Katoto et all,
Can I volunteer an argument that education is an expensive exercise and the reliance on the government to tackle this cost has/is proving to be an uphill struggle and an alternate means to finance education is required.
The cost of education should still remain equitable, to mean the derived benefit should be realized as a gain on the expenditure incurred. For example, in the so called
ST fulani and
International schools, fees can amount to tens of millions of shillings per annum at primary and secondary levels (Please don't mention kindergarten here…
😉, now compare that to the derived income that can supposedly be gained from having followed this track of education over a lifetime you will find that the whole exercise becomes futile.
Not to repeat myself, please see the following article where I tried to work out such numbers with a given school in mind.
Now, what should the cost be?
Is the education sector payroll being managed diligently? The answer is a resounding NO, following the on-going saga of ghost workers creaming a chunk of the meager resources available at the moment. Is the payroll size enough? Are there enough teachers for all the subjects that industry is requiring from the new crop of graduating students each year?
Are the teaching staff valued and accorded the necessary rights to perform their duties beyond telling them "ualimu ni wito".
For arguments sake, Felix has emerged into the job market at the age of
25, and is looking forward to a
35 yr career, this takes into account the retirement age of 60yrs. Say he is lucky to earn 2M per month that will amount to 840Million over his career period.
Felix attended schools that cost around
5Mil on average over the years that taking into account all possible costs for education. That will amount to (16yrs X 5Mil) =
80 Mil.
Taking the cost v the gain of 80Mil v 840Mil, is around a
1/10[SUP]th[/SUP] of the earnings, maybe this is a good number, but picture this, Felix is blessed with 3 children who will using the same figures of their fathers education cost will mean of his
840Mil, that will be used for educating the children will be around
240Mil before they join the job market.
If my figures are very optimistic, it shows that the reality of simply spending without taking a critical look at this would mean that money is simply being poured down the drain…
Is there an adequate breath of education provision in the country?
Name me a technical college and will drop this argument, I need a couple of polytechnics, alternate education provision for those who simply don't need to get to University. Many of the olden day institutions have "matured" or been forced to grow into Universities, offering a milliard of certifications that is laughable at best. This uninformed move have resulted in a vital "engine room" part of education to be discontinued in the country, we all seek to sit air conditioned offices. Forget the spanner wielding sector of any economy and the result is a fragmented education system, never able to meet the needs of the economy.
What other queries come to mind,
- What education system and what economy is being serviced?
- Is there a cheaper alternative for educating our pupils?
- What capacity is required in industry?