On matters educational still.

I had previously posed a question on what the way forward was for us with regard to our education system. Now,for those who did make it passed the set average mark for admission into secondary school,kudos; but what about those that did not make it? A poll conducted by a local media house on the day of the exam release over the reaction of Kenyans to the pupils that did not make it was shocking. A good percentage of Kenyans seriously think that those that do not make it to secondary school through the cut average mark should not be taken care of by the government. That, in a way means that the over 100,000 that 'fail' should be left to rot or be wasted. In essence we are killing a future because of a mere exam;an exam for which we are not 100% sure is done fairly. What with the cases of double registration and cheating etc. What chances does a pupil going to school in the remote parts of this country have of beating a pupil in a better urban school at acquiring the slots for high school as the system wants? The inequalities aside,does anybody stop to think about the plight of those that did do well but missed out on national schools because of corruption? Or had no money to pursue high school education though got marks well above the required average? How about those that fail but because they are from well to do families still go to better schools? Yes, competition is healthy,this is a capitalist state;self against all. The well to do have nothing to apologize for for being so ,just like the poor have nothing too to apologize for for being poor.Or do they have!!! That is a matter of conjecture. I could go on all day and rant about how unfair the education system is but that probably wont help anything. What am driving at is the fact that there has to be some effort directed towards finding a solution for this menace. Many a commission has presented its findings on the benefits and flaws of this system of education,can somebody please go through them and see what can be done if anything to save our generation from exam doom???

KCPE Results: What is the way forward??

So they are out. The KCPE results! As usual our system of education has again for the umpteenth time shown us which of our sons/daughters/brothers/sisters is clever and who is not! It has always been argued that the examination system as espoused in Kenya does not capture all the aspects or the totality of the concept that is education.Depending purely on exams to test a learners ability understates most other capabilities of the learners. Talent in Kenyan schools and other skills as at primary and secondary level can not take a learner anywhere it seems.Parents force their children to read, read and read and even discourage them from engaging in talent based activities like singing,drama etc. We are all gifted differently intelligence wise and this system in a way seeks to doom those who do not perform well especially when from humble backgrounds.Our Universities are filled with parallel students who at times outperform their regular counterparts considered more brighter at high school level by virtue of passing the cut off university entrance mark. Pegging excellence of a pupil to academic achievement is as limiting as putting them in a cage. But what are the alternatives?

The men in whose hands our collective destiny lies

I came accross this article on The East African and thought I should share it with you. Check it out.
By OLIVER MATHENGE Posted Monday, December 28 2009 at 20:00

Louis Moreno-Ocampo

The International Criminal Court chief prosecutor will be setting up shop in the country in the coming months to investigate the events leading to the 2007 post-election violence.

His findings will set the stage for what has been billed as one of the most testing scenarios for post-independence Kenya, namely the possibility of sending those suspected to have fanned the political violence for trial at The Hague.

Mr Ocampo will, therefore, be playing the very delicate game of administering justice to an already agitated population, and his decisions (or indecisions, for that matter) may end up sending Kenya back to the precipice.

Nzamba Kitonga

Lawyer Nzamba Kitonga is the man in charge of the team spearheading the constitution review process. He and eight other experts are mandated to prepare a harmonised draft from previous review exercises.

Mr Kitonga and his team are expected to consolidate the views of Kenyans collected from November 17 to December 17, 2009, hence giving the draft constitution shape before it goes to the Parliamentary Select Committee and then to Parliament for debate and endorsement.

Kenya’s quest for a new constitution stretches back two decades, and there are high expectations that the country will say ‘Hello!’ to a new supreme law by mid-2010.

The document is expected to help Kenya tackle her past, which has been characterised by inequalities, corruption and impunity.

Mr Kitonga has the duty to ensure that the timetable for the review process is followed to ensure that the country gets a new constitution but, in his own admission, the timelines of the Constitution of Kenya Review Act, 2008 are tight.

The success of the constitution review process relies heavily on how this man leads his team towards getting a draft that will not be reject at the referendum as it happened in 2005.

Kenneth Marende

National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende is expected to ensure that MPs debate various House matters in an objective and fair manner, and there is little doubt that the former Emuhaya MP, who was recently feted as the 2009 Jurist of the Year for his “outstanding and non-partisan” leadership in Parliament, will handle the job with his trademark finesse.

The Speaker will be expected to ensure that Parliament efficiently and effectively debates the country’s new supreme law, including deliberations on such matters as the National Accord and Reconciliation Act and the Constitution Amendment Act 2008, which must be amended before a new constitution is enacted.

