NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya Oleg Chaban Tito Jimenez Quentin Koopman Milan Mijatovic Pratt Institute - Design Management Program

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NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya Abstract An evolving set of insights has been established, over the course of researching and analyzing the problems being faced by various stakeholders to rural Kenyan Primary Education. Incredibly large amounts of money and resources have been flowing into that system for many years. Despite these material efforts to establish a credible form of education for students in rural Kenya, there is a disconnect in which more often than not, those resources do not reach the final beneficiaries. Political corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies have been identified as playing major roles in the creation of this disconnect. In turn, large external benefactors have recently started to withdrawal their aid. How can the efficiency of the Kenyan primary education system, as it related to the flow of resources, be improved or maximized into the future? How can the external benefactors be convinced to continue or to renew the sending of resources? If a fund is established to help allocate and manage resources as they pertain to primary education in rural Kenya; then we believe schools and teachers will be better equipped to effectively educate students.

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NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya Despite the influx of resources flowing into Kenya’s primary education system from various internal and external sources; the intended beneficiaries of schools, students, and teachers are still not reaping the potential benefits. If a fund is established to help allocate and manage resources as they pertain to primary education in rural Kenya; then schools and teachers will be better equipped to effectively educate students.

The Initial Approach

At the earliest stages of this project, attention was drawn to one small non-profit organization which was ineffectively providing material aid towards education in Kenya. The US-based organization, Small Solutions Big Ideas, is a proponent of the One Laptop Per Child movement which attempts to address the lack of quality education in third world countries by providing technological tools to be utilized by students. This organization is facing difficulties in meeting its objectives in Kenya for various reasons. There are bureaucratic hurdles and hoops which the organization must jump through in order to actually get the these computers into Kenya. Once in Kenya, there are issues with distribution and actually getting the computers into the hands of students. (May or may not include corruption and paying off people) Once the students receive the laptops, teachers do not necessarily know how to use them and the curriculum is not adjusted adjusted to accommodate this newer technological tool.

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NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya Focusing upon the Small Solutions Big Ideas organization, an effort was made to solve for the problems they are facing. The challenges were defined, the stakeholders in their processes were identified, and potential solutions were pondered. However, this narrow focus was called into question as not taking into consideration the full scope of players; and political, cultural, and historical issues that were impacting education in Kenya. The general question was raised, “are Small Solutions Big Ideas and One Laptop Per Child addressing the correct problem in their efforts?” This initial problem statement had falsely equated the challenges faced by the organization as representative of the problems faced by the Kenyan education system as a whole. A broader more full understanding is needed in order to properly identify and address the adversities faced by Small Solutions Big Ideas.

Background and Problem Statement Reformulation

Setting aside Small Solutions Big Ideas and working within a broader perspective, research was conducted towards a more defined problem statement for education in Kenya. The history, culture, current events, and future plans of Kenya were all analyzed from economic, sociological, political, technological, and educational terms. It was found that Kenya, a newer nation established after the end of colonization in 1963, had a turbulent educational history corresponding with its growth as a sovereign nation (Kenyan Ministry of Education, 2011). Political promises were made even after gaining independence from Britain (of which Kenya was a colony) proposing the idea of free primary education, which would later be realized in 2003, although not without its own set of issues. These mandates displayed an effort by high level national stakeholders to address education in their own way.

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NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya Despite the good intentions, the solution provided by governmental policy makers has proved over the years to be extremely ineffective primarily because of a lack of foresight and internal corruption. The government did not take into consideration the large influx in enrollment at schools once free primary education was implemented across the country. Schools had the same amount of resources, with far greater numbers of students (Fleshman, 2005). Furthermore, the system has faced serious problems with corruption even at high levels. The a deputy director for education Enos Magwa was recently convicted of stealing millions of shillings intended for “education” for personal use. The inefficiencies gave rise to the amount of resources coming into the system from external and surpa-national players. Yet, these corruption has caused those same outside sources to reconsider their aid. The United Kingdom, the US, and the World Bank have all recently pulled funding because of the problems at hand (McKenzie, 2010; UK in Kenya, 2010).

The new information completely redefined the original problem statement which had focused upon the Small Solutions Big Ideas organization. Despite the influx of resources coming into the educational system from different internal and external sources; schools, students, and teachers are still not reaping the benefits. In turn, the allocation of resources as they pertain to education is the real problem in need of a solution. The question is, “what would have to happen in order to convince the external institutions to reinstate or continue the aid for education they were providing to Kenya?”

Initial Solution

Derived from these observations, the potential solution of a “framework” was developed. 5

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya This framework would allow any external players, such as Small Solutions Big Ideas, to insure that the aid they are providing is going to those who should be the real beneficiaries of it; teachers, students, and schools. This framework would utilize the external resources in a complementary fashion to the established system of the government. In essence, the Ministry of Education provides a set amount of resources toward free education as mandated by the constitution of Kenya. As discovered, resources are spread very thin and they are not enough because of the large numbers of students (Fleshman, 2005). The framework would distribute and allocate external resources so as to fill in the gaps left by the inefficiencies of the formal system.

