The key year in Primary education in Kenya is Grade 8. There is a national exam at the end of it. A good result guarantees your entry into a good Secondary school, funded by the government. The exam is a bit like the Baccalaureate in that it covers a range of subjects. It is very heavily knowledge based. The new competence- based curriculum, which focuses on skills, is being phased in and still only includes classes up to Grade 4 in the next academic session. Grade 5 upwards still works on the old curriculum.
Schools start their preparation for the national exam with pupils in Grade 7. The goal is to cram in as much knowledge as possible. There is a huge amount to cover in every subject. In order to do this, many schools introduce boarding for pupils in Grade 7 and Grade 8.
A typical day would involve rising at 5am, being in class from 6am until 5pm, followed by a break for supper, ablutions and chores. Then back to class from 7pm – 9pm before returning to the dormitory to sleep. In some of the government schools, pupils simply stack their mattresses at the front of the class and pull them down to sleep.
Osiligi has just introduced boarding on a trial basis for Grade 7 pupils. It follows a similar daily timetable, as outlined above, with free time on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. There are 2 pupils to each single bed so a set of bunk beds holds 8 children.The management team will evaluate if it is improving results at the end of this term.
Parents provide secure boxes for possessions, a mattress for sleeping and a contribution for food or some food itself eg a bag of beans. The pupils have joined the orphanage children and are under the watchful eye of Mummy Norah. I paid a visit to see how things are working.
It has certainly changed the dynamics of the orphanage. There are now 37 residents instead of 13. Yet it is very calm and well organised. The older children are responsible for maintaining their own possessions, their laundry and some general chores. They also act as role models and big brothers and sisters to the younger children. It seems to be working well.
Soon we will analyse the results of their learning. Sometimes there is confusion between schooling and education. The former is just being present, the latter is actually learning something useful. We will see!
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