The cutting edge

By THE WATCHMAN Posted Tuesday, January 18 2011 at 19:22

SCHOOLS RUN DOWN. Education minister Sam Ongeri must know why some parents opt to take their children to private schools, remarks George Gitathi. “Most public schools have been run down, teachers are not committed and books unavailable. We opt for private schools to give our children a good education despite paying taxes to fund the free school programme. Why punish the parents and their children? Besides providing quality education, these schools also employ many Kenyans.”

*****

MISSING THE POINT. Those criticising Prof Ongeri on the new policy limiting the number of places allocated to private candidates for admission to national secondary schools are missing the point, says Martin Tairo Maseghe. “It makes complete sense if you present only 15 per cent of the KCPE examination candidates, to deserve only 15 per cent of the national secondary school spaces. This is what equitable distribution is all about. If anything, private school candidates should be allocated 600 spaces instead of 1,200.’’

*****

MERU TOO NOISY. Nema should extend its crackdown on noise offenders to Meru Town, where the most notorious culprits include a prayer house, urges Shaheed Iqbal. Those who have to put up with the nuisance include traders on Moi Avenue next to Bhatt Bookshop, and government offices. Another culprit is an exhibition centre near Jamia Mosque that has mounted a loud-speaker on its verandah. The racket has been going on for three years, with reports to the local DC and the municipal council being ignored, says Iqbal. His email is meruboss@yahoo.com.

****

THEY ARE PESTS. Some people pester Watchie by seeking answers to trivial queries, remarks Monica Wanjiru. “I’m often appalled to read about the petty issues Kenyans concern themselves with, Like the guy complaining about not having accurate time! Is that really an issue? We have bigger issues for the Kenya Bureau of Standards to deal with such as the sale of sub-standard drugs. Well, to help him, he should visit www.worldtimeserver.com to set his watch to the correct time wherever he is, at any time in the world.”

****

I WANT A REFUND. Wilson Awili had a nasty experience with Horizon Coach bus company. In December 2009, he booked five tickets for his family to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa. But he got busy and thus let his wife, his 16-year-old niece, and others in the family travel. The bus broke down 80km to Voi. “I hired a car and dashed there to find them sitting in an oven of a bus and we proceeded to Mombasa. I then demanded a refund. I’m still waiting to date.” His contact is Tel. 0721577995.

*****

SLOPPY JOB. Some four months ago, employees of the City Council of Nairobi dug up the perfectly good kerbstones on James Gichuru Road at Westlands and left the debris on the road, moans Selina Kass. But the planned repair work appears to have stopped midstream, as in the past two months nobody has done anything on the sidewalk. As a result, Selina reports, it has become an unsightly mess and most inconvenient to motorists. “Can City Hall tell us what plans it has to complete the half-done job and restore order in this neighbourhood?” she appeals.

Have a tidy day, won’t you!

E-mail: watchman@ke.nationmedia.com or write to Watchman, POB 49010, Nairobi 00100 Fax: 2213946