John Tyman's
Cultures in Context Series
AFRICAN HABITATS : 
FOREST, GRASSLAND AND SLUM 
Studies of the Maasai, the Luhya, and Nairobi's Urban Fringe
PART TWO : THE LUHYA
20. EDUCATION : 251-275
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251. At independence, Kenya inherited a system of education designed to serve the interests of the colonizers: and it is still elitist and politicized. It ignores indigenous knowledge systems and focuses on academic achievement as an end in itself. Its promotion of competition and individualism has contributed to the alienation of individuals from their cultural roots, and hundreds of schools have been closed by striking students.

 Children here typically start school when they are 6 or 7, though some parents keep them at home longer to help care for farm animals. Attendance is not compulsory but 80% will attend for a few years at least. (Kakunga Primary School)
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252. In primary schools in Kenya children are taught in their own tribal language (in this case Luhya) for the first three years. After that English is the medium of instruction, with Swahili offered as a curriculum subject.
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253. Compared with schools in Europe and America the quality and the volume of teaching materials available is strictly limited, as this school office and store would suggest. However, children who are able to attend school take it seriously, recognizing the link between education and their future standard of living. Equality of educational opportunity is, however, undermined by political patronage and ethnic prejudice, with schools serving the ruling elite given preference and other tribes disadvantaged. (Kakunga Primary School)
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254. In theory primary schooling is free, in that there are no tuition fees: but parents must buy uniforms and also pay Parents’ Association levies to cover building costs and the like. The children of parents who cannot or will not pay are barred from attending. It is a system that favors the “haves” over the “have-nots”.
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255.These cooks at Kakunga Primary were preparing lunch for the children lucky enough to be sponsored by Action Aid ... which selects a number of children in Grade 1 each year and supports them till they finish secondary school.
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256. Some children bring lunch from home, some go without, and others head for a “tuck shop” or its equivalent. This one at Esumeyra offered pieces of sugar cane on which students could chew during the break.
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257. In the absence of the school buses which carry students in Australia, children here walk to school, along roads or local pathways.
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258. In this case it was Friday, and they had to bring fresh cow dung with them, ... some of it wrapped in leaves, some in cans. It is used to smear the floor to get rid of the jiggers (or sand fleas) which thrive in dust and embedding themselves beneath toe nails are a common cause of lameness. This was done on Friday so it would dry over the weekend. (Children headed for Esumeyra Primary School).
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259. In recent years, though, many classrooms have been floored with concrete, like this one at Kakunga, so children are spared this chore.
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260. Most children do not complete primary school, but those who are able to do so sit a public Certificate of Education exam which will be decisive in determining whether or not they get a secondary education. Sadly, due to a shortage of places, many of those who qualify for secondary school will not gain entry, and among those who do get in the drop out rate in Kenya ranges between 10% and 50%.  Those who fail to gain entry and those who drop out are both destined for unskilled work -- under a system modeled on that long followed in Britain.
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261. Children are encouraged to work hard because competition for places is fierce and less than 50% will get any sort of secondary education. Some public schools are maintained directly by the Kenyan government, others (referred to as “Harambee Schools”) depend on local communities for financing and operate on a shoe-string. Others are private institutions operated as businesses and are better resourced than public schools. “Harambee” is the motto reproduced on Kenya’s coat of arms: and is chanted at public gatherings as a call to unite and work together.(Private boys school at Ingotse)
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262. Raising money for local schools is serious business. These girls were dancing at Parents Day at Bunyore Girls School, a function attended by government representatives, at which people were invited to make pledges publicly ... to rounds of applause. Among the Luhya, though gender disparity in primary education is minimal, it is obvious at the secondary level, and still more so at university.
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263. Substantial fees are involved in secondary education (for boarders especially) and some of the children offered places will be unable to accept them. At the time of my visit those lucky enough to gain admission were offered four years of highly academic, exam-centered instruction, before sitting for a certificate exam which determined if they could progress to the high school level of Forms Five and Six.
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264. Private schools out-perform public schools because they are better resourced and have lower teacher to student ratios.  Public schools are poorly equipped in comparison, especially in rural areas, and have higher drop out rates, and more drug addiction, bullying and teenage pregnancies. The secondary school at Ingotse began life as a missionary enterprise, for the boys of that area. In common with mission schools elsewhere in Kenya it is now controlled and financed by the government but retains a Christian ethos.
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265. The flag was raised by the scout troop here at 7.45 am each day and those present pledged their “loyalty to the President and Nation of Kenya” and promised to devote their “whole life and strength to build this country in the living spirit of our motto: Harrambee”. (The recitation of this pledge of loyalty was discontinued in 2002.)
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266. Many boys walk to school each day but those living too far away board there during the week, in brick dormitories.
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267. They are fed ugali each evening and sometimes for lunch also, and uji for breakfast.
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268. They each have plates and/or bowls of their own and have to keep them clean.
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269. The school matron (who trained as a nurse in Canada) has a range of medicines in her office -- pre-eminently aspirin and chloroquine used then for the treatment of malaria. (Chloroquine has since been replaced by “AL”… aremeter lumefantrim. )
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270.  Matron also has a store where she keeps the necessary disinfectant and from which she issues toilet rolls to the boys and soaps for both laundry and toilet use.
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271. The school library was less well equipped in the year I was there. This shelf displayed their entire Geography reference section (plus a few history books).
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272. A range of subjects are offered here to certificate level, with state-wide synchronized exams. On this day the school was preparing for a science exam. The required specimens and chemicals were supplied by head office in Nairobi but few schools (even private ones) in rural areas have enough test tubes and beakers. Preparing the examination room was, therefore, a major task: and the exam started two hours late.
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273. Because of the equipment shortage the students sat for the exam in shifts, with breaks between them so the teachers could set things up again. Students who had yet to do the exam were isolated in a separate classroom, so they could not communicate with those who had already seen the question paper.
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274. Because exams have such a critical bearing on students’ futures, the papers had been kept in the police armory till they could be collected by an impartial invigilator. And their administration was overseen by observers appointed by the provincial office. At the time of my visit the pattern was 7 years of primary education, 4 of secondary, 2 of high school and 3 at university. Now students have 8 years in primary school, 4 in secondary, and 4 at university; so they are no longer required to pass a certificate exam as a prerequisite to the completion of their secondary education.
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275. Sixth Form students sit for a certificate exam which determines if they have any chance of getting a tertiary education. Preparing for this they may study well into the night, but because of the shortage of places a lot of those earning sufficient credit points to be eligible for university will not be offered a place, many of them girls. In 2007-8, for example, twice as many boys were given places at university than girls, yet at the University of Nairobi in 2008 60% of the students awarded first class honors were women. Women outnumber men in private universities, but these offer arts and business courses mostly, and the fees they charge limit their enrolment to the middle and upper classes. Training colleges provide certificate and diploma courses for those denied a place in university, but they too are expensive.
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AFRICA CONTENTS


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