Sustainable Development Goal four (SDG4) targets at ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities in pursuit of education. This goal is at the core of Kenya’s development plan, it acknowledges education as a key to individual and country transformation. In Kenya, different socio-
economic factors negatively affect education enrollment and quality. For this reason, the commitment to SDG4 is essential. To achieve this goal, there must be effective advocacy, adequate investment and innovative interventions that address the special challenges facing education in this country. The quest for quality education in Kenya is not just an
intellectual exercise but a mission that has the potential of recasting the destiny of the country and the citizens.
Challenges facing the Kenyan Education System
As much as the enrolment of female candidates has improved in schools, Kenya still has various challenges. Even though progressive legislations and policies like the Basic Education Act of 2013 and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) guidelines set in 2015 have established the foundation for equality, inequalities are still present and even more prominent in higher education levels. For example, the Gender Parity Index (GPI) for secondary education is higher for
females indicating a trend from primary education where the GPI is closer to 1 and slightly more boys. This calls for the provision of special measures for equitable distribution at all levels of education.
Moreover, social factors like early pregnancies and certain cultural norms affect girls, therefore more dropout rates are experienced in the secondary education system.
Though policies permit girls who drop out due to pregnancy to rejoin school, the success of such interventions remains highly questionable. Also, gender violence remains rife and impacts the learning achievements, engagement, and experiences of students and
girls, in particular. Solving these concerns remains a significant concern for policy makers as they continue in their efforts to provide quality education for every child across Kenya.
Strategic Approaches that Kenya has taken towards Addressing Educational Challenges
Some of the major education issues affecting this country include; inadequate education facilities in rural regions, gender imbalance and the effect of social economic status on education.
Implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC)
This curriculum reform aims at eradicating the issue of irrelevance in education by focusing on competencies and content relevant to current society in contrast to the traditional mechanisms of knowledge accumulation. This approach aims to make education more relevant and interesting to students regardless of their location and social status, including those in rural areas.
100% Transition Policy from Primary to Secondary Education
This policy has been important for overcoming the dropout rates and providing every child with a chance to continue education beyond the primary level. It is especially
directed towards minimizing the factors that hinder the child from rural and poor background to progress in their education.
More Government Support to Education
Cognizant of the problem of schools lacking sufficient funding especially those in rural areas, the government has enhanced its expenditure on education. This is channeled towards improvement in infrastructure, employment of more tutors to ease cohort ratios, and improvement in teaching and other learning resources which are vital to the improvement of the quality of education.
Collaborating with UNICEF and other Non-Governmental Organizations
These partnerships help to solve several education problems by providing resources and services to increase enrollment and attendance rates. For example, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) focuses on the education needs of disabled children and
children in the arid and semi-arid areas of the globe where the inequality in education is observed.
In this respect, Kenya aims at enhancing these areas in a bid to optimize the education system and accommodate different students.
Technology and Innovation in Education
At the core of this approach is the Kenya Education Cloud led by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) since the resultant inventory of learning resources is important in contemporary learning environments.
This platform provides a combination of connected digital content that is adaptive, and teachers and students can get learning content at any time on any device. This is
especially so in rural or isolated regions where traditional learning material is difficult to access. In this regard, the Kenya Education Cloud is a vital innovation that breaks
barriers of geographical and economic accessibility to quality educational content.
In addition, incorporating Edu channel TV and radio lessons avails an additional form of educating students who cannot easily access the internet. These mediums present a pragmatic approach to overcoming the barriers present in digital divides; thus, quality education is not limited to students with technological gadgets at home only. The lessons that are broadcasted as well as the radio segments are structured in a way that students will be actively involved in the learning process even if internet is not directly required.
Further, it offers modified teaching and learning materials for learners with special needs due to their disabilities, thus enhancing the teaching and learning process. This careful incorporation of subject matter particularization supports Kenya’s efforts for an inclusive education system for all students, especially those with disabilities.
With the use of technology in education, Kenya is making efforts towards realizing education for all, thus offering every child the chance to succeed in a world that is
rapidly becoming digital. Such attempts remain paramount in addressing past and present issues that have hampered education in the less reached parts of the country.
Educational Testimonials from Kenya
Through these programs, Kenya has produced remarkable success stories in its
education system. The Tusome initiative is perhaps one of the best examples to support this argument. In collaboration with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Tusome was launched with the goal of increasing literacy in
primary school classes. This program was able to provide reading instruction to over 10 million students improving the quality of reading materials provided to students and teacher training. The results? A general enhancement of literacy levels within Kenya.
Another success story is the enactment of Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) piloted by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). This curriculum reformation concerned relative educational practicality towards today’s requirements, which positively affected students’ interest and performance. The CBC initiative has altered methods of teaching techniques, which encourages skills that meet the today’s employment opportunities and social norms.
Role of Education in Kenya Development
Increased investment in education in Kenya has been found to improve economic growth, health standards, and social welfare. Through higher productivity and
innovation, educated populations make for better economic returns for society. Education is followed by the advancement in health, as when people know better they live better and diseases are eradicated. In a social context, education increases people’s
volunteerism and decreases social tensions, as SDG 4 seeks to provide inclusive and equitable quality education, and life-long learning opportunities for all to enhance the nation.
Future Problems and Prospective Development
Although there has been some improvement in the education sector, there is still much work to be done, such as addressing issues of equity in education and the quality and availability of education in rural Kenya. The next changes should be more funds to teacher training, better school buildings and equipment, and the use of technology to address the urban rural difference. Teacher training programs will need to be developed in collaboration with private sectors and international organizations and educational reforms will have to be supported and maintained to provide equal quality across the regions.
Call to Action
Come and be part of the change in education in Kenya! Your support can spark change, cultivating student success and fortifying communities. Collectively, for each child, there can be a better tomorrow.
