TALKING POINT

In the wake of the recent sporadic terrorism attacks in the country, Strathmore University, Madaraka campus organised a terror attack drill on Monday, November 30. The outcome was one university staff member lost her life and several students sustained severe injuries. The university through its official twitter page (@StrathU) confirmed that Esther Kidemba, 33, succumbed to serious head injuries as a result of the stampede at the campus during the drill. The twitter page also confirmed that at least 25 students were receiving treatment at Mater Hospital, and Nairobi West Hospital, as at Monday night. Strathmore University students scampering  for safety after the Monday, November 30 scare (PHOTO/ Courtesy bbc.com) Some of the students also claimed that they lost important property including laptops and mobile phones during the stampede that also paralysed business activities near the institution. In as much as it is important to prepare students and Kenyans at lar...

The recent decision by the Supreme Court to back Industrial Court order and Court of Appeal’s ruling to award teachers a salary increment of 50-60 per cent was indeed a big win to all public teachers nationwide. The National Treasury has since warned that the taxpayer will have to dig deep into his pockets to raise the Sh 17 billion required to effect teachers’ salary increment. Just recently, the Auditor General, Edward Ouko raised the red flag over massive corruption in National and county governments. The Auditor in his report revealed that expenditures of up to Sh 67 billion were not backed up with proper documentation in counties and national government ministries. PHOTO: Courtesy, Nation Media Group This undeniably was not the first time that an Audit Report exposed graft in the government. There have also been concerns about payment of ‘ghost workers’ and the government losing billions of shillings in procurement processes- the most recent being the Nationa...

Arsonist attacks, mass killings of students by Al Shabaab, drowning of students in the Indian Ocean and the most recent being students having sex in broad day light in a bus and taking alcohol and bhang. These are some of the unfortunate happenings that have dogged the education sector in the recent past. Have we in any way wronged God? I think it’s high time the country held a national prayer meeting to seek for forgiveness from Him. Maybe through this, the education sector will be set free from all these misfortunes. Second worst terrorist attack in Kenya On 2 nd April this year gunmen stormed the Garissa University College at 5am when the students were attending their morning preps and others were sleeping in their dormitories. The terrorists put the college under siege for almost 9 hours. Some of the survivors of Kenya’s second worst terrorist attack after the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Kenya said that the gunmen set free Muslim students and murdered Christians. Ken...

The proposed legislative Bill by Karachuonyo Member of Parliament James Rege to have national examinations for primary and secondary schools scrapped off is long overdue. Once students are through with national exams, they vow never to look back at their books. Some set their books on fire in what they call ‘academic fire’ after sitting for their final exams in secondary school. This is a clear signal that they do not value what they learn in school. It demonstrates that they are compelled to study to pass exams. Completing the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) Examinations to many is usually a sign of freedom, freedom from intense studying. This is a clear indication that students only read to pass exams and not to gain anything to help them contribute positively towards entrepreneurial innovations that offer self-employment and solutions to problems facing the society such as the pricking unemployment rate in the country. The 8-4-4 education system can well...

It is two year and a few months since devolution set its foot in 47 counties in the country. Many have hailed devolution, pegging their arguments on resources reaching the common mwananchi unlike before when we had the central government controlling all the resources and managing all development projects across the country. It is true that a lot has changed, thanks to devolution. Many have gotten jobs-the youth and semi-skilled persons through various projects in the counties- road constructions, building of offices for county chiefs, water projects- just to mention a few. But on the other hand, concerns have been raised on how Governors, County Executive Officers and Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) engage in excessive expenditures of county funds. They have spent millions of shillings on trips abroad and uncalled for allowances while performing duties they are already paid for. The governors have however refuted claims of graft in their counties. They launched their “Okoa Ke...

The launch of the first 24-hour news channel in Kenya by the Standard Group on 10 th July 2015 is a major milestone in country’s media industry. Many Kenyans, both in the diaspora and in Kenya have been waiting for such a channel and this can be attributed to the reception the launch got on social media platforms Twitter and Facebook. Several people lauded the launch, which Standard Group says is meant to inform, educate and entertain the masses. The channel will offer comprehensive, incisive news, current affairs programming, documentaries and features, while KTN will continue to air its popular programs. This is just but a glimpse of what digital migration promises its subscribers. It is also important to note that the launch of this channel will see the media group recruit more employees, a positive thing to digital content creators. It is also a challenge to other media organizations in the country to exploit the broadcasting opportunities that come with digital ...

