Parents and schools have a responsibility to shape the character development of children, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Mr. Ezekiel Machogu has said.
He said it is not enough to develop the intellect and character of learners without nurturing the character of the learners.
“If you have knowledge but no character, you cannot be useful to society,” Mr. Machogu noted.
The Cabinet Secretary made the remarks when the Vice President of the Global Peace Foundation (GPF), Mr. Tony Devine paid a courtesy call in his office.
The Global Peace Foundation applies a values-based approach to peace building that emphasizes universal principles and shared values as a basis to address issues affecting societies.
Mr. Machogu said parental care is important in the character formation of children.
He said parental responsibility for children does cease when children go to boarding school, saying that parents must be equally concerned with the character development of their children as they are concerned with their performance in academics.
“Parenthood does not end when children mature or leave for boarding school,” Mr. Machogu said.
On his part, Devine said the true purpose of education is character education, saying his organisation impresses on education systems to transition from acquisition of knowledge and learning to lifelong character education and holistic growth.
He said his Organisation also recognised the family as an important institution in the formation of the character of children.
He however said it is educators who are strategically placed to provide this brand of education.
“The essence of transformation starts with the transformation of teachers and all those around learners.
The Vice President said policy makers around the world must be cautious with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“Be careful. AI can destroy systems and mess up institutions,” Devine warned, saying there is a need for people with good character education to manage AI training of educators who manage schools.
The Chief Executive Officer of Sunrise Virtual School, Mr. Bernard Kairu expressed the need for the government to develop guidelines on how schools can integrate AI in teaching and learning.
He said left on their own, teachers are likely to embrace AI technology in ways that don’t serve national educational goals.
Devine said he uses universal principles and shared values as a basis to address conflict, promote equitable and sustainable development, and engage all members of the human family as necessary and valuable contributors to building a culture of peace around the world.
The Global Peace Foundation organizes and implements field projects and expert conferences on grassroots peace building, education, entrepreneurship, and youth leadership development in twenty-one countries in collaboration with public and private sector partners.
Present during the occasion were senior education and the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Lukenya University, Ms Mutheu Kassanga.
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
