The Minister Ate My Grades

Did you see him release the examination results the other day?
Yes. He wore an awry smile.
He told the nation: the very poor children had completed a cycle of primary education and they had in turn passed their exams!

Yes. Pull a chair I tell you the story of my grades.
As my peers celebrated;
I sat there forlorn.

I knew. I knew. He was part of the conspiracy.
He was armed with the statistics
To state his case…after all, numbers don’t lie!

Yes. He failed to tell you my story.
He evaded it…the story of my grades. He knew why.
He is part of the larger mission!

The conspiracy to exclude me and my whole family from the celebrations.
I am the pioneer, the most educated member of my family…I expected results!

Maybe we go back to the beginning!
The Minister ate my grades!

I never saw any FPE grants in my community school for eight years.
No trained teachers. Local volunteers tutored us from time to time.
No government support.

I heard over the radio,
While sitting with the blind cobbler I help at the market centre;
That people at the HQ were swimming in un-surrendered imprests.
Scandals were rife.
As we starved…for food and knowledge.

Yes. We faired badly! My cohort and me…
We scored 80 marks out of a maximum 500,
Impressive effort…this was our blood and not sweat!

Yes. The Professor; the Minister ate my Grades.
Ask Him. If he were honest, he would have told the you, how much he invested in the education of children in the informal settlements during his tenure!
Mininister…ooohhh, Honourable Minister; Where are my grades?
What a legacy?

Poem written by Jonathan Maina
Assistant Programme Manager Education
Concern Worldwide

THE ROLE OF SLEEP AND PLAY IN EDUCATION

The year 2011 has brought with it drastic changes in the education sector, the major one being the changes in selection criteria for the form one pupils who are to join National schools. Though there is a lot of debate of whether this is fair or not, the fact remains that to the candidate who sat for exams as a non state pupil and performed well, hoping to join a national school, is really not happy with the choice that the government took. For the rest of us, time will tell. Four years from now in 2015, will the provincial schools turn up to scoop the top positions in KCSE? Or will the national schools keep up their game?

To parents and teachers, the most important thing may perhaps not lie in the nature of school their child gets admitted to, but to the type and quality of education being rendered to them. Surprisingly there are two important things that play a huge role in holistic growth and development of the child which consequently massively contributes.

Play and sleep are fundamental issues that play a huge role in physical, emotional, social, spiritual as well as intellectual growth of any child, be it a genius child or a child who has difficulties in learning. “The reason children are not performing well in school is because their development is affected”. This is according to Ms. Oburu, a senior lecturer in the department of psychology at the University of Nairobi in a presentation made last year to head teachers and religious leaders of various institutions working in Kariobangi, Huruma, Korogocho Babadogo and Kahawa west. “As teachers who are entrusted by parents to mold the children, we should concentrate on their emotional intelligence and not just the intelligence quotience.” She said that in her experience at the Nairobi University, many pupils who come as distinction students yet not able to socialize and fit in the groups, end up dropping campus or have their grades drastically change as a result of the pressures they face.

The effects of this have also been experienced in secondary and primary schools across the country. When crises or a problem presents itself, children react in a way they know best: being rowdy, burning dorms, going on strike, insulting others and excessive indulgence in drugs and sexual immorality. All this is later blamed on parents who are accused of abdicating their duties. She challenged the parents and teachers to focus on the child and allow them to have intrinsic motivation. “Let children set their own goals and allow them to move at their own pace”.

A child who goes to school at a later age is likely to perform better than a child who starts schooling early as they are likely to resist school due to pressure. The human brain develops up to 21 years and sleep is a key ingredient in the life of any human person. Small children need up to 10 hours of sleep while an adult needs 6-8 hours of sleep in darkness.

Maybe its time for the morning preps and evening preps to be scrapped off to allow both the teacher and pupil enough rest. This comes at a time when many schools and especially upper classes are asked to report to school by 6:30am and have the famous tuition till 8:00pm or even later. Not forgetting the weekend classes. What learning is going on in such schools when both the teachers and pupils have not had enough sleep? This country is perhaps going through many problems because we have neglected simple things such as sleep.

Story by Mercy Mukeni,
Education For Life – Kariobangi.

The Final Hurdle: The Right to Education

Has a year ever been short? January was just the other day and now it is already December and counting to the end of the year! The year started with tempers and tempos flying high amid allegations of serious fraud at the Ministry of Education; Civil Society Organisations and mass groups took to the streets calling for the sacking of both the Minister and the PS, different Donor took different stand point; some suspending support others totally withdrawing. In the confusion the PS went home (albeit for a short time). But the learner, the most central player survived the storm; learning continued and by that a step towards realization of the Right to education ……..