Despite working with the formal institution of the Ministry of Education in Kenya, this proposed framework would set itself apart as an informal bypass of the corruption which is currently turning aid givers away. Acting as a third party liaison, the framework plan would work with important stakeholders such as aid-giving organization and the final beneficiaries of that aid. The framework would establish a set of benchmarks to verify that incoming resources are utilized to their full extent. Furthermore, this framework will help develop a curriculum attuned to the needs of Kenyans, and work towards identifying what resources are actually needed.

Further Development and Attributes

This early implementation framework solution has two major drawbacks. The solution is not sustainable because it is entirely dependent upon temporary aid from external sources. An external organization can not be expected to manage part or the whole of an educational system indefinitely. To account for this, the solution was adjusted to integrate a transition plan by which 6

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya the management of resources would be gradually handed back over to the formal institutions of the Ministry of Education. After the benchmarks and goals are established by the framework and proven successful, the government would take control over small portions of it. Contingent upon the success of the small portions, the Ministry would gain more authority over various aspects of the framework as they display an improved track record.

Furthermore, this framework did not take into consideration the requirement of an implementation team. With no one on the ground putting this plan into action, it will go nowhere. In turn, a management team would be created. This team would act as an organization to manage to framework through its multiple stages. The team would need to initiate the development of the benchmarks, it would need to develop processes and procedures of implementation, it would need to establish a form a documentation, and it would need to monitor the transition process back to the government.

Refinement

Final exploration transformed the earlier framework into the idea of creating an independently managed education fund to allocate, distribute, and manage foreign aid & resources towards improving primary education in rural Kenya. This fund is based upon numerous attributes which which would improve the current situation of primary education in Kenya. These attributes attempt to take many stakeholder viewpoints and areas of concern into consideration (Appendix 1).

Attributes 7

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya

Point One - A Focus on Rural Educational disparity exists throughout the world where we see those who live in wealthier communities having better access to education. The first attribute of the framework seeks to address the inequality that exists between the rural areas and urban. For example, we observe that the more remote areas of Western and North East Kenya fare more poorly than their Nairobi and Central Kenyan counterparts on a variety of educational metrics such as the percentage of children out of school and the proportion that can read a paragraph at grade level (Uwezo Kenya National Assessment Report, 2011). This fund will seek to direct resources to the most needed areas of the country.

Point Two - A Focus on Primary Education To make the problem of education easier to manage, we should seek to tackle the lowest hanging fruit which is invariably primary education. There are a few reasons why the fund should focus on this. The barrier to entry for teachers is less with primary education as compared to secondary education. To be an effective primary educator, particularly at lower levels, one can go with as little as a week to ten days of training. Furthermore, even college students without formal training can learn these skills and be effective (Banarjee & Duflo, 2011). While secondary school is certainly important, the fund focuses on primary education first as it is the natural prerequisite for secondary school. Also, by focusing in on primary education the fund will work with the existing Free Public Education initiative. Kenya's decision in 2003 to provide free primary education resulted in overcrowded classrooms and an overall decrease in the quality of the education (Odula, 2011). Addressing primary education is more important than ever as there are many more students enrolled. 8

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya

Point Three - A Focus on Foreign Aid and Restoring the Faith of Foreign Aid Providers Kenya has a high reliance on foreign aid for its educational system with millions of dollars coming in from a variety of sources (Colclough & Webb, 2010). The fund seeks to address foreign aid because it is vital to supporting Kenya’s educational system. At present Kenya finds itself in peril with regards to maintaining the flow of that aid due to the prevalence of corruption. Foreign aid providers like the United States have begun to draw down funds to education aid (McKenzie, 2010) and other countries like the United Kingdom have done the same (Burgis, 2010). This attribute of the fund will aim to specifically address foreign aid so that providers like the United States and United Kingdom can have confidence that their aid is being used properly

Point Four - Better Management Processes One of the most troubling issues that has come out of the analysis of education in Kenya is the severity of mismanagement and corruption. We’ve observed that the institution of FPE has lead to a large spike in enrollment and subsequent overcrowding. The Ministry of Education has demonstrated an inability to support the now larger student population (Odula, 2011). Clearly there was a lack of foresight and planning that prevented the Ministry from fully understanding the ramifications of the decision. While noble in it’s intent, there was no possible way the formal institution could provide the necessary resources to educate the influx of children. Corruption issues have prevented children from receiving the best education possible and in some cases it has completely prevented children from receiving education (World Bank, 2010). This corruption is also recognized internally where prominent Kenyans have asked for the ousting of top Ministry of Education officials (The African Executive, 2010). However, the goal of this 9

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya fund will not be to redesign the Kenyan Ministry of Education or how it manages itself and its resources. The framework for this fund calls for better management processes as it pertains to the distribution of the fund’s money. This will be achieved by working with respective donors to establish agreed upon processes, leveraging checks and balances outlined as part of the framework, dedicating a portion of resources to uniquely qualified people, and keeping a trusted team of management that will be as immune to corruption as possible.

