WE MUST VERIFY THE QUALITY OF ENGLISH MEDIUM SCHOOLS.

           yesterday’s edition of our sister newspaper, the ‘Sunday News’, we carried a lead story that reviewed the quality of education being offered by the so-called English medium schools, which have been mushrooming in our towns and cities, especially in the past one-and-a-half decade. Fine, the establishment of such schools is not a bad thing as it ensures the absorption of as many children as possible in their quest for quality education. We know very well that some of these schools have really excelled in churning out accomplished students who went on to do better in advanced level education and later in their chosen professions. These products of quality English medium schools have combined knowledge of the languages, including English and Kiswahili, in the pursuit of academic excellence, which has enhanced their chances of favourable consideration in the job market. Yet there is reason to believe that not all among the registered English medium schools, be they nursery, primary or secondary or all of these combined, are up to the standard or have churned out the desired good academic products. There are reports that some of the children who were enrolled to some of these schools came out of them worse than they came in. The academic qualifications or teaching methodologies or capability of the concerned staff is, to say the least, very wanting. Those who are employed to teach in such schools must be persons of proven academic competence and impeccable English knowledge credentials. Yet it is true that while the responsible inspectorates at the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and the local government have to conduct a re-inspection of such schools to determine whether they should continue to exist, the quality of some of the teaching staff should also go up the screen. It is absurdity’s height to allow some so-called English medium schools to continue offering mediocre services to our children whom we expect to be the future leaders of tomorrow. Proprietors or managements of such schools must ensure they employ only those teachers who have shown impeccable English language knowledge qualities. It borders on the criminal to pretend to run English medium schools while knowing that some of the teachers who are entrusted with the academic life of the innocent children could do with a repeat course in class themselves!