22.5.15

QUANTUM LEAP: HOW TO DELIVER QUALITY AND QUANTITY EDUCATION IN NORTHERN KENYA?



PRESENTATION (TALKING POINT) AT NORTHERN KENYA EDUCATION (ADAM SMITH INTERNATIONAL) FORUM HELD ON WEDNESDAY 20TH MAY 2015, AT RIVERSIDE IN NAIROBI, KENYA
1. INTRODUCTION

• I thank the organizers of this important talk (Adam Smith International) for inviting us. I also thank the panelists, the Governors present, including the governors of Wajir and Marsabit (the lead discussants), MPs, Teachers Service Commission (TSC) representative and other invited participants. On December 12th, this year, 2015, Kenya celebrates Golden Jubilee plus two years (50+2) of independence from Britain. During this period of over five decades of independence, many developments, positive things have taken place in Kenya and of specifically in Northern Kenya.

• Most importantly the national population has grown many folds to current 45 million.

• Until 2013 the country was divided into 8 provinces and was centrally managed. Since March 2013, Kenya has 47 counties each with a governor, executives and their own county legislatures, “47 Counties, 1 Nation” These are transformational changes.

• However, today (2015) there is general impression in the five Northern counties, Marsabit, Isiolo, Garissa, Wajir and Mandera with a population of over 3 million and over 200,000 square kilometers that the region is much behind the other parts of the country, particularly in the field of primary and secondary and even university education . Thus drastic improvement in the quality and quantity of education of the students is needed. 

• The situation is such that average enrollment rate in primary schools in the region is 26% when for instance; in Nyeri county is in the neighborhood of 110%. The 10% are those over-age people going back to schools. In terms of passing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) or Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) the students are relatively not doing well. There is an urgent need to initiative “quantum leap” synchronize policies and sustained, highly focused actions to correct and address this unacceptable situation-in the five counties in the area of education.

• Northern Kenya cannot keep appearing like “a giant walking with the limb of a mosquito”. Education is the key to the vitality of the region. This discussion focuses on education in Northern Kenya because the subject matter of the forum is quality of education as organized by Adam Smith International.


Students of Sheikh Ali High School in Mandera County 


2. BACKGROUND: EDUCATION ENROLLMENT AND PERFORMANCE

• According to the Kenya Economic survey, 2015 which was released just recently, nationally 10 million children are in primary schools. 2.3 million are in secondary and about 400,000 are in universities. The highest of the national budget goes to education, over Kshs 300 billion. The net enrolment rate (NER), countrywide of primary school going children is 70%. 
  NER is defines as enrollment of the officials age group for a given level of education expressed as a percentage of the corresponding population. For girls in Wajir and Mandera, NER is less than 10% of the eligible children. This is unacceptable. For boys the rate is a bit better. In Wajir, 260,000 children are in primary schools and this is only 26% of the eligible children, 74% don’t attend schools! In some remote divisions, the enrollment rate is in the region of only 7%. Thus two problems facing the education sector in the region are: these two: low enrolment and poor exam performance. 

3. PERFORMANCE IN EXAMINATION –KCSE / CPE

• In the past 10 years, the performance of the KCSE /CPE rates was below national average. The national average indicates that 30% of KCSE candidates normally score C+ or above. However, majority of students in Northern Kenya score less than C+, the cut points for university entrance in Kenya for KCSE. In some secondary schools in Northern Kenya, over 80% of the candidates got less than C+. Interestingly, even those few who got C+ or above don’t do physics paper. Whereas transition rate from primary to secondary is 83%, to university is less than 1% of total KCSE candidates in the five counties.

• In 2014, 482,133 candidates did KCSE in Kenya and 14,841 of them got straight as (3%). For the first time in 30 years, one secondary school called Sheikh Ali High School in Mandera had one of their students getting an A. This was a big story in the County. Compare this with Moi Kabarak High School, where almost e very other candidates got A’s. This means relatively few students do go to school in Northern Kenya and those who complete the cycle, majority do not pass the final qualifying exams and thus fail to proceed to college or vocational training. Therefore the challenges facing all of us are; how to drastically improve and transform this worrying trend in Northern Kenya.

4. CAUSES OF THE CHALLENGES FACING QUALITY EDUCATION IN THE NORTHERN KENYA 
• There are many challenges facing the education sector in Northern Kenya. Northern Kenya shares similar problems and challenges as other regions and 47 counties. Specifically the region shares almost identical problems in the areas identified as other Arid lands counties, which include; Turkana, Samburu, Baringo, West Pokot and other places.