Point Five - Fair Allocation and Distribution Scarcity of resources is at the heart of what economics is all about. Those who are poorest in society did not necessarily get to that point through any fault of their own, or their parents, or grandparents, and so on. Instead we find circumstances to be at fault more often than not. Children growing up in wealth are more likely to have wealth later in life and the opposite holds true for those in poverty. The world is clearly not a fair place to live as all your hard work can amount to very little when your pay can amount to less than a few dollars a day. Economic inequality is not the only kind that exists of course. We find in Kenya that there are gender inequality issues, issues for those with special needs, deep rooted historical ethnics issues, and even those based on superstitions like the treatment of albinos (BBC, 2010). The framework for this fund seeks to ameliorate these inequalities by ensuring that women are empowered to get educations through incentives, that those with special needs can be taught be trained teachers with resources, and that minority groups of any reason are not ignored

Point Six - An Independent Fund Free From Interference In an ideal world, a fund such as the one being proposed here would operate within the formal institution. However, what we’ve observed is an environment that is too tainted by 10

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya corruption for that to be possible. Overseas aid providers like the UK have begun to give up on the Ministry of Education by sending money and resources directly to schools and children (Siringi, 2011). They’ve come to the realization that the formal institution can’t be relied upon to be free from corruption. The extent of the corruption jeopardizes Kenya’s abilities to reach its own 2015 UN goals. The framework for this fund does not look to bypass the Ministry of Education in the way that the UK has done, but rather to work with districts and schools to allocate and distribute resources fairly as outlined in the framework. Achieving this will require independence from the formal institution in order to be free from bureaucracy and in order to gain the trust of external entities like the UK that want to provide aid, but without the fear of corruption. Further, as this framework is for a fund designed to generate money, fundraising will inherently be part of it. The fund will also seek to attract money from external resources like the US and the UK as well as leveraging fundraising capabilities to collect money from individuals and organizations.

Point Seven - Accountability Through Performance Metrics The measurement of educational performance has been a challenge not just for the poorest areas of the world, but even for nations like the United States. But in order to gain the trust of external entities that want to provide aid, a measure of performance must be established. Test scores, while seemingly good indicators of performance, may or may not be accurate reflections of educational standards being adhered to. Part of the challenge will be to work with external aid providers to determine what are the indicators that they need to see to evaluate performance. The framework for this fund does not seek to dictate what the indicators should be, although there are recommended proxies that have been identified by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA). Things like access and enrollment, 11

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya expenditures, the learning environment, and impact on labor and business in combination can serve as benchmarks of success (KIPPRA, 2010). Ultimately it’s about establishing a set of criteria that can reasonably measure educational performance and that can satisfy the entities providing aid.

Point Eight - Enabling Better Access to Education There are a variety of obstacles that prevent children in rural areas of Kenya from being able to attend school. There are the cost benefit issues that parents struggles with, gender inequalities, ethnic tensions, or requiring special needs where there are no qualified people. Another set of obstacles deals with access itself. The initiative of Free Primary Education was one that couldn’t be realized given the infrastructure issues present (Sifuna, 2004). To help overcome this, the framework identifies access to education as an attribute to help children have more accessible transportation to school, to provide necessary electricity, and accommodating women and those with special needs.

Point Nine - An Investment in Education Providers While children will be the ultimate recipients of aid from this fund, we should also keep the educators themselves in our plans. Without them, there wouldn’t be any educational system and they too sacrifice to be at school with overcrowded conditions to teach (Rabin, 2011) and they should be incentivized beyond imply being paid. The fund will attempt to take care of education providers, because there are currently not enough teachers, particularly in the more remote and rural areas (Uwezo Kenya National Assessment Report, 2011). Using incentives, and training they will attempt to increase the quality of life for teachers as well as the quality of their teaching. 12

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya

Point Ten - Help for those with Special Needs Children can find themselves falling behind in classes simply because they could not see or hear their teacher. The problem is one of training where we find teachers unable to identify or handle the situations of those with special needs. It’s also one of resources because those children will sometimes require special learning environments in order to succeed. The fund will address students with special needs because there is not enough training or resources dedicated to dealing with special needs (Uwezo Kenya National Assessment Report, 2011). Teachers need to be empowered through training and resources to handle the sensitive issues of those with autism, vision problems, or physical disabilities. At present resources are generally hard to come by but the framework for this fund will attempt to equalize the playing field for those who are most often neglected.

Point Eleven - Incentivize Education for Parents Parents in poor rural areas often have to perform a cost benefit analysis when it comes to choosing to send their children to school or not. When resources are scarce could the family be better off putting the child to work rather than go to school? Some parents cannot afford to send all their children to school even if the long term benefits are clear. To help ease the burden on parents, the framework will define a conditional cash transfer program for parents so that they are “compensated” for the lost wages of sending their children to school. This will encourage parents to send all their children to school in order to claim the most amount of money. The condition is simply that in order to claim money, they have to send their children to school. The amount of cash is higher for girls than boys. This is to encourage parents to not forget the educational needs of women who are too often forgot about. 13

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya

Point Twelve - Vocational Training to Bring Economic Value to Students and Parents. Most parents understand that education is good for their children. But what is not always seen is the return on investment for the parents themselves. Parents, especially in poorer rural areas of Kenya, sacrifice a lot for their children to be educated. If it were possible to realize short term returns, parents wouldn’t have to struggle over the cost benefit of their child’s education. By teaching children practical vocational skills, they not only contribute to their own long term ROI, but they also can bring practical economic value back to the parents. They can perform tasks they couldn’t previously and even teach their parents the skills they have learned. The framework for this fund will ensure that students obtain practical training in areas like agriculture and business so that they can bring those skills back to their parents. Children of uneducated parents are less likely to go to school in Kenya (Uwezo Kenya National Assessment Report, 2011) so by bringing this incentive to parents we can shift the tide amongst this group of children for whom the odds are stacked.

