Three pupils hit by an over speeding vehicle in Murang’a, one dies on spot

A pupil has succumbed to injuries sustained after being knocked by an over speeding vehicle at kianderi village, kiharu constituency, in Murang’a county, yesterday. The pupil, schooling at Kianderi primary school, was in the company of 2 others as they left school for their homes. According to an eye witness, Mary Wamuyu, “The accident occurred at 4.00 pm (Yesterday) as the kids were trekking home from school. An over speeding vehicle lost control and hit the 3 kids; killing one of them instantly”.

This road referred to as ‘nyoka nyoka’ by locals connects 4 constituencies namely: Kangema, Kiharu, Kandara and Kigumo.  The locals say their pleas to have bumps erected on this road have been ignored from time to time. The angry residents have now vowed to erect bumps on the dangerous road if the government does not act.

International Teachers Day Celebrations

The kenya National Union of teachers top brass leadership led by the General Secretary wilson Sossion joined teachers at the Teso KNUT branch, today, to celebrate the annual world teachers’ day. This happened as the TSC

Private schools teachers meet in Eldoret.

Four hundred teachers drawn from various private schools congregated aat Noble restaurant in Eldoret today to deliberate on implementation of the new Competency Based Curriculum, CBC. The new CBC is expected to be fully rolled out next year as concerns emerge on unpreparedness of the government to offer the much needed support to enable production of instructional materials for grade 4. This has caused unprecedented anxiety among teachers, parents and pupils.

Speaking to the press today, at Eldoret, the officials of the Kenya Private Schools association, KPSA, said they were confident that the government still has enough time to provide direction and instructional materials for the CBC, in the remaining time; ahead of roll out in January, 2019. The officials said it will be unfortunate if the kids will be forced to revert to the old education system.

Trouble at the Education sector as KNUT accuses TSC for collapsed Naivasha talks

The Kenya National Union of Teachers, KNUT, has given the Teachers Service Commission, TSC, 14 days ultimatum to reverse the transfers of 85 teachers serving as union officials. This is after the TSC transferred the officials under its contentious delocalization programme. Speaking to journalists yesterday, KNUT General Secretary, wilson Sossion, warned of dire consequences if the Commission will not reciprocate on the union’s demands. “Promotion of teachers shall not be evaded. That one shall have to be done. Delocalization and punitive transfers which constitute bullying must stop.. we do not need a meeting (to discuss such obvious issues),” said an angry Sossion.

Hon. Sossion was quick to deny that the union stormed out of the Naivasha talks. He, instead, blamed the TSC of playing games with teachers’ ,matters. “They say we walked out of Naivasha. Here we are in Naivasha, we have not left Naivasha,” Sossion said. The union now demands an immediate stop to delocalization of teachers, promotion of over the 30,000 teachers who had attained higher qualifications and an immediate stop to the ongoing Performance appraisal Contracting programme. While explaining why KNUT is opposed to delocalization, Sossion said, “Delocalization of teachers by the Commission has dismantled family units. This is a very grave thing.”

In a statement on Wednesday, the TSC the meeting was adjourned on KNUT request after it rejected a proposal that the union had placed on the table seeking to have transfers of teachers serving as union officials revoked, immediately. The TSC maintained that the transfers of teachers are guided by regulations which can not be applied selectively.

As days draw closer to the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education and Kenya Certificate of primary Education exams, it remains if the KNUT will make good of its plan to cause industrial disruptions in the education sector; by calling a teachers’ strike.

Students decry lack of water at school, forced to walk long distances for the rare commodity

Students at Ingangara secondary school have come out to strongly criticize the lack of water at school that forces them to wake up very early in the wee hours to search for the rare commodity. The students who trek for over 2 kilometers to fetch water from the nearest stream now say this exhausts them and they can not concentrate well on their studies. Speaking to members of the press, the disillusioned students expressed concern that the water supplied from the community local supply comes for only 30 minutes twice a week. They say such volume of water is too low and can not meet the needs of the students’ population. “We have to come down every evening to the river to come and fetch water which is tiresome,” said one of the girls.

According to the students, the situation had affected their education as they spend almost half of their time going to the river to collect this essential commodity. The pessimistic students are now appealing to the Counnty government and the area Member of Parliament to connect them to a stable water supply source such that their studies are not affected.

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The Ministry of Education has finally released Kshs. 12.6 billion for subsidized secondary schools education and Kshs. 2.8 billion meant for free primary education for third term ,2018. Ministry of education, Science and Technology Permanent Secretary, Dr. Belio Kipsang, told journalists at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, in Nairobi, today. The PS was accompanied by the Kenya National Examination Council Chairman, Prof. George Magoha, after steering a stakeholders’ meeting on preparation of the 2018 National examinations. The funds come through over a month after schools re-opened for third term. Most schools’ heads had raised concern over the delay in releasing of the funds saying such delays were hampering smooth preparations for the national examinations. The move is good news to most schools and candidates as it will enable schools prepare adequately for the national examinations whose commencement is less than a month away.

Read also..https://newsblaze.co.ke/public-schools-hit-with-financial-crunch-as-government-delays-release-of-fse-and-fpe-funds/

During the Education stake holders’ meeting, at the KICD today, the government reiterated its readiness to deliver clean and credible examinations. Today’s meeting was attended by schools’ heads and Regional Coordinators of Education (RCEs) led by Dr. Kipsang and Prof. Magoha. The meeting which took close to three hours deliberated on on measures put in place to stamp out cheating in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, KCPE, and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, KCSE, examinations.

A number of emerging issues were discussed. It emerged that students were trying to cause disturbance in order to be allowed to use mobile phones to cheat during the exams. Dr. Kipsang, in his response, said that they will not be black mailed by some of the students and that use of mobile phones in exam centres remained banned. Students who had registered as boarders will have to stay in school even as it emerged that some of them wanted to be allowed to be day scholars, during the exam period. This was also informed by the fact that some schools lost dormitories to schools’ infernos experienced in second term. The Permanent Secretary directed such schools, lacking enough dormitories, to convert the classrooms that will be left vacant by forms ones to threes, who will close early, into dormitories.

Dr. Kipsang, also, noted that some schools are already plotting to cheat in the examinations. Speaking to the media, KNEC Chairman Prof. George Magoha said that they are investigating about 30 schools alleged to be hatching plans to cheat at the tests. “I went to Kisii, Nyamira and Homabay. But we do not want to stigmatize the whole (Kisii ) region as if it is full of examination cheats. We are focusing on four schools in Kisii, Five schools in Meru and three in Garissa“. Prof. Magoha told journalists today. The tough speaking KNEC chair declined, though, to name the schools saying they do not want to disrupt preparations for the examinations and “cause unnecessary anxiety to our children”.

Read also..https://newsblaze.co.ke/kisii-is-not-a-hot-spot-of-national-exams-cheating-kuppet-official-says/

Prof. Magoha reported that about 20 people are being investigated for involvement in examinations cheating racket by selling fake papers to schools and parents and circulating them on social media. Last week, the KNEC chair warned students purchasing purported examination papers that they were just wasting quality time instead of revising for the exams. Magoha also warned schools’ heads flouting Ministry of Education rules that stern action will be taken, against them, at a later stage as they do not want to disrupt smooth preparations forth coming  examinations. The said schools’ heads are asking parents to pay for the supposed leaked exam papers on top of inviting them to schools for the banned prayers’ days.

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