• However, the pressing challenges facing the region which directly affect quality and quantity of education are:
1. INSECURITY: As we are aware the issue of insecurity in the region has been a big challenge. 2nd April, 2015, tragedy in Garissa University College being the worst where 147 students were killed. This has resulted to many teachers from outside the region who were “subject experts” to withdraw. The KNUT has reported that 28 schools have been shut down and 800 teachers were displaced because of insecurity in Northern region. The remaining teachers and students fear. The future is somewhat still uncertain.

2. PASTORALISTS LIFE STYLE OF MANY FAMILIES /HOUSE HOLDS

• As was noted, about 74% of the children eligible to go to primary schools don’t. In some locations such as Malka – Meri in Mandera County, the figure is over 85%. Besides insecurity, the other problem is that majority of the families are nomads moving with their livestock camels, cattle, goats and sheep. Pastoralists have normally multiple residences. The children look after their parent’s animals. This lifestyle therefore does not favour education system as we know it which is more of pro-sedentary population. Hence schools in the region have problems of under enrolment. There is just formed Kenya’s Council on Nomadic Education whose policies towards the education of the children of the pastoralists/nomadic communities is yet to become visible and concrete. 

3. SOCIO-CULTURAL CHALLENGES


• Generally, there is feeling that the community, the parents and by extension the children, do not attach “great value” to education. Thus the children do not “demand” to be taken to schools. Parents do not see “immediate results” by taking children to school. Parents appear not to associate positively education with increased social and human capital competitive advantage.  

• The girl child in the process becomes the greatest loser. Further, the girl child bears the specific burden of FGM, which is more or less culture driven and which impacts negatively on the education of girls. When there were teachers strikes in the country, most of the secondary schools in other parts of the country some how continued with the students, and few teachers remaining in the schools, and students “teaching one another”. 

• In Mombasa, there was this famous girl who “cried” for the teachers. In Northern Kenya, students were reported to be “rather happy” there was strike and decided to stay away. I am not aware of any student who cried in public for missing classes in Northern Kenya at any time when teachers were on strike. 

4. BETTER SCHOOL GOVERNANCE AND ROLE MODELS

  To have great school administration and role models is important for students. In many schools in Western Kenya, Nairobi and Nyanza, they have yearly schedules of “visits and motivational talks” of more than 60 per year. I was in two secondary schools in Mandera; there was no one who had paid them a visit in two years, even from the county leaderships. I read somewhere that, the Eaton High School, which is a prestigious school in the UK has over 200 motivational speakers per year including, ambassadors from the USA and Japan. School governance, leadership, supervision, quality control, PTAs and so on are bedrock pillars to educational prosperity. To students particularly, drug free environment, these are essential things.

5. POVERTY-RESOURCES CHALLENGES 

• Mass poverty among the population and households (85% households-cannot afford three meals per day and have less than 200 shillings income) results challenges of school fees, school uniforms, equipments, computer lab and school infrastructure, class rooms for schools and even lack of books, stationeries and school meals.
• The money allocated to public schools is rarely adequate. Very few schools have independent commercial source of income.

6. HOW WE CAN DELIVER QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF EDUCATION IN NORTHERN KENYA?  
SYSTEMS QUANTUM LEAP APPROACH TO EDUCATIONAL TRANSFORMATION IN NORTHERN KENYA / ARID-LANDS

• What one writer, James J. Mapes (2003) described as System Quantum Leap approach needs to be applied to address the challenges facing education sector in Northern Kenya and other similar parts of the country. According to Webster’s English Language Dictionary, “quantum leap is any sudden change or an advance in program policy”.

• It is said “if we think the way we have always done, we will get the result we have always gotten”. In the sector of education that is the issue. In 50 years despite high population and large geographical size in the sector of education, Northern and other arid – and semi aridlands have become and remain more or less “ the left toe” of the nation. Fixed on the periphery, marginalized and least strategic. This has to change and change now. In this regards, among others, the following steps need to be taken to address educational issues in the five counties in Northern Kenya and deliver quality education to learners at all levels, starting from pre-unit or nurseries.

1. SECURITY

  Both national and county governments have to address these concerns very comprehensively and collectively. Educational performance is dependants on systems, each affecting the other in the chain. No “stand alone” solution can work for children’s education. Quality of education, as we know, is driven by “ecological and systems theories”. 