The National Accord must be hammered to ensure that the coalition does not cease to exist with the enactment of a new constitution, while amendment of the Review Act is necessary as the mandate of the Committee of Experts expires before the timelines set in the law pass.

Corruption in Kenya: Is there an end in sight???

That the magnitude and the negative impacts of corruption on Kenya’s development since independence have been tremendous is a fact that can not be refuted;not by any scholars nor by the lay of the lay men.Political corruption in the post-colonial governments of Kenya has had a history which spans the era of the Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi's KANU governments to the Mwai Kibaki's NARC government. In the Corruption Perceptions Index since 2005, Kenya has continued to perform poorly in the ranking and there seems to be no end in sight.Scandal after scandal has rocked this country,commissions of inquiry formed whose reports nobody reads except the executive even after spending millions of money on such commissions. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Kenya It is estimated that the average urban Kenyan pays 16 bribes per month. Most of these bribes are fairly small but large ones are also taken — bribes worth over 50,000 Kenyan shillings (€600, USD$700) account for 41% of the total value. There is also corruption on a larger scale with each of the last two regimes being criticized for their involvement. The Kibaki administration,though elected on an anti corruption mandate has so far witnessed shameless acts of Public Financial mismanagement. So is there a possible end in sight to this menace? Should the young resign to pessimism and join the bandwagon when the opportunity arises? Where and how do we begin to fight this vice? Is it so socialized and ingrained in us that it is an inherent aspect of our make up as Kenyans? Who is to blame? Exactly where does the buck stop? Because everybody (leaders)we look up to to offer explanations and solutions shifts the blame and finger points.
Prof.Sam Ongeri shifting the blame

Kenya is probably the only country in the world where funds meant to feed the poor are stolen(maize scams),the rich land grabbers are supposed to be compensated millions of shillings(Mau Case),funds for social amenities like health and education are embezzled(unfolding education funds mismanagement scam) etc. Or I am just plain pessimistic? Hold it right there. For if anyone purports that Kenyans are not an optimistic people,a look at our history might probably suffice here. So where do we begin to take responsibility for our actions and quit the blame game? When will see action,tangible action for that matter,on those that perpetrate this vice in high office? I need a repose.

Ethnicity rife at KU, Report Finds.

The parliamentary committee investigating the KU strike has just given its recommendations and however shocking some of the findings are,the bitter truth is:there needs to be concerted efforts directed towards bringing a meteoric shift from the tribal cabals that characterize life in KU to embracing our diversity in KU.One of the committee´s recommendations is the unconditional readmission of all employees and students who were suspended and expelled after the March strikes.

The Committee on Education, Research and Technology wants all, including officials of the student association (Kusa), readmitted, except those who have sued the institution and whose cases are pending in court according to a nation report.
The committee also learnt that there is a lot Ethnicity rife at KU,and that the KU strikes were fuelled by tribalism, politics.

The findings, now awaiting debate in Parliament, report a deep entrenchment of what it describes as negative ethnicity and a politicized student fraternity both threatening to shake the institution’s stability. One has to be in KU during the students election to truly comprehed this.With councils of elders from each community approving who vies for what post from its various tribesmen who contend,ethnicity as an aspect of KU politics is simply a reflection of the National conscience with regard to the same that resulted into a trend of tribal differences and political divisions that threaten to tear down the institution. The MPs also report poor management at the institution.

In its disciplinary action against students and workers suspected to have engagaed actively in the strike, some members of staff were also suspendedtwenty five students were cautioned and warned, three were suspended for one year, six for two years and five for three years, and 11 were expelled by the university’s Special Senate Investigations Committee.

According to the team, all staff suspected of involvement in the strikes should be reinstated as the administration could not prove their involvement when they appeared before the committee.

In a report, the parliamentary committee chaired by Mosop MP David Koech faults the university management’s decision to suspend the 35 Kusa leaders on the premise that they played a role as individuals in the student rioting.

According to the committee, this was an error since they were acting on behalf of the students who elected them.

“Championing the cause of the students demands was within their mandate, and consequently meting out disciplinary measures to the union representatives was an inciting action by the administration hence leading to the severity of the students’ disturbances during the second strike,” the committee said. A parliamentary committee has recommended the unconditional readmission of all employees and students who were suspended and expelled after strikes at Kenyatta University early this year.
According to the team, all staff suspected of involvement in the strikes should be reinstated as the administration could not prove their involvement when they appeared before the committee.

Additonal info.Nation Daily,5th Dec. 2009

ODM and the MAU saga.