Point Thirteen - Factoring in Corruption Over the last few years, millions of dollars in aid to Kenya has been cut off or reduced by nations like the United States and the United Kingdom as the result of corruption. Corruption is prevalent throughout the country and it’s not realistic to expect that this fund can completely eliminate or do away with it. While checks and balances need to be in place to satisfy regulatory requirements, the reality is that corruption will always exist in one form or another. The design of this fund framework factors in corruption by distributing aid based on prescribed benchmarks. When standards are adhered to and performance is deemed acceptable, it opens the door to even more money going into schools and districts. If educators and officials are able to siphon 14

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya money away from the fund and into their own pockets but somehow maintain the said standards of education, then they still can take advantage of more money. The framework has no issue with corruption provided the education priorities are in order. If the corrupt can maintain good standards of education, they can continue to be corrupt. But should that not be the case then the distribution of aid will need to be rethought.

Point Fourteen - Stability in the Face of Regime Change It’s not uncommon for leaders of all kinds to undue some of the changes of their predecessors. We have see this behavior in business organizations and nations throughout human history. A new leader comes into power and part of her establishment of dominance may include doing away with departments, processes, or people in favor of her own. That is why this attribute of the fund has a goal to be resistant to regime change so that the aid to those who need it most can go uninterrupted. By leveraging the incentives outlined in the other points, it will be more difficult for new regimes to dismantle the changes of the framework. A successful fund that achieves results as well as incentivizes the community can prove politically precarious to tamper with (Banarjee & Duflo, 2011).

Point Fifteen - Providing Nutrition for Students There are several hidden costs associated with the institution of Free Primary Education, among them are the costs of nutrition, transportation, and uniforms (Rabin, 2011). The issue of nutrition is one that this point of the fund framework seeks to address. Providing access to food can help incentivize parents to send their children to school by making it a cost they no longer have to bear. Further, by promoting the health of children through good nutrition, we can expect them to do better in school. The fund seeks to ensure that children are not being educated while 15

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya potentially neglecting their health.

Point Sixteen - A System of Checks and Balances To satisfy the warranted concerns around corruption and mismanagement, this fund will provide a system of checks and balances that is cross-institutional. To some degree, it’s at the discretion of the aid providers but given the withdrawal of funds we’ve seen happening within Kenya, the reality is that such measures will be well received and utilized. The framework recommends a tiered approach whereby the aid providers like the US and UK can audit the fund itself, the districts, schools, and even classrooms. The measures of success that have been defined will be part of the assessment criteria. Part of the audit will be to minimize corruption and another part will be to help maximize educational performance. And just as this tiered approach exists for the aid providers, the fund itself will be empowered to audit districts and schools in the same manner. In order for foreign aid to keep coming into the country, assurances need to be in place that will satisfy the skeptics who think the nation is too forgone.

Point Seventeen - Leveraging NGOs to Realize the Fund Goals The fund isn’t designed to do everything. In fact it’s really only designed to distribute aid. So as a result, NGOs and non-profits are critical to the fund framework as they enable many of the parameters to be realized. The fund will distribute money to those NGOs that can fulfill the objectives of the fund. Transportation, school lunches, technology and IT resources, teacher training, and curriculum development are a few ways that NGOs can contribute. The fund will identify those NGOs best able to support its goals and enter into arrangements with them to go into action. These entities are not immune to the system of checks and balances and they too will need to establish their credibility and conduct to aid providers, the fund, as well as to school 16

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya administrators.

Point Eighteen - Supporting Municipalities Children in rural parts of Kenya can take anywhere from 30 minutes up to two hours in some extreme cases just to get to school and they must walk the same way back to get home. And it’s not unusual for these children to be barefoot. Upon getting to school, the school itself may not have any water or electricity. This is why it’s important to engage municipalities so that they can become part of the solution in order for there to be any hope of achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals and Kenya 2015 objectives. The framework will dedicate fund resources to providing necessary access to schools by providing municipalities with aid to construct roads, build power lines, and run water pipes. Municipalities should welcome the aid to expand their utilities while helping their children. It’s an investment in infrastructure as well as children. Similar to other actors involved, the municipalities too will need to be audited by the different stakeholders.