2. SCHOOLS GOVERNANCE/LEADERSHIP/REPRESENTATION

The leadership of the schools, both primary and secondary need more training in the areas of management, leadership fundraising, resources mobilization, networking, community relation and strategic entrepreneurship. Many schools do “great” because of first class leadership under difficult conditions. According to MPs ranking by voters, majority of the MPs in the Northern Kenya got below average and this may partly explain poor quality of education in the five counties (DN May 20, 2015 p.5). Lack of strong, charismatic, participatory, community leadership. Additionally, the TSC and the county governments should consult and have shared supervision of schools management and quality control roles / responsibilities. Excellence is a continuous process and not a game of chance or accident.  

3. ESTABLISHING MODEL SCHOOLS

There is need to create centers of “excellence” in the counties for both girls and boys model schools, fully resourced and located at strategic places. Development partners can easily support such initiatives or educational programs. Counties have to come together to start centre of excellences, even university colleges jointly. 

4. OVERCOMING CHALLENGES OF POVERTY: Many parents complain of fees, problems, uniforms and meals. To this end, schools should be encouraged and resourced to provide for (1) uniforms, meals, books and computer labs, among others. (2) in this regards schools can join together to seek help from donors, the private sector and buy “rental business ‘premises” in Nairobi and other places. Some schools that did these are now getting income of Kshs.50 million per year. Equalization fund as established by the Constitution which is meant for 14 Counties, in my view, should be mostly used for educational development in the next three years, 2018.

5. LEADERSHIP HIGH MUTUAL EXPECTATIONS
  Leadership and support from the county governments and the local elites are required. Schools expect high support from the local leaders and other stakeholders. In this regards the county governments/ legislators and leaders should and must lead the way. In terms of students’ enrolment issues, there is need for public participation and “educational awareness drive” to be undertaken countywide. “No child should be left behind” campaign. “No education, no future’. The prosperity of the region lies in great education, strategic entrepreneurship; livestock and agriculture. All these require joint strong county level leadership, including the Senators, MPs, MCAs and professionals.

6. Five counties to become economic block, synergize resources. In the long term, beyond 5 years, more capital outlays (The Big Bush Approach) in terms of roads and other investments by both national and county governments is expected to make big, positive difference in the quantity and quality of education in Northern Kenya. The five counties or more of them (7 of them) form an Economic block as those in the Coastal region and Western Kenya with focus on education, infrastructure, socio-economic issues and even political future orientation. Devolution, which is only two years old this year, is a blessing for Kenya. We must not waste this great opportunity of constitutional dispensation.  
7. Make teaching a desirable career (job) in the region for school leavers. Fifty two years since independence, Northern Kenya still depends on rest of the country for primary and secondary school teachers. There is a need to be self-sufficient in this regard by 20-20.

CONCLUSION: WE CAN OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES AND DELIVER QUALITY EDUCATION IN NORTHERN KENYA

• The need for better education in Northern Kenya is a cute. The challenges are many but we can overcome them. The challenges are insecurity, pastoral nomadic lifestyle, need for better school governance, role models and poverty amongst the households. The way forward is systems quantum leap approach. This means making all systems work for the education sector,” no stand alone solution”.
THE WAY FORWARD ARE:

1. Address sources of insecurity comprehensively 
2. Transform school governance /leadership training and early education systems. Without the strong involvement of leaders, we can’t succeed, with their strong involvement, the counties cannot fail.
3. Establish model schools/ including the boarding schools
4. Overcome challenges of poverty through schools providing uniforms, books, school meals, computer labs and other infrastructure.
5. Schools jointly engage in commercial enterprises and strategies –self reliance initiative.
6. “Develop and engage high mutual expectations, collaborative framework” with county governments, and the public and other stakeholders. That way enrolment is expected to increase to over 50% soonest possible and “fewer children will be left behind”.
As one Abdul Kalam said, “All birds find shelter during a rain. But eagles avoid rain by flying above the clouds. Problems are common, but attitudes make the difference.” It is time for people of Northern Kenya and their leaders at all levels change their attitudes towards education and governance in general.
It is my sincere hope and trusts that this modest contribution will help us all in responding to the challenges facing the sector of education in Northern Kenya and other similar counties and takes the sector to its next higher level. Long live Kenya! Thank you.
More Education empowerment for girls needed “Need for Quantum Leap to deliver quality education”