Kenyan don quest for new education in Africa scaling high

Africa scores big as Prof Oborah is elected secretary General of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children

Glamour, jubilation for Africa as the vocal Kenyan Prof.Oborah sets foot on pedal in pushing for the new system of education that would see East Africa region and the entire continent embrace talents rather than rhetoric grades for admission in higher learning institutions. Henry Onyango talked to the vocal professor and filed the story

It was history in the making for the entire African continent as the president of African Gifted and Talented and founder DALC Prof.Humphrey Oborah was elected secretary General of the prestigious  World Council of the Gifted and Talented Children recently.

Prof Oborah’s election had served real purpose at the time when African communities are grappling with a modality of acquiring an efficient education system that would incorporate talents and job experience in equal measure and eschews theories.

Prof.Humphrey Oborah,Secretary
 General WCGTC

The vocal academician has had an addition of the feather on his cap when he was elected member of the Executive committee WCGTC. He assumed office in August this year at the conclusion of the 2013 World Conference in Louisville,Kentucky  alongside other elected members.

Some of the elected members in the council were Julia Roberts,USA,Denise de Souza Fleith,Brazil and Leonie Kronborg ,Australia. Those elected members will each serve a period of four years.

The jubilated scholar expressed his delightment with the election and promised to work together to promote the new education system in Africa.

 “The system is well designed and calculated to avert the continent from the backlash of brain drain and lack of specialization and is devoid of rigid policies that devour upon the fabric of the gifted and talented in our continent. We should embrace it,” said Prof Oborah

In most western countries, education is now about gifts and talents contrary to African continent who are still inflexible to counter this.

Experts argue that with the rigid educational systems, the ability for students to create, invent and think-out -of -the box lay wasted and ultimately killed and perhaps it is accurate that African cemeteries are the most affluent -where all potential is buried.

The tap of talents or knowledge of talents in Africa, Kenya included, remains one of the hot topics in societies with no real action.

 Education remains a routine in Africa where students cram or memorise tutors notes, and reproduce them onto foolscaps during examinations.

The net result is a collection of papers in the form of certificates which have no correlation with expectations of work organizations or innate talents and gifts of the candidates.

In developed countries like US, UK, Canada amongst others, students are assessed for their Gifts and Talents before admission and by extension adults are equally assessed for their experiential knowledge before admission.

 This assessment is focused on one’s inner talents which form careers hence the said candidates are able to know their real careers 20-30 years in advance.

Such can be seen in sports men and women who spend 2 hours in class but 6 or more hours on a tennis court, for example, where their talents lie.

Africa stand to benefit after the main advocate of the programme in Kenya and entire East Africa region, Prof Oborah joins the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children as Executive Commitee Member.
Born along the shores of Lake Victoria from a humble background, Prof.Oborah started schooling earlier than the normal age at 4years.

His academic records show that he did extremely well in Primary School, which was a typical Kenyan Rural School made of iron sheet roof and earthed walls. In such schools, students would sit on floor and nearly everyone had no shoes. Oborah actually wore the first shoe going to Secondary School.

His great performance in national examinations at primary school level saw him admitted to a far location away in another Kenyan Province (Kitui, Eastern Kenya, Matinyani Secondary School from where he again excelled and joined A Level Studies in Nairobi Province (Dagoretti High School) and later to join University of Nairobi for a Bachelors Degree. He later on continued to obtain a Masters and PhD degrees.

It must be remembered that Prof. Oborah has been very vocal about education revolution for almost 10 years with acute criticisms. He has managed to weather all opposition from all those who would not like to see change.

The time for change has now come to Africa and this would mean that the continent would seek to get in to the status where talents, job experience will be the main facets for admission rather than the normal school grading system that has locked many out of the higher learning institutions.