The hidden struggles of running Kenya’s top schools

The prestige that comes with running a Cluster 1 (C1) school also comes at a price and the bill is paid by the principals.

The expectation to deliver top results in what were previously known as national schools is huge and it tests even the best of managers to have to keep thousands of learners disciplined, fill teacher gaps, expand infrastructure and satisfy demanding parents, albeit without the resources to match those expectations.

C1 institutions are expected to offer a wider range of subjects than other schools, attract the country's best-performing learners and maintain high standards, even as resources struggle to keep apace.

The pressure has become particularly acute with the rollout of the Competency-Based Education in senior school early this year. The curriculum introduces specialised subjects that require teachers with specific skills sets.

“Given the nature of the subjects that we offer, our curriculum is very broad, especially with the coming in of CBE. It is extremely broad. You offer subjects like aviation. You have mechanics, metalwork and other activities,” said Mr Casper Maina, the chair of the association of principals of C1 schools.

The funding challenge, he said, has made running C1 schools even harder. Mr Maina who is the principal of Nairobi School questioned why the funding system had not been reviewed to reflect economic realities.

“Capitation is the elephant in the room. It is not enough. This thing was put in place in 2014, 12 years ago. Too much has changed over that time. Why are we not reviewing this? We should be realistic and tell people times have changed,” he said.

While speaking Nation, the chair of the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) Willy Kuria warned that the third term of the school year may not run smoothly unless the government releases billions of shillings in delayed capitation funds.

“First term we had a deficit of about Sh2,300 per learner, second term was about Sh3,400. Combined, the government owes us about Sh18 billion for first and second term. In third term we are supposed to receive 20 per cent of the Sh22,000 capitation. We hope that the capitation will be wired to accounts when schools reopen on Monday,” he said.

Each learner in senior school is allocated Sh22,244 per year for tuition but the disbursement has continually been reducing.

Mr Kuria said a significant number of public schools closed second term prematurely due to lack of finances. Although the third term is the shortest, it is the most crucial as candidates sit national examinations.

“Many schools simply could not sustain operations without the funds. We had to send learners home weeks before schedule because we could not feed them or pay suppliers. Day schools rely entirely on capitation and are the hardest hit. With no boarding fees to cushion them, many are gasping for survival,” he noted.

Schools struggling under their own popularity

Staffing shortages in C1 schools is compounded by the high demand for places in the institutions.

“We have a serious problem. There are a few schools that have high demand. You have 50,000 children who want that school, and the school has less than 1,000 vacancies,” he said.

The job comes with demands on principals who apart from managing human resources at the school also must be prudent financial managers and ensure academic excellence.

“It is too much. People want you to do everything, and then you don’t have the resources. So what happens?” he posed.

The pressure, he said, is often invisible when schools are performing well but becomes acute whenever something goes wrong.

“When things are working, nobody appreciates but when there is a problem, it is like you are the problem,” he said.

As Mr Kuria put it, the prestige of running a C1 school does not make the job easier.

“Once you are in a C1 school, the expectations are very high. You cannot wait for the government to do everything for you.”

“The boards of management are empowered to look for ways of raising money to put up infrastructure,” he said.

When parents expect miracles

Mr Kuria noted that parents often expected their children who attend C1 schools to score top grades without fully appreciating the many factors that determine how learners perform.

“Parents expect so much. They imagine we are going to perform miracles but there is so much that goes into teaching. There is so much that goes into determining learning outcomes. There are so many factors,” he said.

He said the pressure often intensifies whenever performance dips, with principals bearing the blame even when factors outside the classroom contribute to poor results.

“That is why sometimes you find parents are impatient with us. They blame us for declining performance. It is not just the school; it takes all of us, the parents, everybody,” he said.

The battle does not end at the school gate

For C1 principals, managing learners has become more complicated as technology and social media reshape life outside school.

“Managing technology is a challenge. The mobile phone is here, social media is here, all these things are here. Our children are writing to each other and they could be spending too much time on them,” he said.

The difference between home and school, he said, can make it difficult for learners to adjust to the structure and rules of boarding institutions.

“At home, it is a little too permissive. They have their mobile phones, they are reading all night, watching movies the whole night. Then when they come to school, they imagine that schools are like a prison,” he said.

“Homes are really comfortable. So these children would want to be at home.”

He said parents also had less time to spend with their children because of work demands, leaving schools to deal with some of the consequences of poor parenting.

“Parents are working. You have no time for them. We do not know them. So that becomes a challenge in bringing them up,” he said.

For him, the issue goes beyond discipline to the values being passed on to learners.

“I think the greatest challenges are about the system. As a nation, what are our values? We have money, so we are just giving knowledge and skills. Are we integrating values?” he asked.

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