<font color="#330099"><font size="2"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">We are not taught the fundamentals. I have been trying to avoid pointing out a basic grammatical error many are making on this list, but I'll do so anyway. In English and most other Latin based languages proper nouns are capitalized. Many on this list have their names in outgoing emails without capitalizing. Why am I pointing this out? We all went through one education system. For you to gained admission into a public university, you needed to have achieved at least a mean grade of B. If we are making the same mistakes the journalists are making, how can we take the high road? If we purposefully chose to ignore the rules of grammar as we were done with our 'high school' education, then it means that there is a fundamental problem with our education system (we never had to apply our knowledge of English, so we are really studying for the sake of the grade and not the knowledge). </font></font></font><div>
<font class="Apple-style-span" color="#330099" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#330099" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">It's the same with Swahili, Physics (e.g. we all know that Kenyan drivers are constantly speeding, even with vehicles that were not built for speed. In high school, we are taught that breaking distance is proportional to the *square* of the speed, which means that it increases out of proportion to the increase in speed), but we disregard this. We all sang the national anthem at least twice per week, for all twelve years of our primary and tertiary education, yet we stutter if we are asked to recite it. </font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#330099" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#330099" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">The crisis of our education system is that people don't value the skill as much as they value recognition for the skill. It does not matter whether or not you can actually code, what matters is that you have a certificate that says you can. It's apparent in the technology space today. People have to earn their stripes, papers no longer really matter. The 'Mwakenya' is the standard in University exam rooms. And the situation is only getting worse. We need to find ways of integrating what people learn with day to day life. If we don't, we will keep having this tragedy of people getting knowledge for the sake of the certificate and not bothering to find out why they are learning that. </font></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#330099" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#330099" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">A further illustration, I once spoke to a university student who mentioned that he was doing Oracle Certification 'because he heard that it has money'. My problem with his thinking was that he had no clue what products Oracle was dealing in, he was going to do any certification available, which means, he might have ended up certifying in a field he did not like (Oracle has Enterprise Hardware/Software/Cloud Services) and land on a job he does not want, but one that pays well. </font></div>
<div><div><div><div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 2:43 PM, luke mulunda <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:lmulunda@yahoo.com">lmulunda@yahoo.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div><div style="color:#000;background-color:#fff;font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><div><span>Marsh,</span></div><div><span>My brain must have been infested with cobwebs. </span></div><div>
<span><br></span></div><div><span>Anyhow, that's what we are talking about: where are the guys (like you) to follow through and clean up the mess before it gets to the press? And it's not just the daily newspapers, Weeklies, and even monthy publications. I have been reading a book authored and published locally and you can see the concern. <br>
</span></div><div class="im"><div> </div><div><em style="background-color:rgb(0, 0, 191);"><strong><font size="3"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><a href="http://WWW.SMARTBIZAFRICA.COM" target="_blank">WWW.SMARTBIZAFRICA.COM</a><br>
Africa's No.1 Online Business Magazine<br>...For Investors, Entrepreneurs, Managers, Marketers, CEOs, IT Experts, HR & Finance Managers and Students.... Plus Stocks and Business News and
Career Guidance</span></font></strong></em><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="<a href="http://www.smartbizafrica.com/" target="_blank">http://www.smartbizafrica.com/</a>"></a></div>
<div><br></div></div><div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"times new roman", "new york", "times", serif"><div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"times new roman", "new york", "times", serif">
<font size="2" face="Arial"><hr size="1"><b><span style="font-weight:bold">From:</span></b> Macharia Gaitho <<a href="mailto:mgaitho@ke.nationmedia.com" target="_blank">mgaitho@ke.nationmedia.com</a>><br><b><span style="font-weight:bold">To:</span></b> luke mulunda <<a href="mailto:lmulunda@yahoo.com" target="_blank">lmulunda@yahoo.com</a>><div class="im">
<br><b><span style="font-weight:bold">Cc:</span></b> KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br></div><b><span style="font-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b> Monday, October 10, 2011 1:19 PM<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b> RE: [kictanet] Declining English grammar in our Newsprint<br></font><br>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(31, 73, 125)">Luke,</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(31, 73, 125)">the Ugandan leader was ‘Amin’, not ‘Amini’.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(31, 73, 125)"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(31, 73, 125)">I would suppose the unnamed ‘he’ was killed at dawn, not ‘down’.
