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Education For All?
Free primary education was introduced in Kenya in 2003 which has increased the literacy rate dramatically to 90% for men and 80% for women. However, free education has meant that the schools have been swamped with applicants so that schools are overcrowded and the teacher/student ratio decreases the quality of education. Worse, only a small fraction of students go on to secondary school and a negligible amount goes on to do vocational training. This has meant that the employability of students is little affected by their schooling.
Just how powerful the desire of parents in Kenya is to educate their children is evidenced by the fact that 75% of all schools in the country have been founded, run and maintained by communities themselves with little government assistance. This is called the Harambe Movement (Swahili for “all pull together”). As these are community-based rather than private schools, they charge very low fees and hence the quality of education varies tremendously and often depends on how much support they receive from both the local and international development community.
Apart from the need for improvement in access to quality education in the rural areas, the community leaders behind the three Harambee schools we have partnered with have stressed the need for one skill set in particular: computer literacy. The employability of a young person in Kenya is improved dramatically if they are able to graduate with knowledge on how to use a computer. Access to the internet is tremendously empowering, and in the 21st century it will become increasingly so. Traditionally, the development community has shied away from issues of access to technology due to the dated belief that more basic needs need to be met first. T he IT revolution in India (which has raised millions out of poverty and revolutionized the economy) has taught us that knowledge and access to technology is a vital component of sustainable development.
For examples of the transformative effect of widespread access to technology for the poor, see:
http://laptop.org/en/vision/mission/index.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8322710.stm
http://gigaom.com/2009/03/11/kenyas-mobile-banking-revolution/
For information on education in Kenya, see:
http://cndls.georgetown.edu/applications/posterTool/index.cfm?fuseaction=poster.display&posterID=3952
http://www.kenya-advisor.com/education-in-kenya.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Kenya
Our Work so Far
- In the spirit of our capacity building mandate, we have sponsored four adult members of ICODEI (a community based organization in Western Kenya) to take computer literacy courses at a local college. These skills will allow them to coordinate their volunteer program, keep accounts for the organization and run their programs without relying on technical assistance from well wishers abroad.
- Fundraising allowed us to perform general repairs at Epico Jahns school in Bungoma. These included cementing the floors, fixing the windows and painting the walls. It also allowed us to send a whole class which had qualified for a poetry competition in Mombasa to represent their school there. None of the kids and few of their teachers had ever left their town, and the opportunity to see a different part of their country (and the beach!) for the first time was a tremendous experience for them.
- We have provided the three Harambee schools we are affiliated to with minor support in the form of government text books, curriculum planning guides and general materials. This is an area of our partnership with the schools we look to expand significantly over the coming year. |
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