Point Nineteen - Putting Technology to Use As technology has become cheaper to produce and more affordable to obtain, the potential for impact in poor classrooms is greater than ever. In the absence of quality and quantity of good teachers, technology can be a tool that can be more than just a crutch but in fact it can enhance and enable better education (Banarjee & Duflo, 2011). It’s been observed throughout the world that the introduction of laptops and computers can spark enthusiasm in children that is not possible otherwise. The fund will seek to invest in technology to capitalize on the enthusiasm of students and teachers and provide better education.

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NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya Point Twenty - A Trusted Management Team The challenge of trust is a sensitive one. Who can we trust to manage this fund? Bankers? Doctors? Lawyers? Educators? The fund framework seeks to acquire a management team composed of celebrity status individuals as well as community leaders that both aid providers and those within the schools can feel confident in. The intent behind this management team is to be viewed as independent, less motivated financially, and altruistic. If the very top of the fund organizational hierarchy can have an established goodwill, then there is certainly some hope that the endeavor can be successful. Some of the possibilities include Hollywood actors, local Kenyan community leaders, sports stars from marathons, and religious leaders.By leveraging these kinds of people, the fund will have a higher aura of credibility.

Conclusion

Kenya is a nation that is still in transition from its colonial past. Problems of poverty, ethnic tensions, and corruption still persist over 40 years into the nation’s independence. As a result, the international community has invested in Kenya with hopes of bringing about positive change. However, we see in the example of education, merely throwing money at a problem is not sufficient when the formal institutions are not capable of delivering the change needed. The framework defined here sets the stage for the external providers of aid to ensure that their resources are spent appropriately. This is accomplished not by circumventing formal institutions, but by providing explicit guidelines and measures for how the aid should be spent. This is necessary to regain the continued trust of those providers who feel Kenya’s formal institutions are too corrupt. The emphasis on rural primary education represents a first step in what could be a scalable plan to bring about change to the entirety of Kenya. If success can be created here then 18

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya it can pave the way for further aid and bring us closer to undoing the legacy of corruption that has failed the Kenya’s children.

References

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NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya Kenya - Data & Statistics. (n.d.). World Bank Group. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http:// web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/KENYAEXTN/ 0,,menuPK:356536~pagePK:141132~ Kenya History Timeline - historic overview of Kenya, Africa. (n.d.). Crawfurd Homepage - Jacob Crawfurd. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://crawfurd.dk/africa/ kenya_timeline.htm Kenya Vision 2030 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya_Vision_2030 Keriga, L. (n.d.). Development Policy Management Forum (DPMF)Social policy, Development and governance in Kenya. www.dpmf.org. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http:// mf.org/dpmf/downloads/Evaluation%20&%20Profile%20of%20Education.pdf Kigotho, W. (n.d.). Global Education Fund: Education challenges in Kenya. Global Education Fund. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://globaleducationfund.blogspot.com/2009/01/ education-challenges-in-kenya.html Maina opposes state’s upgrade of schools to national level. (n.d.). The Star. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.the-star.co.ke/local/central/68469-ephraim Major problems facing Kenya today | Africa Today. (n.d.). AFRICAW: Africa and the World. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.africaw.com/major-problems-facing-kenyatoday McKenzie, D. (n.d.). U.S. suspends aid to Kenya education ministry, ambassador says - CNN. Featured Articles from CNN. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://articles.cnn.com/ 2010-01-26/world/kenya.us.aid_1_kenya-corruption-suspends Millenium development goals in Kenya. (n.d.). http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Kenya/ 21

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya Kenya%20MDG%20Needs%20Assessment.pdf Mwakilishi. (n.d.). Education in Kenya: Major Changes Revealed | Mwakilishi.com. Mwakilishi.com | The Leading Source of Kenyan Diaspora News, Blogs, Announcements, Entertainment, etc.... Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.mwakilishi.com/ content/articles/2012/02/01/education-in-kenya-major-changes-revealed.html Nzomo, J., Kriuki, M., & Guantai, L. (n.d.). The quality of primary education in Kenya.. www.unesdoc.unesco.org. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ images/0012/001235/123540e.pdf Odula T. (n.d.). Kenyan teachers strike due to overcrowded classes | ajc.com. Atlanta News, Sports, Atlanta Weather, Business News | ajc.com . Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http:// www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/kenyan-teachers-strike-due-1159820.html Rabin, A. (n.d.). Quantity Not Quality In Kenya's Move To Universal Primary Education | Think Africa Press. Think Africa Press. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http:// thinkafricapress.com/kenya/quantity-not-quality-kenyas-move-universal-primaryeducation Rose, P. (n.d.). For refugees in Kenya, ‘education is the only thing we can take home’ « World Education Blog. World Education Blog. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http:// efareport.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/for-refugees-in-kenya-%E2%80%98education-isthe-only-thing-we-can-take-home%E2%80%99/ Team, S. (n.d.). The Standard | Online Edition :: Balala Out as Eugene replaces Mutula. The Standard | Online Edition :: Home. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http:// www.standardmedia.co.ke/specialreports/InsidePage.php?id=2000054986&cid=4& The world factbook. (n.d.). central intelligence agency. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from https:// www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html 22

