Invest fully in film and theatre education or lose storytellers

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I am not wired to mourn problems in life, but to solve them. I was educated to confront problems, not to romanticise them. The people of the Republic of Kenya invested in my mind, and that investment demands a return through thought and action. It is this sense of duty that compels me, time and again, to step into difficult conversations about issues that lie within my area of jurisdiction. Today, I turn my attention to a quiet crisis unfolding in our schools: the teaching of theatre and film in senior school.

Let me begin with a simple truth. The expectation that teachers of literature can seamlessly handle theatre and film without deliberate retooling is, to say the least, a serious aberration. It is an assumption that collapses under the weight of reality. Theatre and film are related to literature, yes, but they are not mere extensions of it. They are disciplines with their own grammars, technologies, and professional demands.

I speak with authority on the teaching of this learning area because I am a filmmaker and I have authored coursebooks for Grades 10, 11, and 12. Consider this trajectory. In Grade 10, learners spend the year immersed in theatre. Here, we can manage. A well-trained literature teacher, with some exposure to theatre practice and performance techniques, can guide learners. The classroom, in this phase, still breathes. But then comes Grade 11, and with it, film. This is where the crisis quietly begins to unfold.

We have to get this right. Film is not just storytelling. It is a complex interplay of scriptwriting, camera work, lighting, sound design, editing, and digital software. It is both art and technology. To the best of my knowledge, no university in this country charged with training teachers has deliberately produced teachers of film for our schools! We are, in effect, sending literature teachers into a battlefield without the necessary tools. What a shame to the ministry! The irony is striking. Even as we speak of a Competency-Based Curriculum that should unlock creativity and innovation, we risk reducing film education to theory. This will strip it of its practical essence.

Now let me widen the lens. The challenge we face in theatre and film is not isolated. There are other learning areas, including aviation and sports, where the shortage of trained teachers is equally glaring. The question we must ask, therefore, is not whether the expertise exists. It does. We just need to be smart, and on this, TSC should listen.

The experts are in the private sector. In film, they are the scriptwriters, cinematographers, editors, and producers who work daily in studios and in digital spaces. They understand the language of the camera not as an abstraction, but as a lived practice. They are, in many ways, the custodians of the very skills we seek to transfer to our learners. We have to bring them on board, even if they have no training in pedagogy.

Successful retooling

The designs for theatre and film in the curriculum were not accidental. The approved books are intentional. There is a clear vision to nurture a generation capable of telling their own stories and creating wealth through the creative economy. But a vision without implementation is a mirage.

This is where the government must be proactive. Let us not wait to confront a full-blown crisis when our children step into Grade 11 and encounter a subject their teachers are ill-equipped to deliver. The time to act is now, and action requires partnership. For the successful retooling of teachers in theatre and film, the government must work with the private sector. This is not optional. It is inevitable. We need structured, well-funded programmes that will bring industry experts into the training ecosystem. We need sustained engagement, not symbolic gestures.

Let me be honest with you, folks. One-day workshops will not suffice. They cannot equip a teacher to write a film script, operate a camera, design lighting, or edit video using modern software. These are skills that demand time, practice, mentorship, and immersion. Anything less is a disservice to both teacher and learner. So far, we have been lying to ourselves in the so-called retooling sessions.

There is also a deeper concern. Ministry officials should resist the temptation of bureaucratic comfort. The habit of sitting in big offices in Nairobi and issuing directives that do not translate into meaningful change on the ground does not help. Equally, they must move beyond the culture of per diems that often turns training into a ritual rather than a transformation.

What is my drift here? It is simple. What we need is seriousness of purpose. If we truly want our country to produce learners who can change society and create wealth from theatre and film, then we must invest accordingly. We must design practical programmes that are outcome-driven in retooling teachers of literature. We must measure success not by attendance lists, but by competence.

The future of our creative economy depends on how best we manage this. In the end, this is not just about a subject in the curriculum. We have to give young Kenyans the tools to tell their stories and see themselves on screen. More importantly, we have to equip them to participate meaningfully in this global industry. In untrained hands, the camera cannot carry the story. The question, then, is: will we equip those hands, or watch the story fade before it is ever told? Education CS Julius Ogamba, please make it happen.