Back to School
May 17, 2021
All schools reopened last week. There was a beehive of activity as students settled in and jostled for the best desks and chairs. The Standard 8 and Form 4 students who have already sat for their exams have created space in the schools.
The new students who will be joining Form 1 classes will resume in August after the third term of school is over. The old students are enjoying the extra space.
The Choice Club activities will resume in the four schools: A.I.C NGONG, KIMUKA SCHOOL, NJABINI GIRLS and SHINERS GIRLS SCHOOL. These schools just finished examinations which were not very well performed. The students struggled and most did badly.
Poor school performance not only results in the child having low self-esteem, but also causes significant stress to the parents. Many girls fell pregnant due to the long period out of school as a result of the Covid pandemic. Most of these girls are in Form 2 and 3; these girls will definitely be included in the Choice Clubs. Emotional problems, broken homes, and poor health affect the girls at school in a tremendous way.
Most parents do not support their children when they join school, mostly due to ignorance and sometimes, due to a language barrier. Most of these childrens’ parents are illiterate, so they do not have the intellectual capacity to support the children. There are also a lot of in-discipline issues at the schools. Students who are sent home due to in-discipline miss a lot of learning. Catching up with the other students becomes almost impossible. No teacher is willing to give a make-up class for a student who is sent home due to unacceptable behavior in school.
Good school performance helps the schools attract students as the new school year begins. Some Kenyan schools have been performing so poorly that the Ministry of Education has been forced to close the schools down. The trend at the moment is for schools to compete for students. If the situation has become extreme, certain schools will use brokers who are paid a commission for each student the broker brings into the school. This is especially common in the privately run schools. In the government schools, a student joins the school by merit. These schools are very strict on the students’ performance.
The Choice Club, being a mentorship program, provides valuable support to students who are not performing well. The schools note there is positive response by the students who are members of the Choice Club. Being positive leads to educational success.
Many schools have requested that Valvisions offer the program in their schools since re-opening after Covid. They have heard of the positive impact the Choice Clubs have had from other schools offering the club. Such schools are seeking support for their students. The teachers are having a hard time balancing academics and student behavior (disobedience and rebellious attitudes)
Valvisions aims to give its best through the mentorship program to help the school administration bring a change of attitude for the positive development of the students.
New Club Members at A.I.C NGONG school.