The Background of
Education in Kenya
The early sixties were a period of great enthusiasm in many parts of Africa. Many countries won political independence after fighting colonial occupiers for many years. In some countries, the struggle from independence was bloody and prolonged. Nonetheless, locals intensified the anti-colonial push; convinced that self-government would usher a better dispensation. When independence came, the future beckoned with hope; not only of more freedoms, but also socio-economic prosperity. Against this background of heady optimism, the newly independent African governments set about formulating plans to improve the general welfare of citizens. Almost every newly independent government launched an offensive against what were then called the three enemies of development (adui tatu wa maendeleo). These were identified as poverty, disease and ignorance (illiteracy). It was argued-and rightly so-that illiterate and sick populace could not engineer national development. Human, financial and other resources were mobilized to establish and equip schools and health facilities I as many regions of countries as possible. The provision of public health and education topped the national agenda. Four and a half decades later, we must ask ourselves: have we (Africa) won the fight against the unholy Trinity of poverty (umasikini), disease (ugonjwa), and illiteracy (kutojua kusoma na kuandika)? For sure, much progress has been made to provide education and health and to get Africans out of the indignity of poverty. Some countries and regions have scored impressive successes. However, victory against the Terrible Trio (poverty, ignorance and disease) remains unrealized. And it is not only in Kenya where success remains elusive. Many other African countries are yet to rid themselves of the three enemies of progress.
Kenya: Our Situation
Kenya is a young country. Official statistics indicate that up to 60 percent of the population is below 35 years of age. This translates into a huge demand for social services like health and education. Now, consider that as a result of various factors, poverty is widespread in Kenya. The United Nations Development Report 2004 showed that between 1991 and 2002, 23 percent of Kenyans lived in absolute poverty (i.e. on less than US $1 a day). This figure has now risen to 56 percent; meaning that out of every two Kenyans, one is absolutely poor. The United Nations ranks Kenya in the Low Human Development category of countries. Such categorization simply means that Kenya is among the world’s poorest nations. The country occupies position 148 out of 177 countries. Among developing countries, we rank 63; worse than our neighbors Uganda and Tanzania. Consequently, whereas there is a huge demand for health, education and other social services, poverty denies the majority access to quality healthcare and education. In the health sector for example, the UN report cited above says that up to 49.5 percent of Kenyans are not sure about living to age 40. Talk of a young nation dying young! In the education sector, illiteracy is widespread. 15.7 percent of Kenyans aged 15 and above can neither read nor write. And even among those who can read and write, fewer still boast of an adequate education, i.e. an education that is sufficient to ensure employability or private enterprise.
Inequality : Making
The Situation Worse
And it is not just that Kenyans are poor. There is a huge gap between the rich and the poor; an inequality which ranks amongst the worst in the world. A report by the Society for International Development, SID, released in October 2004 (Pulling Apart: Facts and Figures on inequality in Kenya) showed that a mere 3 million people out of the country’s 30 million people control the country’s wealth. 10 percent of the wealthiest Kenyans control more than 42 percent of the national income. Kenya is among the top ten most unequal countries in the world. That is quite an achievement; considering our dismal performance on issues that count like health and education. Kenya’s education sector is in particularly bad shape. 87.6 percent of all Kenyan children are enrolled in primary school. The net national enrollment in secondary schools is a mere 22.2 percent. Central Province has the highest enrollment for both primary and secondary schools. The province scores highest in primary enrollment at 106 percent while North Eastern brings the rear at just 4.5%. Nairobi, which one would expect to score better, has only 11.8% of children enrolled in secondary school. Analysts partly attribute this to spiraling urban poverty viz a viz rising costs of living. A whopping 77.8% of Kenyan children who qualify for secondary school education are out there somewhere, suffering the cold of ignorance. Most of these children are from poor families. The SID report cited above indicates that only 4% of children from the poorest families are enrolled in secondary school. Where are the remaining 96%? Note: There is an abundance (some say surplus) of opportunities for secondary school education for Kenyans who have money. Over the past decade, Kenya’s urban areas have experienced a steady increase in the number of private commercial secondary schools; some so elite that golf is part of the extracurricular syllabus. In fact, the battle for parents’ wallets has become so stiff that schools now run expensive and extensive media advertising campaigns.
