afford fees or they stay out for so long that their performance is negatively affected yet the government can come in and support such students,” Chege added.
The Basic Education Act (2013) outlaws holiday tuition of any kind and states that a person who goes against this law risks a fine not exceeding Sh100,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or both.
Still, on matters education, Turkana Women Representative Joyce Emanikor is seeking the introduction of Safety Psycho-social Skills as one of the subjects in all learning institutions.
While appearing before National Assembly Committee on Education, Emanikor said a majority of students do not have the capacity to handle emergencies such as fire, terror attacks and robbery in case they occur.
“As a country, we must evaluate our disaster preparedness and risk reduction in our schools by teaching our students about what they need to do in case something happened. A manual is not enough. Safety measures are something that should be taught and physically demonstrated,” she said.
In her Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) Amendment Bill, Emanikor pointed out that students should be well equipped with simple safety measures in both public and private schools.
Her proposals were well received by the Committee members led by Tinderet MP Julius Melly who admitted that the Bill was timely and progressive.
“Students have a lot of fear even when they are in their classrooms. Bullying and being threatened by their peers and even teachers have become so common. So, this Bill is so timely and as a committee, we will fast track it, write a report and present it to the floor of the House,” Melly assured.
This article was written by Njoki Kihiu and was first posted on Capital News.
