Who will redeem schools that double as polling stations?

As the year draws to an end, it is safe to say that the news cycle in East Africa has been dominated by the never ending political cycle in Kenya. In Kenya it is pointless to gazette a time for politicians to start campaigning before a general election. They are always doing just that and using every opportunity to drum their message across. They particularly love funerals and church services where they sit humbly and wait for that moment when they are asked to “come and say something small” to the people. This year has seen Kenya going through one of the most exhausting electoral seasons ever. The electoral contest came and passed, and then it became an issue for the courts to decide. The courts annulled the election and ordered a fresh one. The fresh election happened but was boycotted by the opposition leader. All said and done, there were cameras as some of the top politicians cast their vote in the two elections. This is a photo where the politician always smiles for the cameras as he or she waits for the photographers to get a decent shot. It is quite common practice to use schools as polling stations and in the picture frame as these important people vote is the fact that most of these schools are in deplorable states. The joke in Kenya has often been about the difference between the schools where presidential candidates hold their debate and where they go to vote. One being an elite private school with a lovely auditorium, while the voting will be in a primary school that probably last received a fresh coat of paint when Nokia was a still a leading phone brand. In some of the pictures I saw, the voting was happening in classrooms that didn’t even have cemented floors. These pictures are a reminder of how through education the gap between the rich and the poor continues to deepen. How are children attending such schools supposed to compete with those in the international schools and those whose parents have all the right connections? The politicians really don’t seem to care about the state of these schools that double as polling stations given that their own do not attend such. However, they should be worried because the products of these poorly facilitated schools will still be members of their communities, and, if not careful, a source of insecurity when they end up unemployed. Even when employed, their inadequacies will still be a pain to their bosses and their “international education.” In other words this is a dilemma we all can’t run away from and if we do, we still won’t run so far away. Matters are not made any simpler by the immense pressure that comes with what we like to refer to as final exams done by all those moving from one academic level to another, regardless of the quality of the school they attend. Where general moral decay reigns, the examination questions leak to the students further devaluing the whole process. In Uganda it was reported that some of the examinations to be sat by candidates had been leaked and spread via social media. A while back in Ethiopia, social media had to be switched off as students sat for their exams so as to curb the leakage of the examination questions. The students are clearly a victim of circumstances when they find themselves studying in dilapidated structures or nice structures where they are expected to memorise so much and left with no time for extra or co-curricular activities. Not only do we have to fix school facilities, we also have to go back to the drawing board and diversify what schools have to offer. One way of doing this is mobilising former students to have an interest in those schools that they attended, before they got good jobs that now allow them to take their own, to posh schools with exotic curricula. Alumni associations if well managed can play a key role in ensuring that schools have the necessary support to remain great environments for our young people. This support shouldn’t simply focus on academic life but also look at other faces of school life. I know of a school that recently had the alumni contributing money to ensure that current students pick an interest and master the game of chess. All said and done, a dilapidated school shouldn’t just be used as an election infrastructure but more importantly an election issue. It should concern us all. Views, expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the New Times Publications.

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Who will redeem schools that double as polling stations?