Free Primary Education:
A Good First Step
True to its election pledge, the current government introduced free primary education (FPE) in January 2003. Millions of children who had been locked out of the school system due to lack of fees jammed classrooms throughout the country. Television and newspaper images of eager youngsters filling tiny classrooms in remote regions tugged at the heart of many. Primary school enrollment rose tremendously, underscoring the huge deficit in Kenya’s primary school education. Almost five years after it was introduced, FPE is still suffering teething problems such as congested classrooms and unfavorable teacher-pupil ratios. However, many Kenyans welcome the benefits of the FPE program. They may disagree on such matters as the timing of the program and its implementation but the one thing on which there is near total unanimity is that it has given millions of children a lifeline. But secondary school enrollment, as stated earlier, is a real cause for worry. There is a colossal deficit. One would worry less if other post-primary education opportunities like village polytechnics and vocational training centres were up and running. But these have fallen into disrepair or suffered neglect over the years, leaving secondary schools as the main avenue for post-primary school education. The result is that as a country, we have and continue to condemn hundreds of thousands of primary school graduates to uncertain futures. The statistics are shocking. Of the 657, 747 candidates who sat the 2004 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination, more than 50% did not get a place in secondary school; not because they failed the examination but rather, there are simply not enough places in existing secondary schools. As one newspaper put it, “these youngsters….. Will be condemned to a life of near illiteracy and poverty.” Without adequate education (8 years of primary education is insufficient to prepare an individual for the labour market or self-employment), these young people face life hesitantly; their life choices severely limited. due to biases, which place little or no value on girls’ educations. These and other reasons are hurdles to increased secondary education nationally. Even so, cost is the biggest barrier to secondary education in this country. The founding of Hopewell is grounded on the following convictions: Every child in Kenya needs a minimum of 12 years of continuous and integrated education (8 years of primary school education 4 years of secondary education) Secondary school education is the basic minimum preparation an individual needs in order to be employable in the labour market or to succeed in private commercial enterprise; In addition to preparing the individual for the labour market and/or private commercial enterprise, such education enhances his/her life choices and opportunities. Consequently, the person becomes more useful to their families, society and ultimately, the country. In spite of widespread poverty, Kenyans can-individually and corporately-contribute towards educating more children at the secondary school level. Of course, external help is necessary but a bulk of the resources can be raised from within to ensure that every child gets a secondary school education; In a nutshell, it is in the interest of every Kenyan and the government to invest in giving all children a minimum of secondary school education. Such investment will pay off in many beneficial ways in the medium and long terms.
Our Situation
Right from the outset, it should be noted that this school program gives constant and continuing preference to poor girls. For a long time, girls have endured traditional and other biases, which have kept many of them out of the school system. Thus, apart from being pro-poor, this project assumes a bias towards girls’ education. The scheme has as its overall goal “the provision of quality, appropriate, holistic and affordable secondary school education to children from the poorest families in Nakuru and other hardship areas of Kenya”.
The Goal
The following key terms are important in understanding the goal of this school program:
Quality: The education being provided conforms to the standards established by the government through the Ministry of Education. The pioneer students admitted on 25th September 2000 when the school opened its doors sat their national examination in 2004. Since the school had not yet been fully accredited by the ministry of education, they sat in different approved examination centres around the country and returned some very impressive results. The top, Maurice Otieno, sat at St. Patrick’s Senior School Kiserian and scored 8 straight As in the eight subjects he sat and ranked position 75 in Kenya out of the more than 250,000 who sat this examination. Anthony Waweru, Gilbert Yegon, Willis Omondi, Tabitha Wangare and Sammy Olesi returned a B+ each in the eight papers sat for. They were all admitted to the top national university in Kenya, Nairobi University, and we raised funds to help them start off their freshman year. About 120 students that we left to sit national examination at Tumaini House School (the school we originally founded), and whom we had prepared for the four years, returned a mean score of C and the school ranked 5th in Nakuru Municipality beating more well-equipped and established schools. This is to say that the level of academic training at Hopewell is not in doubt. The school returned a mean score of C in last year’s national exams after sitting 141 students. In spite of inadequate resources, the school ranked 79 out of 206 in the Nakuru school district, beating schools endowed with fine facilities, including many well-established government schools that are not only fully funded, but well staffed with well paid government posted teachers like Moi Secondary, Tumaini (now government school), Nakuru West and Mogoon High schools. Appropriate: Occasionally, one hears complaints that some elements of Kenya’s education curriculum (especially at secondary school and college/university levels) are inappropriate. The sole purpose of education should not be to make learners ‘useful’ in the sense of employability or acquisition of business acumen. Education must go beyond simply preparing the learner to be able to earn a decent and legal living. It must awaken his/her intrinsic duty to God, fellow man and nature. Only in this sense can education be termed ‘appropriate’. Hopewell trains its students to serve through a cocktail of co-curricular activities that include clubs and societies, weekly baraza where the students participate in charting the development agenda for the school as well as learn about the elements of transparency and accountability in management; weekly chapel sessions which bring the Hopewell community closer to God who is the source of our many blessings, and weekly lecture sessions which bring speakers from within and outside the school community to discus wide ranging topical issues with students, thereby helping to educate and expose them to life in the world.
