THE CUTTING EDGE - Daily Nation

DEGREE DISEASE: Though belated, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) “was right to rescind its misplaced directive, which required teachers to possess a master’s degree in order to qualify for promotion as secondary school principals”, remarks Taabu Tele. “The degree disease directive was premised on the misconception that paper qualifications equate to productivity, which made the TSC unwittingly endorse Kenyans’ mad rush to acquire academic papers.” School principals, Taabu adds, are managers who seriously need administrative skills instead, and not the narrow subject specialisation that is acquired in a master’s degree programme. His contact is

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SHODDY WORK: The product of all the work and money that went into the Mama Ngina Waterfront at Kizingo, Mombasa, is underwhelming, George Forest laments. “I imagined the planners would wow us with the best after benchmarking trips overseas.” Nearly Sh500 million was spent on a simple walkway, a few parking slots and some young coconut trees. There are no seats, sheds, fountain or attractive features. And this is near State House, the Deputy President’s house, the county seat of power and wonderful scenery and carries former First Lady Mama Ngina’s name. His contact is

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PANACEA: This early in the brand new year, Joe Ngige Njoroge hopes that the BBI will turn out to be the cure to the historical injustices and political intolerance that have bedevilled the country for decades. His solemn prayer is that it is not just a vehicle to reward ODM leader Raila Odinga with the “coveted seat” as a result of the ‘Handshake’ between him and President Kenyatta and lock out Deputy President William Ruto. He warns: “If not properly handled, the BBI could end up dividing and hurting Kenyans even more. Let’s engage in a sincere conversation and not something that benefits a section of Kenyans while leaving many others behind.” His contact is

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TECH FAIL: The video assistant referee (VAR) is destroying football, charges Cornelius Oliko. In a bid to reduce judgment errors in football matches, Cornelius recalls, Fifa introduced VAR to assist referees and linesmen. At the outset the technology looked okay, he says, though he had reservations about it as he felt it would remove the human touch in football, destroying ‘the beautiful game’. “When, for example, it is stretched to the point where it is used to decide if a player’s finger, hand or boot is offside, then it’s senseless and we should probably employ robots to play football or do away with it altogether.” His contact is

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