2010 will go down history as the most memorable year for the education sector in Kenya. Defeating an early spell that seemed to have been cast by cases of serious fraud at the Ministry of Education (MoE), sector has survived the storm. Kenyans are celebrating the promulgation of a new constitution with an elaborate section on Bill of Rights that guarantees the Right to Free and Compulsory Basic Education. At the same time we are marking coming to maturity of the first batch of pupils admitted to standard one in 2003 under the Free Primary Education. They have sat for Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in November this year marking a great milestone. Worth noting is also the hiring on contract of 19,000 teachers to cut down on the high Teacher Pupil Ratio(TPR) that had reached alarming rates in certain areas especially in the urban slums and rural areas. The road ahead for sure, looks bright!

The year has been both exciting and challenging. While majority of Kenyans, more so those in the Education sector, received the appointment of a new Permanent Secretary (PS) at Jogoo House with excitement and great expectation, a few people stepped back to check and ensure that whatever had been gained under the previous leadership was secured and safeguarded. Did we manage the transition well? Time will tell.

It has indeed been another achievement for much criticized 8-4-4. Despite the criticisms of the system as being inefficient, burdensome to children, costly and wasteful, it hit another record of more than 740, 000 sitting for the national examinations this year. This has come in the wake of calls from some people to do away with the national examination at the end of primary school. A private member’s motion has been presented in parliament proposing the removal of the examination on the basis that it has been used to lock out many children from secondary. As much as we have issues with the Kenyan evaluation system, we should not and will not just jump on board and join the chorus; scrub KCPE! This is an eye opener that things are not working with our evaluation system and we are calling upon the MoE to institute a mechanism that will ensure that the process is all inclusive and as consultative as possible to ensure that as we move from KCPE there is something else in place.

While this is going on it is apt to point out that the newly promulgated Constitution has made provision to make reforms in the education sector that we may have feared to carry out in the past. The law in Section 43 (f) states that every person has a right to education, and in Section 53(b) makes it mandatory for children to complete basic and compulsory education, which would include secondary school up to Form Four. In essence, it will be against the law for any school to send away a child for failure to pay fees or on disciplinary grounds, and no child should be denied the chance to progress to secondary school.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Education (MoE) is said to be looking at various issues, including relevance of the curriculum, transition from nursery school to secondary school and beyond. The process of constituting a Task Force on the Implementation of Reforms in Education sector in line with the New Constitution is at an advanced stage following calls for submissions and nominations of names for the same. The proposed review will also look at the role of examinations and evaluation processes, which are crucial for gathering feedback in any education system. It is essential that sufficient time be allotted to complete the review. Prospects are that It will be done by June next year. Then, Parliament can pick up debate on the issue based on a proper analysis of the education system.
While the ministry was motivated to conduct the review in light of new emerging issues on governance, environment, early childhood education, ICT, and science and technology that are not captured under the current Education Act, the necessity to realign the Education Act with the new constitution is now imperative.Whereas reforms are urgent, they must not be rushed. All stakeholders must be brought on board so that we do not end up with mistakes like those made in crafting the 8-4-4 system.

The MoE should appoint a credible task force to propose the reforms needed. This way, we can get the things right the first time. The task force should be all inclusive, bringing together not only education experts from the ministry of education and other arms of government, but also representatives of all stakeholders in the education sector, including teachers and parents.

Elimu Yetu Coalition (EYC), Kenya’s National Education Coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) committed to the realization of the Education For All (EFA) goals, as articulated in the Jomtien Declaration and the Dakar Framework of Action, is convinced that it is only through comprehensive reforms of the education sector will open a way for the attainment of the EFA goals in the country. This remains the one and only way to give hope to the hundreds of thousands of girls held up such difficult places such as North Eastern province, walking long distances in search of water; boys harvesting sand in Ukambani, herding cattle in Samburu, fishing in Bunyala, of a better tomorrow. Yes, Education. This is the most single powerful instrument of change at the government’s disposal to spur Kenya to quick economic growth and wheel the country closer to Vision 2030.

In the new constitution, there is new power and vision for CSOs in education. The CSOs now have a legal ground to hold the government to account over her commitment to education. And just as a voice was heard in the wilderness of Ramalla of the (Biblical times), crying for her children, the voice of the Coalition has to be heard, crying for her children, some of whom were never children, for they were already parents at an early age, as early as 13 years! You doubt this? Go to Kilifi, Homabay… the list is endless. Probably a story for another day.