Holistic: Unfortunately, examination has become the key yardstick with which the success of learning is measured in Kenya. This has led to over emphasis on preparing learners to pass examinations; as if that is all that matters. This school program strives to provide an education that goes beyond passing examinations. Hopewell additionally serves as a centre where individual children’s talents and leadership abilities are identified, encouraged and enhanced. Sporting abilities are taken seriously and the current Kenya national women soccer team has two former Hopewell students, Naomi and Sarah. Another former Hopewellian, Nancy Chebet, represents Kenya in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metre races in international races. Lillian Chebet, in form three now, just returned position 19 out of 2000 women competitors in the Nairobi International Marathon. Hopewell has gone ahead to help establish Barut Athletic Club that is meant to tap athletic talents of the many young persons in the wider local Barut community. Hopewell Soccer Club (Under 15 year olds) has just been founded in the residential estates of Nakuru and received a massive supply of soccer equipment from Matt Werner of Wrestling The World Organization, Wisconsin. This will provide some of them with a career while helping fight drug abuse and other negative habits that are prevalent in this poor neighborhood.
Affordable: Affordability is no doubt a relative term; one that is open to many interpretations. This program targets the poorest children in Nakuru and its environs. Whereas it may be desirable to provide free education to these children, doing so may be counterproductive. First, it may undermine the sustainability of the program. Secondly, it may work against cultivating a sense of ownership, which is vital to the success of a program of this nature. Consequently, this school program charges parents /guardians a minimal term fee of $22.50 If and when other sources of reliable financing are secured, such charges may be reduced. It must be emphasized however, that this program is at all times committed to providing affordable secondary school education to the poorest children of Nakuru. At no time has the cost of providing such education been allowed to rise beyond the reach of the targeted beneficiaries. At its inception, this school program utilized volunteers such as teachers, administrators, counselors, etc to meet its goal. But with the growth of the program and to ensure sustainability, a team of 26 teaching staff and 10 support staff have been employed. The staff work partly on voluntary basis. The monthly small pay they receive is a regular donation from teachers in the Hanford district of California who donate a little from their pay each month and the proceeds sent to Hopewell to pay the staff.
Our Development Partners
1. H.O.P.E. Inc. (Helping Other People Everywhere), California, USA-This public non-profit benefit organization initiated and continues to run the Sponsor A Teacher Program in which teachers and workers in the Hanford district of California donate a little from their pay each month to support Hopewell staff. H.O.P.E. is so far the only source of clothing for Hopewell students. School supplies and library books are also sent from this organization, which has kept Hopewell afloat since 2002. H.O.P.E. Inc fully financed the foundation work for the 5 permanent classrooms and continues meeting many other critical needs. H.O.P.E. is managed by Mrs. Darleen Johnson(President) and Eldon Johnson(CFO).
2. Wrestling The World Organization (WTW), Wisconsin, USA-This public non-profit organization financed the construction of 5 permanent classrooms at Hopewell; rented for one year a 48 acre farm and financed cultivation of maize and beans to support the school feeding program; supported a sanitary towel project that will keep 1200 girls (at Hopewell, Barut elementary and others in our city of Nakuru) regularly in school until February next year; have regularly sent school supplies and a ton of library books; are working jointly with Rotary International to get funding to construct a water treatment plant for our water well whose water has a high level of chloride.
3. Rotary Clubs in Nakuru, Muthaiga, Walworth (Wisconsin), Hanford and Tamara Honohan’s have supported the school and continue doing so in a variety of ways. Waunakee rotary paid for 1/2 the cost of the beautiful blue roof Hopewell has on its five new classrooms.
4. SOAR-Kenya in Wisconsin has provided money, school supplies, textbooks, clothing, and is setting up a sponsorship program to help our poorest children. Soar-Kenya has given the first three schlorships for college. Soar-Kenya has sent the first cargo load to Hopewell that will be supplying the new library under construction. The library will really be a community center where adult education will be offered. This will be the first program avaiilable for adults in this area. Soar has been the sole supporter of the Childrens Charity Center in Nairobi. Soar continues to offer support as needed.
5. Individuals of good will have supported and continue supporting Hopewell in various ways. They are many that cannot be individually listed but some include: Robert & Virginia Werner (gave Hopewell a one year subscription of our two top local dailies, Nation & Standard, The Times and National Geographic); Rhonda Hoffman who played a key role in organizing the food stand at the Auction Hoffman’s held to raise funds for irrigation equipment; Dr, Martin, a Waunakee Dentist supplied the entire Hopewell population with brand new toothbrushes; and Susan Henry of Canada who is working on a student mentorship program. Most individuals who help Hopewell channel their support through various organizations, the key ones being H.O.P.E and SOAR-Kenya .WTW. has done so many wonderful things for Hopewell and has now moved on to begin a new project in the Dominican Republic.
6. Various Girls’ Scout Troops continue playing an instrumental role in the development of Hopewell. These include Doris Calandra’s Girl Scout Troop in Davis, California (school supplies and novels), Lanita & Jane’s Waunakee Girl Scout Troop (mobilizing beddings for our girls’ new dorm).