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya UK switches education funding away from government. (n.d.). UK in Kenya. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://ukinkenya.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=21894965 UNDP| United Nations Development Programme-Kenya. (n.d.). redirect. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://mirror.undp.org/kenya/mdgsinkenya.htm UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (n.d.). UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx? ReportId=121&IF_Language=en&BR_Country=4040 Vision and mission. (n.d.). Ministry of education. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http:// www.education.go.ke/ShowPage.aspx?department=1&id=7 Wanyama, H. (n.d.). Conference on 8-4-4 tomorrow. The Star. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.the-star.co.ke/national/national/68431-conference-on-844-educationtomorrowWe Are On The Road To A Cohesive Nation. (n.d.). The Star. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.the-star.co.ke/opinions/others/67848-we-are-on-the-road-to-a-cohesivenation Country. (n.d.). Public spending on education, total (% of GDP) | Data | Table. Data | The World Bank. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS NationMaster - World Statistics, Country Comparisons. (n.d.). NationMaster - World Statistics, Country Comparisons. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.nationmaster.com/index.php

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NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya

Appendix 1

Some of the stakeholders identified in correlation with the framework / fund plan are the following: 1. Supra-national level aid givers ● British Department for International Development (DFID) ● World Bank ● African Development Bank ● European Union ● Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ● United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ● United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) ● World Food Program (WFP) ● Governments of Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands and the United States ● Non-profits and NGOs 2. National ● Kenyan Ministry of Education ● KANU Gov’t - Kenya African National Union - ruling party which Free Primary Education Declaration 70’s (regime) 24

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya ● NARC - Government National Rainbow Coalition - 2002 ● Kenya Institute of Education (K.I.E.) ● Non-profits and NGOs 3. Regional/Cluster ● Local schools in Kenya ● Local communities ● Kenyan educators ● Local administrations that divided among 140 rural districts ● Tech companies ● Textbook publishers ● Kenyan schoolchildren

25

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya

Appendix 2 GDP growth rate (%)

2008

2009

2010

2011

Kenya

1.5%

2.6%

5.6%

5.3%

US

-0.3%

-3.5%

3.0%

1.5%

India

6.2%

6.9%

9.0%

7.8%

UK

-0.1%

-4.5%

1.4%

1.1%

2007

2008

2009

2010

Country

Source: (The World Bank, 2011)

Public expenditure on education : GDP (%)

Country

Kenya

7.0%

US

5.7%

India

4.1%

UK

5.4%

26

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya

Source: (NationMaster-World Statistic, 2011) Appendix 3 Timeline of Kenyan History ● Prehistoric Time ○ Fossil evidence shows that primates roamed Kenya more than 20 million years ago. ○ We also find evidence of our human ancestors, Homo erectus and Homo habilis, inhabiting this region up to 2.5 million years ago. ○ As long as human history has existed, Kenya has been inhabited by people. ● Arabian and Portuguese Traders/Invaders ○ 8th Century AD ■ Most areas of Kenya are inhabited ■ Arab and Persian traders make their way to East Africa. ■ With them they bring a Muslim influence ■ Trade is focused primarily on coastal areas ■ Trade included ivory, rhino horn, gold, shells, and slaves ■ Subsequently those areas also see more development ■ Mombasa, Malindi and the Islands Lamu, and Pate emerge as important trade centers ■ The 10th century is called the "Shirazi Era" as many trading settlements were created by Shirazi Persians. ○ 15th Century AD ■ Coastal cities have become prominent ■ The Kenyan coast becomes the first center of trade out of Africa ■ The Swahili culture begins to take shape from the coastal communities ■ Islam is adopted as the religion ■ Through a common religion, better relationships are formed with Arabs ■ Those further inland become reliant on the Swahili as middlemen to facilitate trade ■ The trade network expands to cover Africa, Arabia, Persia, India and China ○ 1498 ■ Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reaches East Africa ■ Up to this point in time foreign interaction has been relatively peaceful ■ However, da Gama leverages his ships and their weapons to gain access to the Indian trade routes ○ 1505 ■ Portuguese invade the East Coast of Africa with 23 ships and 27

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

approximately 1500 soldiers ■ Led by Dom Francisco de Almeida ■ Cities are slaughtered and robbed ■ Mombasa is bombed and then occupied by Portuguese troops ■ For the next 200 years fighting ensues between Arabs and Portuguese ■ Africans along the coast see their towns destroyed 1585 - 1589 ■ The Ottoman Empire tries to push into the Kenyan Coast however are thwarted by the Portuguese ■ Portugal starts a brutal colonial rule and exploitation of the Africans and their resources ■ They attempt to convert Muslims to Christianity, although Islam has become the dominant religion along the coast 1593 ■ Mombasa becomes the center of power for Portugal ■ Fort Jesus constructed to protect from attack by sea as well as from resistance by the Swahili 1698 ■ After 33 months under siege, Fort Jesus and Mombasa are taken by the Arabs ■ Portuguese are driven out of the country within a few years ■ Arab sultans now maintain rule over different parts of the coast 19th Century ■ Europe starts a land grab of Africa ■ England and Germany compete within East Africa by building colonies ■ Political pressure in Britain is calling for an end to the slace trade 1822 ■ The Sultan of Oman (Sayyid Said) sends an army to East Africa. ■ He claims control of all Swahili dynasties along the coast ■ Local Swahili look to Britain for help ■ Two warships are sent from Britain and the captain declares the Mombasa region for British protectorate ■ The protectorate is given up after 3 years 1832 ■ The sultan of Oman moves with his court to Zanzibar ■ He starts plantations of cloves and develops trade routes deeper into Africa ■ Spice production and export of ivory and slaves are an important economic injection for the Sultan's empire 1847 ■ The first European missionaries starts traveling west and exploring more of Kenya 28

