Following the recent occurrences in our country, having spent a considerable amount of time in discussions with my fellow friends, education’s role stood out for me as one of the reasons why the Gen Zs have achieved significant success in making the incumbent government work in accordance with the law – particularly in listening to the voices of its people.
I am privileged to have received exposure through travel, reading, and films. It is undeniably true that our education system is better compared to those of many of our African counterparts. Contrary to the infamous joke that Kenyans can speak good English but sleep hungry, the long-term benefits of speaking good English outweigh that of being unable to speak English but producing abundant food.
Kenyans – particularly young people – are well-equipped with knowledge about our Constitution thanks to our education system that enforces learning and speaking of English from the elementary level. I still remember the olden times upcountry when we used to be caned for speaking Dholuo in primary school.
Similarly, I still remember being taught Chapter 4 of the Kenyan Constitution (The Bill of Rights) in Standard 6. Of course, these are basic examples that I expect to apply to other African countries too, but my point was to argue against a narrative that producing abundant food is better than investing in a better education system.
A person with a full stomach but unable to read or write can’t be compared with another who knows how to read and write but has an empty stomach. I know you want to argue against this but a person with knowledge and skills can easily get his/her way out of hunger than his/her counterpart who lacks the prerequisite knowledge and skills.
Our strong education system made us draft one of the best constitutions in the world. Some brilliant minds have helped us make great amendments to the Constitution. Now, the educationally-empowered young people have realized that the incumbent government sold false hope during their campaigns and through their manifesto and are now using a compromised Parliament to oppress its citizens using a different script from that which they campaigned with.
Equipped with good English, the young people have exhibited their education by condemning the government by using digital tools (social media) to highlight the opulence displayed by senior government officials who preached inheriting a “dilapidated economy” and “empty coffers” from the previous government and the lies of the President to not increase taxes on consumer goods and leading a country free of extrajudicial killings.
It is the well-informed firm stance of Gen Zs that has led the government to drop the controversial Finance Bill 2024 and pressured the President to dissolve his Cabinet. Commendably, the young generation has been able to achieve all these while abiding to the law – picketing peacefully and using innovative technologies and tactics to pass their messages.
In addition, through good education, the young people have been actively sharing reasonable actionable steps with the government – for example, firing the incapacitated Cabinet Secretaries who had displayed opulence and arrogance while not professionally performing their primary mandates to the citizens.
A good education foundation has enabled young Kenyans to organize and deliberate their issues through X Spaces, publish blog posts, confidently conduct interviews with local and international media organizations highlighting their complaints and demands, translate the points of concern in the now-withdrawn Finance Bill 2024 into local dialects to inform their rural counterparts, and harness artificial intelligence technology by creating a machine learning algorithm that citizens can prompt to learn and get informed about the Kenyan Constitution and the withdrawn Finance Bill 2024.
As the fight against corruption and bad governance in our country continues, let us remember the vital role that a solid educational foundation has played in providing us with essential knowledge and instilling strong values. As a result, let’s remember and appreciate our late president Mwai Kibaki for introducing the Free Primary Education Program that has enabled millions of Kenyans to affordably get quality education.
May we continue to embrace a culture of learning and applying what we learn to practice or use it to demand change in our beloved country.
Amazing piece bro.