By
Joseph Mutamba and Mike O’maera
Elimu Yetu Coalition (EYC) secretariat.

Sweltering Heat

In a crammed makeshift church
they came in:
one by one … and in droves

to chart the course
of education for their children and generations to come

it was hot,
and their foreheads were glittered

They looked intent,
to have their voices heard
for the change of governance instruments
had taken place a few weeks earlier

They wanted to write their footnote,
in the history of paradigm shift that was being witnessed
they hoped; to be part of history makers.

They were knowledgeable
and even witty
…from their talk
you could smell potential
the environment not withstanding!

The rattling of the train was heard
and the church went quiet.
they knew, they had lived with it
All their lives

It was in the heart of Kibera
that all this was happening…
the community drew up its EDUCATION blue print under the new dispensation.

Written by Jonathan Maina, Assistant Programme Manager Education during a field visit to attend a community accountability meeting in Kibera ( Lang’ata Constituency)

The Train Ate My Homework

An Outlook on the Railway Upgrading Process vis a vis the Right to Education

The Rift Valley Railway Company has received the full financing needed to upgrade the railways system in Kenya, more especially in Nairobi and its environs. This will translate into a better, faster and more efficient railway transport for daily commuters and transporters. The anguish of long hours in the traffic jams seems to be coming to an end.
Such Jubilation!!

This latest development is in tandem with the proposals raised in The People’s Budget 2010/2011, article 3.6, which states that the government builds more railways to enhance sufficient transportation by commuter trains and ease traffic in the city centre.

Nairobians will now not waste valuable man-hours in snarl-ups and will be more efficient in their movement from place to place.

They will also be able to go farther and faster and many times in a day using the trains. This is quite a relief to the individual as tardiness to work and other appointments will be a thing of the past.

Also, the high fares that Nairobi people pay for their daily transport, especially during the rainy season and peak hours will be forgotten as trains are usually cheaper than buses and the fare is consistent.
For the existing train users, the congestion and discomfort they experience in the wagons will be over as the Rift Valley Railway company plans to introduce new coaches that will be better spaced and more comfortable.
Kenyans will get to enjoy the great strides achieved in development and improvement of infrastructure.

The flip side…
In order to effect these changes as soon as possible, Rift Valley Railway Company needs to use the reserve land that is on both sides of the railway that runs through Nairobi. The reserve land is up to 30 metres on both sides of the railway.

There are many families, businesses and schools located on this very reserve land. They will have to be evicted and moved to other locations.

According to Mr. Muli and Mr. James Nyamari, both officers with RVR, the evictions are from a point of safety and efficiency. They say it would be very dangerous to run a railway of an upgraded form through the congested slum areas.

The trains usually move at a speed of 20Kph, while the projected speeds after the upgrading is completed will be more than 70Kph. This would definitely require that no settlements exist on the land immediately next to the railway line.
As expected, the families, traders and schools on the reserve land are opposed to the evictions. They claim they will be uprooted from life as they know it and their livelihoods will be disrupted.

There have been alternatives offered by the RVR, but the project affected persons say the relocation areas are too far from their conveniences and unsuitable for their needs. These relocation areas, they say, are far flung, not easily accessible and undeveloped and it will also take long to make them suitable for their use in terms of settlement and business.

Right to Education
Primary education in Kenya is not only free but also compulsory. This means that all children must be in school getting an education and it is their undeniable right.

As the Urban Slums Basic Education Campaign, we are working to ensure that the government goal for education, (which is in line with the Millennium Development Goals) for all by 2015 is met.

We are concerned about the education of the children in the primary schools in the areas which will be affected by the upgrading of the railways system. Some of the primary schools in the slum areas are practically on the RVR reserve land and as such, face eviction along with the rest of the occupants.

For the RVR development plans to go through, the schools will have to be ejected and this will disrupt the education of the poor children in the slums, which is a basic right for them. The number of children in primary schools in the slum areas that will be affected is much higher than had been suggested in some reports and the nearby public schools are too full to accommodate the children sufficiently.

The relocation action plan is not helpful to this situation, especially as the children need to carry on with school whether or not there is an RVR upgrading process. The only land that will be available for relocation is 5-7metres from the land that RVR plans to take up on both sides of the railway line. This land is far too small for that large population of people to live on, trade on and have social amenities and even have primary schools.

