The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), through its General Assembly (GA), has demanded immediate withdrawal of a circular sent to regional and county directors of education directing that all students children be registered for the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
“We find this to be a backdoor method of pushing Kenyans into the scheme which is yet to be understood and regarding which Kenyans have raised concerns,” the GA said in a statement.
In a statement read by the General Secretary, Canon Chris Kinyanjui during the Council’s 65th General Assembly held in Limuru, Kiambu county, the GA recommended that a comprehensive public participation should be conducted so that parents can present their views, adding that strategies however good must not be forced on Kenyans.
The Assembly regretted that the education system in the country is marred by confusion, inequality and injustice, further calling on the Ministry of Education to speedily address concerns that have been raised regarding the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
“The transition to Grade 9 next year is still unclear as regards the availability of facilities and teachers in public primary schools. How many classrooms have been constructed to accommodate the learners? How many teachers have been employed to ensure all learners are within the standard teacher pupil ratio?” read part of the statement.
The GA expressed disgust at the wastage of public funds being witnessed through multiple scholarship programmes by the government.
“We are convinced that the only reason these scholarships have been set up is to enable concerned officials to steal money,” the statement said.
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The Assembly recommended that all bursaries and scholarships, totaling close to Ksh100 billion, be collapsed into a tuition fund that will provide capitation to pave way for free education to all students.
It also said that there was a need to urgently review the new university funding model as it is unjust to have a model that makes education a preserve of the rich.
By Felix Wanderi
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