There is no doubt that the ODM house is and has been on fire for quite some time now.It will only be a matter of time before we can tell if the fire has been put out or not. Maybe after the Mombasa retreat but i doubt it will be easy.Whether it was built by a deck of cards or not is not our business here however. There have been problems in the orange house and the red flag had been raised a long time ago.The refusal of the party bigwigs to resolve differences amongst themselves has by far been the greatest source of misery for the party. That aside, when the Mau question was thrown into the array,what happened was just but an inevitability.

Discontentment and personal ambition overtook party unity and cohesion in the party's race for growth and 2012. The Mau question is just but an excuse for the MPs. What a platform it has given them! Recently,Kenyans have been treated to various acts of sheer nonsensical bravado and chest thumping,filled with shameful and lurid tribal hatred sentiments.
The rebellious MPs and Pro Raila Mps

Wikipedia affords me this definition of a politician;people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest, right of inheritance or other means. Our so called political leaders are out to grab power in 2012,and if this definition has anything to do with it,kenyans had better brace themselves for more show. Celebrating the tribe or community as an apect of our growth and heritage is laudable,but using our tribes and communities as tools of exclusion is an act of subotage and suicidal at the least. Our politicians have often managed to pass themselves off to us as "experts" who should be listened to by the layman;the protectors of the rights of the less privileged when all they do is confuse the same people and continually exploit their ignorance. Remember the Draft Constitution Referendum in 2005?

When a respected leader like Mr Moi seeks to know whether all rain comes from the Mau,we are a lost country. That our so called 'leaders' can not put rain and trees/forest in the same sentence and see the connection, when a class three pupil can? The fight for the Mau is not about communities and gaining political mileage. It has never been for the umpteenth time now! The sooner our politicians get this,the easier saving Mau will become. It was never about the Prime Minister doing it wrongly,because if for sure the procedure used was wrong,the intentions were genuine and the leaders had the privilege of affirming the evictions since most are cabinet Ministers who sat through meetings that approved the same. To therefore come out and cry foul shows a serious lack of leadership on their part.Saving the Mau should be what matters,not ODM(know that). An ODM split occasioned by recent events would thus not be stuff for breaking news.
It has been long coming. Some of our politicians however do not think saving Mau is vital. After all, according to them Mau is not the source of rain for the whole world.They have hijacked the issue and turned it upside down for reasons they only know.
The opportunity to get back at Raila for wrongs perceived to have been committed against certain individuals in the ODM house availed itself.There was no way this chance would slip away.So when the same leaders,out on a limb for revenge,sit around a table to declare themselves youths and tomorrow's leaders; we are left wondering which tomorrow they are referring to.That tomorrow may not even come(we pray it does), if they go on killing it by spewing a lot of tribal hogwash and hatred. When the same 'youths' have been youths since the days of 'youth for KANU' one is left wondering.They who have scandals haunting them;they(remnants) of the dreaded KANU regime,they who's wealth cannot account for are our future leaders in their late 40s,50s and even 60s? As Africans, we do not simply respect the old because they are old. Leadership is not only about age,but when those with the age and experience do not know any better,the onus is with us to let them know. While serving our communities needs is vital,turning around and misusing the same community for political mileage is plain selfish.But again our politicians are selfish.

KU strikes fuelled by tribalism, politics: Report

Investigations into student strikes at Kenyatta University early this year reveal a trend of tribal differences and political divisions that threaten to tear down the institution.

Kenyatta University was rocked with two incidents of student unrest in the span of one month leading to damages estimated at Sh127 million.

The strikes occurring on March 18 and 29 left one student dead, several others injured and many students and staff suspended and expelled.

In the first incident, the damage was estimated at Sh15 million while the second which was of a more violent nature, caused a damage estimated at a cost of Sh112 million.

Parliament moved in to investigate the incidents after members found a statement issued by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology unsatisfactory.

The matter was referred to the parliamentary committee of education, research and technology on August 5.

Its’ findings now awaiting debate in Parliament reports a deep entrenchment of what it describes as negative ethnicity and a politicized student fraternity both threatening to shake the institution’s stability.

That is not all. The committee also reports poor management. It points at poor coordination and a vacuum in the administration which risk ruining its academic performance and growth.

It plays down widely held suspicions by the administration of internal and external forces working to destabilise the institution or remove the Vice Chancellor saying they overshadowed any meaningful effort to dialogue and resolve the students’ grievances objectively.

In its investigations, the committee came face to face with allegations of the use of vernacular in meetings in some departments said to be dominated by one ethnic group and demands that this must be stemmed.

