eboomerang wrote:
Education and culture cannot be separated, part of our culture is formed through the education system.
Our system is just targeted at passing exams (KCPE and KCSE) and students are encouraged to do this at whatever cost. We compete so much internally and forget the we should bench mark against the world and not based on which district was leading and which student was best in the country.
You cannot build a national vision or industry by referring people to the internet and YouTube. There needs to be proper investments in education facilities. You need more than the basic education to be globally competitive.
Even the so loved MPesa system was not built in Kenya, despite it's market success being in Kenya.
There is no national education system in the world that is not based on some form of grading students and I do not believe our education system is entirely to blame for lack of innovation. The education system is meant to facilitate an education, the responsibility of a student's to use their ability to take that education and earn a living and be of benefit to society does NOT lie in the teacher.
The biggest hindrances to innovation is our own attitude.
Many Kenyans are either endowed with a 'victim' mentality, or a ridiculous sense of entitlement. This boundaries are usually clear when you look at the levels of education. Most people graduating from universities, come into the job market with a sense of entitlement wrongfully thinking that the world owes them a job, a car, a house, a corner office and a promotion etc...
The less educated (or the less fortunate but educated) tend to believe in fate and that the government or some rich politician as the solution to their woes. They are full of excuses and complaints about who moved their cheese.
This are not attitudes that can incubate any innovative ideas. Neither is this a problem that a school teacher can easily solve. The values needed to foster innovation (hardwork, grit, respect for rule of law, problem solving skills etc...) Need more than just a classroom.
They are fostered in the upbringing of a child, they are embedded in the environment and it's institutions and are clearly visible in the culture of the respective society.
Kenya lacks some of this due to lack of will, poor leadership and alot of free riders.