Why remedial teaching should not be provided to all learners
Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang has reiterated the ban on remedial teaching that many primary and secondary school heads commonly practice. He emphasized that the eight school hours stipulated by the Basic Education Regulations 2015 for the curriculum delivery process in basic education institutions should be sufficient to cover the syllabus.
Traditionally, remediation or remedial teaching is a standard part of the curriculum delivery process. It is intended to assist students who may be falling behind in their studies or encountering difficulties in specific subjects. Former Permanent Secretary for Education Karega Mutahi supported this principle of remediation in a 2008 Circular.
Educational policies, curricula, and standards typically include provisions for remedial tuition to ensure that no child attending school is left behind. Students have varying abilities and learning styles, which can result in differences in the pace of understanding what is taught in class.
This variance can lead to learning difficulties and, in some cases, behavioral or motivational issues if not addressed promptly. Remedial teaching can help address fundamental skills like reading, writing, numeracy, and critical thinking.
Remedial teaching should be specifically targeted at learners who exhibit weaknesses, causing them to lag behind their peers in the regular learning process. The school should maintain a list of such students and provide this list to the principal and the deputy in charge of the curriculum.
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In the absence of professional remedial teaching, schools risk advancing students to new content without ensuring they have fully mastered the required knowledge, skills, attitudes, or behavioral patterns. This can result in the learning gap that education professionals and policymakers often discuss.
A learning gap refers to the disparity between what a student has learned and what they were expected to learn at a specific point in their education. Policymakers consider various factors, including child psychology, when designing the school calendar.
They account for factors like students’ abilities, diversity in abilities, attention span, and breaks for rest, lunch, recreation, weekends, and holidays. These factors influence the structure of the school hours, such as the 8 am to 3.30 pm system, which is common globally.
Section 84 in the Basic Education Regulations, 2015, provides policy direction on school hours, and it aims to maintain the integrity of the official school timetable. Extending the curriculum delivery outside stipulated school hours was banned due to concerns about depriving children of opportunities to relax, learn social skills, and engage in interaction with peers and adults.
Why remedial teaching should not be provided to all learners
