Tuition ban in Kenyan Schools: Was the Minister right?

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Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo has had a battle with parents and teachers for the past two months when he slapped a ban on Holiday tuition in both private and public primary and secondary schools. The Minister declared tuition a violation of children’s constitutional right as provided for under the Bill of Rights; Article 5 of the Kenyan Constitution to be precise. He hence issued a directive stopping any kind of institutionalized and paid for remedial teachings countrywide adding that anyone found disregarding this order will be dealt with according to the law.

The ban has been opposed by Knut, Kuppet and the Kenya Private Schools Association. Knut national chairman Wilson Sossion has accused Mutula of failing to consult the stakeholder over the matter. “Where does he want children to undertake tuition if not in schools? Does he want them to go backstreets,” Sossion said, adding that not all children have comfortable homes for extra tuition.

While all this goes on, I feel that tuition is a necessary part in a child’s education, because tuition classes being small group or one on one help in addition to regular classes, I think they have the potential to help students. A teacher can give students guidelines, formulas, and tools to improve their skill set in any discipline, however it is the active application of these by the student that results in success. The one on one attention allows a teacher to focus his or her style to that student’s learning. This specialized teaching is ideal for students. If a student has a certain learning style and a teacher taps into that and uses that mode as the primary teaching style, learning is optimal.

I feel that the minister should have allowed the tuition; after all it has always been optional for the students. It is the parents, teachers and students who know how their individual performance in school and if a child feels he needs the extra tuition in order to succeed then teachers should be allowed to arrange for tuition, after all tuition is for the benefit of the child’s future.

Some people could argue that tuition helps kids develop whole in other areas besides academics but the truth is, even in school they always have time for games and student clubs, debates other co-curricular activities and it is even interesting because they get a good competitive environment to practice with their peers as opposed to when they are left at home alone.

Was the Minister for education right to ban Tuition in Schools? Let me know.

Isaac Kosgei

Operations Associate

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