Filling in the public schools with additional students may work, but remember the numbers are much more than had been estimated in the relocation reports done by RVR. The Government through the ministry of education will have to make a budget to expand existing public schools that serve the slum communities and increase the class streams in the existing public schools. This is a long process as there is much red tape to cut through and a change of policies needs to be effected.

The RVR wants to carry on with its plans and waiting for the Government to make a decision will only slow down their progress.

Another headache is that as time goes by, the population of people in the slums and especially areas to be affected increases and their sufficient and satisfactory relocation becomes an even bigger problem.

‘My Homework’
The Rift Valley Railways Company is not backing down and like it or not, the train is coming after our children’s homework…

What then shall become of our children’s education in the slum areas to be affected? Shall they be denied the opportunity to gain an education, to gain the powers to read… to become human rights activists, policy makers, lawyers, doctors, pilots, and all they can ever dream to be?

How then shall we encourage and applaud development in our country and yet still consider the plight of the poor among us?

How shall we celebrate the improvement of our country’s infrastructure while still ensuring that basic education is still going on in the slum areas, and especially the areas where there is possible eviction?

Shall we purge our children from schools in order to let a railway line pass through the slum areas?

Shall we hold back a new era in transportation (which benefits all citizens) in favour of primary schools in the urban slums?

Shall we gamble on the future of these children on the hopes of gaining improved trade, improved transportation networks, improved profits and improved Gross National Product?

Education is one of the UN Millennium Development Goals (2015) and the improvement of our infrastructure is one of our government goals in Vision 2030. How then shall these two very important aspects of development go hand in hand for the benefit of all interested parties?

How can we ensure that the train doesn’t eat our children’s homework on and still be happy to go to work in good time because the train came?

Way forward
The government had come up with guidelines for eviction/relocation which it was then to compare with the guidelines from the communities and consolidate to make one main document which will be used by all even in future.

The new constitution also has some regulations in matters of eviction, and these are still being disseminated to all interested and affected parties.

As we wait for the final say on the matter, let us reflect on suitable and relevant solutions to this situation, keeping in mind that as much as improved infrastructure makes our lives easier, an education for the children is an important aspect of a civilized society.
Education is a tool for development in our society and education for our children is paramount to our development (including the railway development) and a good insurance for the future generations.

Violette Wambua
Urban Slums Basic Education Campaign (USBEC) Kenya

ANCHORING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: The Missing Link in Free Primary Education

By WESAYA MAINA

THE rationale behind the introduction of free primary education in Kenya is hinged on the understanding that education is a fundamental human right. It is one of the indivisible, inalienable and plainly speaking, one of the most basic of all the rights.

In providing Free Primary Education, the government is grappling with matters of expansion of available facilities, increasing access to all areas and to all children of school-going age by eliminating prohibitive costs that traditionally kept many out of schools.

Since the introduction of Free Primary Education, many parents have been skirting the pre-primary education for their children. Young children are taken directly to standard one by their parents or guardians where supposedly the government is to take full responsibility for their education.

In matters of child development, Early Childhood Education and nurture is a prerequisite. What we are witnessing in Kenya is a warped approach to child upbringing by two principal players who are strained by lack of resources and poor planning. The government is to blame for hastily introducing a programme without proper situational analysis and prior planning. Many attendant issues that needed the input of other stakeholders were overlooked with the hope that the teething problems within the programme will be attended to as they emerge.

Parents and guardians on the other hand are maximizing on the limited resources by re-directing them for other core uses and leaving the state to provide the much-needed nurturing and education to their children.

By looking at the employment policy on early childhood educators, one cannot fail to notice disconnects in the education programme. The ‘nursery’ school teachers as they are popularly known are not on the government’s payroll. It means they are considered of lesser importance in the education matrix. Many of the trained nursery school teachers have been left in the hands of crooked entrepreneurs who give then peanuts for pay and leave them to work in deplorable conditions. Others act as teachers without any formal training and without proper equipment and facilities. The net result is a mal-adjusted, poorly nurtured and a poorly socialized child who fails to understand its purpose early in life.

Parents and guardians are also to blame in this regard albeit unknowingly because they abandon their children to the school machinery during this vital stage as they get themselves into the fending game with little or no nurture for the young ones.

On the other hand primary school classes are overcrowded and it is difficult if not impossible for teachers to offer personalized attention and guidance to the pupils. What we are currently witnessing in our education system is an untenable situation. We are like an investor putting up a storeyed house without a foundation- the building will surely wobble in the near or distant future!

