Primary school enrollment triples
Jan 17, 2008
THE number of primary schools pupils has tripled since the Government introduced Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1997. In 1995 there were 2.63 million pupils in primary schools as compared to 7.41 million in 2007, according to the Education Information Management system.
By Vision Reporter
THE number of primary schools pupils has tripled since the Government introduced Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1997. In 1995 there were 2.63 million pupils in primary schools as compared to 7.41 million in 2007, according to the Education Information Management system.
Boys and girls are almost equally represented.
Of the 7.41 million pupils last year, there were 3.71 million boys and 3.69 girls, reflecting a 49.9% of girls’ enrollment.
The education sector has generally recorded tremendous achievements in the past decade.
The number of teachers on the government payroll increased with one third, from 82,148 in 2000 to 128,262 in 2007.
There are an additional 14,000 teachers in private schools which are not on the Government payroll.
As a result, the number of pupils per teacher dropped from 52 to 48.
The Government this financial year also improved the conditions for primary teachers.
It increased their salaries from sh150,000 to sh200,000 and reduced the proportion of untrained teachers to 12%.
Another significant achievement this year was the revision of the primary curriculum into a thematic curriculum for lower primary.
This was meant to stem the rapidly declining proficiency levels of primary pupils.
Competence tests had shown that students scored below average in numeracy and literacy.
Among P3 pupils, only 45.3% passed the literacy test and only 42.6% passed the numeracy test. P6 pupils scored even worse: only 33.5% passed literacy and only 30.5% passed numeracy.
“Despite the heavy investment in education, it is quite startling to note that pupils are yet to attain desirable learning competencies in literacy and numeracyâ€, the 2007 annual performance report noted.
It attributes the low competence levels to the “slackness and lack of commitment†on the part of headteachers and teachers in UPE schools.
“The laissez-fair attitude adopted by some headteachers, deputy headteachers and teachers has affected the learning interests of the pupils,†the report said. To improve the quality of education, the Government has therefore implemented ‘Customised Performance Targets’, or CPTs.
The objective of the CPTs is to define measurable performance indicators, link performance to learning outcomes, as well as ‘revitalise’ and motivate headteachers and teachers.
This might also address the other major problems which threaten to undermine the Universal Primary Education programme: high dropout and repetition rates.
THE number of primary schools pupils has tripled since the Government introduced Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1997. In 1995 there were 2.63 million pupils in primary schools as compared to 7.41 million in 2007, according to the Education Information Management system.
Boys and girls are almost equally represented.
Of the 7.41 million pupils last year, there were 3.71 million boys and 3.69 girls, reflecting a 49.9% of girls’ enrollment.
The education sector has generally recorded tremendous achievements in the past decade.
The number of teachers on the government payroll increased with one third, from 82,148 in 2000 to 128,262 in 2007.
There are an additional 14,000 teachers in private schools which are not on the Government payroll.
As a result, the number of pupils per teacher dropped from 52 to 48.
The Government this financial year also improved the conditions for primary teachers.
It increased their salaries from sh150,000 to sh200,000 and reduced the proportion of untrained teachers to 12%.
Another significant achievement this year was the revision of the primary curriculum into a thematic curriculum for lower primary.
This was meant to stem the rapidly declining proficiency levels of primary pupils.
Competence tests had shown that students scored below average in numeracy and literacy.
Among P3 pupils, only 45.3% passed the literacy test and only 42.6% passed the numeracy test. P6 pupils scored even worse: only 33.5% passed literacy and only 30.5% passed numeracy.
“Despite the heavy investment in education, it is quite startling to note that pupils are yet to attain desirable learning competencies in literacy and numeracyâ€, the 2007 annual performance report noted.
It attributes the low competence levels to the “slackness and lack of commitment†on the part of headteachers and teachers in UPE schools.
“The laissez-fair attitude adopted by some headteachers, deputy headteachers and teachers has affected the learning interests of the pupils,†the report said. To improve the quality of education, the Government has therefore implemented ‘Customised Performance Targets’, or CPTs.
The objective of the CPTs is to define measurable performance indicators, link performance to learning outcomes, as well as ‘revitalise’ and motivate headteachers and teachers.
This might also address the other major problems which threaten to undermine the Universal Primary Education programme: high dropout and repetition rates.