Double standards, blind political sycophancy, war of words and heckling. These are some of the dishonorable behavior our elected leaders have engaged, in relation to yet another multi-million corruption scandal in government, this time at the National Youth Service (NYS). Devolution and planning Cabinet Secretary Ms Ann Waiguru has for weeks now been on the spot because NYS lies in her docket. She has maintained that she is clean in relation to the Ksh. 826 million scandal, claiming that she was the whistle blower and asked the Directorate of Criminal investigation department to investigate how the Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (IFMIS) was hacked by unknown people (as at now) in an attempt to steal over 800 Million shillings from NYS. President Uhuru Kenyatta, through State House spokesperson Manoah Esipisu, defended the embattled CS, stating that he will not ask her to step aside to allow investigations to be carried out by the Ethics and Anti-Corrupti...

If the recent revelations by police investigations on recruitment of university students in Kenya to terror group Al Shabaab are true, then the government should move with speed to stop radicalization. Reports by police indicate that the University of Nairobi (UoN), Kenyatta University (KU), Moi University and Mount Kenya University have become Al Shabaab feeder institutions and some students are on the terror group’s payroll.  11 UoN students are believed to be Al Shabaab ‘employees’, something that is a time tickling bomb and must be treated with extra caution. The police must act fast on The National Intelligence Service (NIS) tip offs and arrest the suspected recruits before they execute an attack on innocent Kenyans. Radicalization of the youth by Al Shabaab has become a more complex phenomena and many Kenyans continue to wonder why the militia group is reported to be recruiting bright students with promising careers from universities and secondary schools. A few mon...

Traditionally, it was (is) an abomination for a young girl who still lives in her parents’ house to get pregnant. Cases of unmarried girls getting pregnant were rare, and were often condemned. They were rare phenomena because sex education was offered to both boys (by their fathers and grandfathers) and girls (by their mothers and grandmothers). The children were educated on how to relate with the opposite sex in order to avoid unwanted pregnancies- before marriage. Sex was a sacred act and was not meant for non-adults. For one to become an adult, he/she had to undergo a rite of passage. As I was going through the Kenya Gazzete Supplement No. 57 (Senate Bills No. 17), I came across an important clause… According to the bill, an adolescent is any person between the ages of 10-17. From the above provision of the bill, it is only prudent to say that the proposed sex education to children will be friendly and informative and will not corrode the morals of children. It...

A teacher is a student's parent while at school. he or she is entrusted with the responsibility of instilling knowledge, acceptable morals and wisdom on students. the society expects educated students to uphold good moral standards in the society: because teachers, being their mentors and educators are their number one role models. The recent incident at Nakuru's Njoro Girls High School where a teacher was reported to have sexually molested seven students in the school is appalling. What followed was the closure of the school, following the tension that mounted after the students accused the teacher of molesting them sexually, even taking "selfies" with some students while half naked. So, the begging question is, whose morals are the students supposed to emulate if their mentors in the society are demonstrating beastly acts to them? what character are we churning as a society? It is saddening that the teaching profession is breeding deceitful mentors to children, ...

Today marks 52 years since Kenya attained internal self-rule after a long struggle to overcome colonialism. There have been a lot of political transformations since then, from multi-partysm- whose drive was to fight for the rights of Kenyans through opposition parties to the then ruling single party KANU - to promulgating a new constitution in the year 2010. So, even as we celebrate 52 years of independence, have we done enough as a county to ensure that we overcome the challenges that jeopardize stability in the county? Insecurity Since Kenya’s incursion into Somalia, we have had a series of terrorist attacks- the most notable ones being the Westgate Mall attack in September 2013 which left at least 68 Kenyans dead and the most recent one being the Garissa University College attack which left at least 147 students dead. The country has had well over 100 terrorist attacks since 2011, which to any sane individual is quite ridiculous. The police have been blamed for not acting...