Psychologists agree that early nurture determines a child’s personality, intellectual capacities, personal abilities and its general dexterity in life. A child’s physical growth, enhanced socialization and future education solely rely on the early nurture and world view the child witnesses early in its life.

The government and educationists need to re-engineer structures and re-orient policies and enact laws to safeguard and entrench the gains made in the provision of free primary education but at the same time seek to improve the situation by spreading its mandate to the early stages and initial years of education.

As a matter of fact, early childhood education should be made free, available and compulsory to all children under the age of seven throughout the nation. This can be entrenched especially in the rural areas by making early childhood education centres points for immunization, nutrition centres and primary health care outlets. In this way, the government will be helping society in raising wholly moulded individuals who understand the immediate environment, appreciate their cultural orientation and have the strength and spine to forge ahead and learn what lies yonder.

The writer is the Assistant Programme Manager-Education at Concern Worldwide-Kenya.

Education Reform, and Budgetary management: Pragmatic Leadership Needed

BY WESAYA MAINA

The ongoing confusion with regard to the budgetary utilization of allocations for the crucial Ministry of Education sent me thinking and musing over the sector that is supposed to hold us together. I have been a keen follower of the education reform programme since 2003. In my musing, I decided to read something to soothe my sorrows.

I looked at my humble bookshelf arid picked Barack Obama’s, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. I came across a key statement that not only the custodians of our resources need to know but any- one who cares about the future of this nation. The statement reads: …any genuine commitment to the values of equal opportunity and upward mobility requires us to revamp our education system from top to bottom, replenish our teaching corps, and buckle down on maths and science instruction, and rescue inner-city kids from illiteracy“.

Obama goes further to say,” And yet our debate on education seems stuck between those who want to dismantle the public school system and those who would defend an indefensible status quo, between those who say money makes no difference in education and, those who want more money without any demonstration that it will be put to good use”.

This reading puts the education sector confusion in perspective. We know that education is a process, a liberating process, either at the social consciousness level or the personal capability development level. In Kenya, your level and type of education determines both who and what you become. Secondly, if Kenya is keen on eliminating poverty and the inherent social and economic inequalities we experience, then we must invest more and more in education but that has to be wisely and judiciously done.

Obama says revamping education requires replenishing of the teaching army. How can we truly say as a nation that education and manpower development remain a key driver for the achievement of Vision 2030 yet we have not employed any teacher since 1998, save for replacing those who leave through natural attrition? The teaching of mathematics and science as Obama rightly pens must remain central to the nurturing of our young ones to elevate their capacities and abilities to shoulder the burden and challenges of the future. The Ministry of Education must convince us why it must continue receiving the largest budgetary allocation if year after year,’ all we are going to end up with are scandal and fleecing schemes.

The recent value for money audit conducted jointly with the Department for International Development brings out the numerous gaps and loopholes that are tainting the Free Primary Education Programme with regard to acquisition and storage of instructional material. The September 2009 report indicates that in the first six years of FPE, an estimated 58 million books were purchased but only 36 million remain in use! Over 5.2 million textbooks have been stolen at an estimated cost of KSh.1.7 billion. There is a high rate of tear and wear due to poor handling and storage of reading material. The report indicates that simple acts like covering books in a standard way before distributing to the learners can increase their lifespan to between 3-4 years! We need to act together but the Ministry of Education needs to show better leadership and improve on both the frequency and quality of its outreach for inspection and documentation of success stories. There are schools out there doing a great job which is being watered down by those under poor leadership and uncooperative or uninvolved communities.

We need to rally those at the community level to take keen interest in the management of their children’s education for the Nelson Mandela aptly said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

The writer is the Assistant Programme Manager –Education at Concern Worldwide-Kenya

UNIVERSALIZING PRIMARY EDUCATION IN KENYA, IS IT SUSTAINABLE?

Universal basic education is largely understood as universal primary schooling. Only after the Jomtien Conference on Education for All (EFA) in 1990 was it understood that by making primary education free, it would include children from poor families and thereby perhaps become universal. Schooling costs such as examination fees, salary top-ups, textbooks, materials, school uniforms, feeding, transportation, sports are a major constraint to achieving Universal Primary Education, especially for the urban poor and people living in arid and semi arid lands.

Kenya has been trying to achieve Universal Primary Education as a national goal since its independence. Reintroduction of free primary education in 2003 dramatically increased the number of children attending school. Economically disadvantaged children were provided a new educational opportunity. However, has the abolishment of tuition fees made basic education accessible to all Kenyan children?