Among others, the committee received evidence from students and their officials, lecturers, religious leaders and chaplains at the university and non-academic staff officials.

It also questioned the university administration, parents and sponsors, the university council, expelled students and persons implicated within and outside the institution.

In the report, it claims senior administration at the institution is mainly composed of people perceived to be from the ‘PNU’ side of the national political divide while the student union leadership is perceived to be ‘ODM’ aligned.

According to the findings now before the House, majority of the staff and students recommended for disciplinary measures by the two investigating committees of the university after the March strike were perceived to be from the ‘ODM political divide.’

"There was a perception that the ODM side of student politics won the elections of the student association (KUSA) because they were well funded and enjoyed external support," the committee reports.

From The Nation 4th Nov. 2009.

HIV/AIDS, The Pandemic.

The World AIDS day was marked yesterday with Kenya reporting some significant strides it has managed to achieve in the war against the viral disease. Kenya has a severe, generalized HIV epidemic, but in recent years, we have experienced a notable decline in HIV prevalence, attributed in part to significant behavioral change and increased access to ART. Women face considerably higher risk of HIV infection than men, and also experience a shorter life expectancy due to HIV/AIDS. In Kenya, the HIV prevalence rate stands at eight percent in adult women and four percent in adult men. Populations in Kenya especially at risk include injecting drug users and people in prostitution, whose prevalence rates are estimated at 53 percent and 27 percent, respectively.



Since 2000, the World Bank has provided $1.9 billion for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support in over 30 Sub-Saharan African countries and 5 regional programs. FY09 HIV/AIDS commitments totaled $293 million – an increase from $64 million in FY08 – while the FY10 pipeline is projected at $76 million as of September 2009. FY10-11 pipeline projects under preparation would support national HIV/AIDS programs in Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland, Niger and Chad.

Since 2006, the Bank has supported 4.3 million persons aged 15 and older to receive HIV counseling, testing and their test results while 3 million pregnant women living with HIV received antenatal care during a visit from a health provider. Furthermore, the Bank has also contributed to 50 to 70 percent of Sub Saharan African countries with observed improvements in behavior change of men and women aged 15 to 24.

Implementation of the Africa HIV/AIDS Agenda for Action (AFA), 2007-2011 has made considerable progress in: Accelerating implementation and closing funding gaps by responding to demands from hyper-epidemic middle income countries facing the economic crisis including assessing the fiscal implications of scaling up national AIDS programs in Botswana and South Africa and addressing groups at most risk to HIV; Supporting long term sustainable strategies and strengthening national systems including improved strategic planning, institutional effectiveness, integration with health systems to address TB/HIV co-infection and linkages with reproductive health and nutrition, governance and social accountability, supply chain management, HIV/AIDS impact evaluation, and monitoring and evaluation; Contributing to knowledge generation and learning through building capacity and promoting cross-country knowledge sharing; and Improving donor coordination through joint annual planning and support to the Three Ones. HIV/AIDS affects us all,lets all rise to the occassion and fight against stigma.

NewOrderKenya: Wealth/Kinship Vs Leadership

NewOrderKenya: Wealth/Kinship Vs Leadership

Wealth/Kinship Vs Leadership

Since when did anyone become a leader because there father is one? Does being wealthy or rich in this country make one a leader? Maybe i am wrong but last time i checked, a leader in Kenya is not necessarily a wealthy fellow but rather one who the public/private sector or any other has directly or indirectly placed responsibility upon. Many unknown Kenyans of good will are changing lives without chest thumping on national TV.That is the kind of Kenya we want.A Kenya where we don't necessary blame everything on the government but rise to meet the challenges as individuals and citizens first. When people like Jimmy Kibaki run around telling us they are our leaders and tomorrow's leadership,i can not help but wonder why we continue to question where the rain started beating us. It started with people with selfish and personal interests,driven by nothing but the desire to better themselves and there cronies. It began with tribal cahoots and alliances that serve no one but the so called 'leaders' who found such outfits. Somebody please tell this old chaps running around spewing tribal jargon that they are not YOUTHS period. In your 40s the last thing you wanna do is waste a lot of energy spewing tribal hatred,and living the lie that you are still young and tomorrow's leaders. Where does that leave the rest of us in our early 20s who are not even sure we will get jobs after all. Talk about forgetfulness. We are not even two years complete past 2007,the memories are still as fresh as the wounds we inflicted upon each other that time and our so called 'young' are already at it again. Kenya is not an Aristocracy,the youth know themselves and we definitely know tomorrow´s leaders so please just keep off us in your petty politics of division. Fight your political wars without dragging the youth in.