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya ○ 1877 ■ The Sultan offers the company British East Africa a concession of administration in East Africa ■ British negotiate with the Sultan, ignoring the population ● British Crown Colony ○ 1886 ■ European powers divide up Africa ■ Majority stake given to Germany and England, ■ The Sultan of Oman is still granted a strip on the Coastline ○ 1888 ■ Imperial British East Africa starts "economic development" in their possessions (today's Kenya and Uganda) ○ 1894 ■ First president of Kenya Jomo Kenyatta is born in Ichaweri ○ 1895 ■ Britain's protectorate is formed and officially named British East Africa ○ 1905 ■ First experiments with growing coffee in Kenya are made by British settlers. Today Kenya is the African country exporting most coffee. ○ 1914 ■ World War I, 200,000 recruited in Kenya by the British, about 50,000 die ○ 1921 ■ The protectorate becomes Kenya and gets status of British Crown Colony. A British governor administrates the colony. ○ 1922 ■ Foundation of East African Breweries (today: Kenya Breweries, producing the popular "Tusker" and other brands). ■ Those educated in Missions begin protesting British policies ■ Jomo Kenyatta begins studies in England to return later as a political leader ○ 1923 ■ First tea plantation is founded ■ Law instituted that allowed only Europeans to to profit from exporting tea of coffee ○ 1924 ■ Daniel arap Moi is born, the second president of Kenya ○ 1939 ■ Labor unions become prominent and strikes occur within Mobasa ○ 1944 ■ Kenyan African Union is formed to organize Kenyan independence ○ 1947 ■ Jomo Kenyatta is made leader of the Kenyan African Union 29

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya ● Mau Mau Rebellion ○ 1952 ■ Kikuyu political group called Mau Mau begins violent attacks on European settlers ■ Guerrillas are organized as a group known as the Kenya Land Freedom Army ■ Operation Jock Scott was launched: the British carried out a mass-arrest of Jomo Kenyatta and 180 other alleged Mau Mau leaders within Nairobi ■ British declare a state of emergency in Kenya ○ 1956 ■ The leader of KLFA, general Dedan Kimanthi is captured by British troops with assistance from a loyal Kikuyu group ■ Group is without a leader ■ Mau Mau focus efforts on killing Africans loyal to British ■ More Africans are being killed than whites ■ Britain sends about 50,000 soldiers ■ They destroy villages and drop bombs ■ Eventually rebellion is put down ■ About 12,000 Africans are killed ■ 100,000 are imprisoned ○ 1957 ■ KLFA leader is executed ■ Ghana becomes first African colony to gain independence ○ 1959 ■ Jomo Kenyatta transferred from jail to house arrest ■ Political parties become legal ■ African politicians invited to negotiations in London ○ 1960 ■ British government caves in to pressure and begins preparation for independence ○ 1961 ■ Kenyatta house arrest ended, becomes leader of Kenya African National Union (KANU) political party ● Kenyan Independence ○ 1963 ■ Kenyan independence ○ 1964 ■ Republic of Kenya formed ■ Kenyatta first president, a Kikuyu ■ Vice president Oginga Odinga, a Luo ■ Political party Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) is dissolved and integrates with larger Kenya African National Union (KANU) 30

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya ■ ○ 1966 ■ ■ ○ 1969 ■ ■

Kenyatta’s government is without opposition Oginga Odinga is excluded from the Kikuyu dominated KANU He tries to start an opposition but is arrested several times

Conflicts between Luo and Kikuyu Luo politician Tom Mboya aspires to presidency and is assassinated by a Kikuyu ■ Odinga is arrested ○ 1974 ■ Kenyatta re-elected as president ■ Kiswahili (name of the Swahili language) becomes official language in the parliament ○ 1976 ■ Border problems ■ Ugandan dictator Idi Amin claims large parts of Kenya and Sudan ○ 1978 ■ Kenyatta dies ■ During his presidency, Kenya was regarded as the most stable and prosperous African nation ● Kenya’s Second President, Post Kenyatta ○ 1978 ■ Daniel Arap Moi becomes president ■ Comes from a less dominant tribe, Kalenjin (Tugen) ■ As a result seen as a weaker politician ■ Goes after opponents, bans tribal societies, closes universities ■ Puts opponents in jails and uses more violence in coming years ○ 1982 ■ One party rule is declared, KANU now the only official party ■ Kenyan Air Force attempts military coup, coup is successfully put down ○ 1987 ■ Moi is re-elected after complex voting system introduced ■ Opposition leaders jailed without trial ○ 1990s ■ Collapse of communism in Eastern Europe ■ Western support for African regimes eroding now that fear of communism spreading is gone ■ Interest in more democratic government on the rise ■ Demand for multiparty systems being called for throughout Africa ■ Western support to suppress opposition is no longer there ■ KANO Youth group begins harassment of opposition ■ The provoke riots in democratic protests 31