Since its reintroduction, the initiative for free primary education has been strongly supported by the donor community. Though the Kenyan government increased the allocation of education financing to approximately 17 percent of the national budget from 2003 to date, the FPE programme is still strongly supported by donor funding.

The UK, World Bank, Canada and UNICEF have been providing ‘pooled’ funding directly through the government to the Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (KESSP). The UK pledged $88.8 million (Kshs. 6.75 billion) over a five-year period (starting in 2005) and the US $7 million (Kshs. 532 million). UK’s department for International Development (DfID) announced support of £55 million (Kshs. 7 billion) over five years (2005 – 2010) to KESSP. An additional grant of Kshs. 582 million was agreed in 2009 to specifically target improving water/sanitation facilities for the poorest schools. Between 2005 and 2008, Kenya received $21 million (Kshs. 1.6 billion) in Fast Track Initiative (FTI) Catalytic Fund Grants, a World Bank basket fund. The World Food Programme ($13.9 million) and OPEC ($9.9 million) too have contributed to making the programme a success.

The over reliance on donor aid to run Kenya’s free primary education programme is a cause for concern. The cost of providing free primary education is beyond the scope of the ordinary education budget, economic performance has not been strong and donor finance is often temporary. This financing may not be sustainable.

The aftermath of the recent FPE Scandal where an audit discovered that over $1 million of the FPE grants was missing, and more than $26 million had also been diverted from the fund raises questions over the sustainability of the free primary education policy.

In September 2009, the World Bank announced that it had suspended funding to the Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (KESP), of which it was providing US$ 80 million (Kshs. 6 billion). In December 2009, the UK suspended their education aid to Kenya. This was followed by the United States of America early in 2009 who suspended about $7 million (Kshs. 532 million) in funding to Kenya’s Primary Education Program. These suspensions were as a result of allegations of fraud. No funding has been disbursed from the donor community since the Kenyan Government announced discovery of fraud in September 2009.

The FPE scandal has also resulted in a shift of donor funding of the education sector. In February 2009, the British government announced that it would stop funding Kenya’s Free Primary Education Program through the country’s ministry of education because of the risk of fraud. Instead the UK is exploring ways to channel about $30 million earmarked for 2010-2011 directly to schools.

This shift in education financing by the donor community is a serious blow to free primary education, which is already threatened by deteriorating quality of education due to high pupil-teacher ratio (estimated at 80:1), way above the recommended ratio of 40:1; an acute shortage of infrastructure like classrooms, toilets, and offices; lack of trained teachers especially in urban informal settlements and rural areas; and inadequate teaching and learning materials to cater for the high number of enrolment.

The consequences resulting from the FPE scandal could have a profound negative effect on the members of Kenyan society who will be most responsible for shaping its future development: children. Little attention has been given to the children of Kenya and how this situation impacts their future options, and the future development of Kenya. If nothing is done soon to resolve the issue, the progress Kenya has made over the past decade in improving education could be at risk of coming undone.

Since the reopening of schools in mid January 2010, no disbursement to schools has been made for the FPE allocation for the current financial year. Since teachers and schools receive pay and funding on a monthly base, it is hard to tell right now what the effect might be of the withholding of aid. While donors do need to show that “there are strings attached to the accountability of this money, and there are consequences,” in the long term, the loss of such aid could really hurt the Kenyan children by hindering access to basic education by children from poor areas and by preventing the increase of the quality of the education provided.

In view of these challenges, the attainment of sustained free primary education might be an illusion in the context of Kenya. Donor aid is meant to “building the capacity” of the education system by creating better managed schools and improved student to teacher ratios would improve the quality of education in the future. So while the withdrawal of the World Bank, Canada, UK and US aid may not have an immediate impact on student attendance, the future of our students could be dire.

Joy Karemesi

Campaign officer

Urban Slums Basic Education Campaign (USBEC) Kenya

Introduction

The Urban Slums Basic Education Campaign (USBEC) consists of a coalition of organisations advocating for the Right to Free Quality Primary Education within the slums in Kenya.  The Campaign is a thematic group of Elimu Yetu Coalition, the national network of civil society organisations dealing with education in Kenya.

The Campaign currently consists of the following members:

1. Concern Worldwide
2. Daraja Civic Initiatives Forum
3. Kutoka Network
4. Haki Jamii
5. ANPPCAN Kenya
6. Education for Life
7. Girl Child Network