More children miss school up north

Seventy per cent of children in Northern Kenya do not attend school despite the introduction of free primary education.

According to Education permanent secretary Karega Mutahi, the region has a low enrolment rate compared to other parts of the country.

In some regions, Prof Mutahi said, school enrolment had surpassed the 90 per cent mark, but in the arid and semi arid parts of the country, only 30 per cent of the children were  going to school.

He revealed that over 770,000 of children in the country do not attend school out of which 400,000 are from Northern Kenya. The remainder are from slum areas. 

As a result of these grim statistics, the ministries of Education and Development of Northern Kenya are preparing a strategy policy framework to revitalise education accessibility in the region.

The PS was speaking in Nakuru on Wednesday when he officially opened a two-day workshop on education among the country’s nomadic communities. Development of Northern Kenya minister Ibrahim Elmi said education was a universal right for every child. 

Mr Elmi noted with concern that whereas the region has historically been marginalised in terms of resource allocation “there must be deliberate affirmative action to admit students from this region to training institutions such as teacher training colleges with the intention of alleviating teacher shortages in the area.” 

He further called for enhanced investment in conventional schools and training institutions.  

Local context

The minister also wants the education curriculum and management systems adapted to the local context in such a way that children from the region are given education that is relevant to their lifestyles. In this way, education will not be seen to alienate children from their culture and livelihoods, he said. 

The minister warned that Kenya will not achieve the  millennium development goals unless it makes a serious commitment to address education needs in pastoral areas of the country. The seminar brought together education experts from both the government and the private sector.