Govt’ set to push for value based education says Matiang’i

ByClaire Wanja

The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Dr. Fred Matiang’i has said the government is set to push for a value based curriculum that will facilitate character formation of children.

He attributed cheating in national examinations to the country’s failure to pay attention to values in the education system, adding that this had led to “the death of conscience” among Kenyans

Addressing Principals Symposium Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) owned and sponsored Secondary Schools, at All Saints Cathedral on Thursday, Matiang’i however said that the government would push for integrity, patriotism and other values into the educational system.

He urged Principals of Schools to take responsibility for what takes place in their schools, saying if they faced in any challenges in their institutions, they should consult field education supervisors for help.

He decried subjection of students to bullying of whatever nature, saying students who were bullied grew up maladjusted and with low self-esteem.

He defended the Teachers Service commission, saying it had no intentions to look down upon or harass head teachers.

“You have been given an assignment and do it honestly,” Dr. Matiang’i noted.

The CS urged the Principals to allow students to worship saying they should be guided by official schools which was restricted to 8.00am to 5.00pm from Monday to Friday.

He said allowing Seventh Day Adventists students to worship on Saturday, should not present any problem to the schools just like students whose Sabbath day was Sunday.

On fees guidelines, Dr. Matiang’i said the fees structures the government gave provided the ceilings for each category of schools, and did not mean that schools increase fees without approval from the Ministry.

He said no school should go outside the official fees guidelines, saying some schools had increased the fees well outside the gazette fees guidelines.

He was flanked by the Principal Secretary for Education, Dr. Belio Kipsang and the Head of ACK, the Most Rev Dr. Jackson Ole Sapit.

Rev. Ole Sapit praised the Ministry of Education for having restored the integrity of national examinations, saying the results now reflected the true abilities of the students.

He also pitched for the need for a value based education, saying that is what the church stood for.