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya ■ ○ 1991 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Responsible for creating ethnic clashes

New opposition is formed Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD) Party is initially banned by Moi Leaders were arrested, including Oginga Odinga Western nations suspend economic aid in condemnation of oppression and abuse ■ Moi gives in and introduces a multi party system ■ Constitution is changed ● Political violence on the Road to Democracy ○ 1992 ■ People hope for more change in the government ■ But people are fearful of the instability throughout the rest of Africa ■ Moi is regarded as one of the most corrupt leaders, but also one that could keep Kenya peaceful ■ 2000 killed in ethnic clashes instigated by KANU ■ Moi ends conflict and creates image of peacemaker ■ FORD party splits, internal conflict ensues ■ Moi gains power in the midst of their struggle ■ Moi is re-elected during the Kenya's first multiparty election ○ 1993 ■ IMF and World Bank force Kenya to enact economics forms ○ 1994 ■ Oginga Odinga dies ■ Opposition forms new coalition ■ Internal issues persist ■ Moi helps push internal conflict ○ 1995 ■ Paleontologist Richard Leakey forms Safina, new political party ■ Moi argues against whites in government ○ 1996 ■ KANU announces intention to change constitution to allow Moi to serve another term ○ 1997 ■ Democracy demonstrations become frequent ■ 200 raiders attack the police station in Likoni, Mombasa. Prisoners are freed, six police officers and seven civilians are killed. ■ Massive ethnic violence and massacres ■ Moi wins another term ■ Successfully pits ethnic groups against each other ○ 1998 32

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya ■ ■ ○ 1999 ■ ■ ○ 2001 ■

Bomb explosion kills 230 in US embassy Bombings linked to Al-Qaeda Richard Leakey becomes minister in KANU government Begins fighting corruption in Kenya Moi forms a coalition government, opposition leader Raila Odingo becomes Energy Minister Three million starve in Kenyan drought Anti-corruption initiatives started to satisfy IMF and World Bank Uhuru Kenyatta (son of Jomo Kenyatta) appointed to cabinet by Moi Moi appoints him presidential successor Ethnic clashes break out again, government response is weak

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ○ 2002 ■ Moi leaves office, opposition leader Mwai Kibaki elected president ■ Kibaki announces Free Primary Education ■ Enacts traffic laws to control the use of popular Matatu minibuses to reduce the 3000+ deaths per year ○ 2003 January ■ Government bill proposes anti-corruption commission. Moi critic John Githongo appointed anti-graft czar ○ 2003 November ■ International Monetary Fund (IMF) resumes lending after three-year gap, citing anti-corruption measures ○ 2003 December ■ Government decides to grant former president Daniel arap Moi immunity from prosecution on corruption charges. ○ 2004 March-July ■ Long-awaited draft of new constitution completed. Document requires parliament's approval and proposes curbing president's powers and creating post of prime minister. But deadline for enactment is missed. ○ 2004 July-August ■ Food crisis, caused by crop failures and drought, dubbed "national disaster" by President Kibaki. UN launches aid appeal for vulnerable rural Kenyans. ○ 2005 January ■ Clashes over land and water rights leave more than 40 people dead. ○ 2005 July ■ Parliament approves a draft constitution after days of violent protests in Nairobi over aspects of the draft which demonstrators say give too much power to in the president's hands. ○ 2005 November-December 33

NIJA BORA: An Exploration of Primary Education in Kenya

○

○

○

○

○

○

○ ○

■ Voters reject a proposed new constitution in what is seen as a protest against President Kibaki. The president replaces his cabinet; some nominees reject their appointments. 2006 January ■ Government says four million people in the north need food aid because of a drought which the president calls a "national disaster". 2007 December ■ Disputed presidential elections lead to violence in which more than 1,500 die. ■ The government and opposition come to a power-sharing agreement in February and a cabinet is agreed in April. 2008 October ■ Report into post-election clashes calls for international tribunal to try those implicated in violence. Many political leaders are reluctant to implement the commission of inquiry's recommendations, with some arguing that prosecutions could trigger further clashes between communities. 2010 July ■ Kenya joins its neighbours in forming a new East African Common Market, intended to integrate the region's economy. 2010 August ■ New constitution designed to limit the powers of the president and devolve power to the regions approved in referendum. ■ Controversy over release of national census figures that include tribal affiliations 2011 April ■ Truth commission begins public probe into 3,000 killings at Wagalla airstrip during a 1984 crackdown on ethnic Somalis, a hushed-up chapter in Kenya's history 2011 June-September ■ East Africa hit by worst drought in 60 years 2012 January ■ International Criminal Court rules that several prominent Kenyans must stand trial over the 2007 post-election violence

34