</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(31, 73, 125)"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(31, 73, 125)">Kindest regards</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(31, 73, 125)"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(31, 73, 125)"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(31, 73, 125)"> </span></div>
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<div><b><span style="font-size:10pt">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt">
kictanet-bounces+mgaitho=<a href="mailto:nation.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">nation.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>
[mailto:<a href="mailto:kictanet-bounces%2Bmgaitho" target="_blank">kictanet-bounces+mgaitho</a>=<a href="mailto:nation.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">nation.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>luke mulunda<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, October 10, <a href="tel:2011%2010" value="+254201110" target="_blank">2011 10</a>:37 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Macharia Gaitho<div class="im"><br>
<b>Cc:</b> KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<br>
</div><div><div></div><div class="h5"><b>Subject:</b> Re: [kictanet] Declining English grammar in our Newsprint</div></div></span></div>
</div>
</div><div><div></div><div class="h5">
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black">Hi all,</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black">I would
personally blame it on cost-cutting. We have journalism and English experts in
newsrooms, but they have too much on their hands to spot the most obvious and
embarrassing mistakes in our publications. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black"> </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black">Mistakes
can be costly. Remember during Amini's time in Uganda, the dictator had
criticised a female MP, and so the paper splashed the following morning
"Amini rapes MP" when he meant "RAPS". I hear, he was
killed at down as he brushed his teeth in his house.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black"> </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black"> </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black">LUKE M</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black"> </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black"> </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black"><em
style="background-color:rgb(0, 0, 191);"><strong><font
size="3"><span
style="text-decoration:underline;"><a href="http://WWW.SMARTBIZAFRICA.COM" target="_blank">WWW.SMARTBIZAFRICA.COM</a><br>
Africa's No.1 Online Business Magazine<br>
...For Investors, Entrepreneurs, Managers, Marketers, CEOs, IT Experts, HR
& Finance Managers and Students.... Plus Stocks and Business News and
Career Guidance</span></font></strong></em><a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="<a href="http://www.smartbizafrica.com/" target="_blank">http://www.smartbizafrica.com/</a>"></a></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black"> </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div align="center" style="text-align:center;background:white"><span style="font-size:10pt;color:black">
<hr size="1" width="100%" align="center">
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;background:white"><b><span style="font-size:10pt;color:black">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;color:black">
Catherine Adeya <<a href="mailto:elizaslider@yahoo.com" target="_blank">elizaslider@yahoo.com</a>><br>
<b>To:</b> luke <<a href="mailto:lmulunda@yahoo.com" target="_blank">lmulunda@yahoo.com</a>><br>
<b>Cc:</b> KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, October 10, <a href="tel:2011%2010" value="+254201110" target="_blank">2011 10</a>:18 AM<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [kictanet] Declining English grammar in our Newsprint</span></div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black">James,</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black">The PS has a point and I am not
disputing yours either but I would simply respond to your email below that generalizations
is what has got us where we are. Specificity can help more.....</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black"> </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black">Nyaki</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="font-size:14pt;color:black"> </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div align="center" style="text-align:center;background:white"><span style="font-size:10pt;color:black">
<hr size="1" width="100%" align="center">
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;background:white"><b><span style="font-size:10pt;color:black">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;color:black"> james
ratemo <<a href="mailto:jratemo@gmail.com" target="_blank">jratemo@gmail.com</a>><br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:elizaslider@yahoo.com" target="_blank">elizaslider@yahoo.com</a><br>
<b>Cc:</b> KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
<<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, October 4, <a href="tel:2011%2011" value="+254201111" target="_blank">2011 11</a>:16 PM<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [kictanet] Declining English grammar in our Newsprint</span></div>
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;background:white"><span style="color:black">Bwana PS what are you insinuating? We open our newsrooms
fro the so called English majors? Some of them are in the newsrooms
already...maybe they are sleeping on the job...my opinion</span></div>
<div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black">On Tue,
Oct 4, 2011 at 11:11 PM, <<a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:bitange@jambo.co.ke" target="_blank">bitange@jambo.co.ke</a>> wrote:</span></div>
<div style="background:white"><span style="color:black">All of
today's newspapers had several grammatical errors. At this time and age
of ICT, is it not too embarrasing to have such errors? We have
thousands of English majors without jobs. It is time for media to
be thorough in what they do by utilizing our many graduates without jobs.
As a Kenyan I get embarrased to see such errors.<br>
<br>
Ndemo.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Sent from my BlackBerry®<br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Grace Githaiga <<a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:ggithaiga@hotmail.com" target="_blank">ggithaiga@hotmail.com</a>><br>
Sender: kictanet-bounces+bitange=<a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:jambo.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">jambo.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a><br>
Date: Sun, 2 Oct <a href="tel:2011%2013" value="+254201113" target="_blank">2011 13</a>:32:57<br>
To: <<a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:bitange@jambo.co.ke" target="_blank">bitange@jambo.co.ke</a>><br>
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<<a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br>
Subject: [kictanet] GSMA: Calls will remain high between African countries<br>
<br>
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for
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The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support
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Nation Media Group,<br>
P.O Box 49010-00100,<br>
Nairobi<br>
Cell Phone: <a href="tel:0724960649" value="+254724960649" target="_blank">0724960649</a> OR <a href="tel:0731960649" value="+254731960649" target="_blank">0731960649</a><br>
Email: <a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:Emaili-jratemo@standardmedia.co.ke" target="_blank">jratemo@ke.nationmedia.com</a>
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KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.<br>
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</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><font style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(51, 0, 153)" color="#000066" face="tahoma, sans-serif">With Regards,<br><br>Phares Kariuki<br><br>
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