By Eric Akasa
Kenya was among the
164 governments at the world education Forum in Dakar Senegal in 2000 that
pledged to achieve Education for All (EFA) which identified six goals to be
achieved by 2015. Kenya has undertaken the first comprehensive national EFA End
Decade Assessment (EDA) since the 2000 Dakar Education Forum covering
2000-2010.
According
to Dr. Evangeline Njoka Secretary -General Kenya national commission for
UNESCO, goal four and goal five addresses millennium development goals two and
three respectively of which Kenya is a signatory to.
“UNESCO
has two main priorities which are: gender and Africa,” says Joseph Massaquoi
Director UNESCO regional office Eastern Africa representative to Kenya.
“Kenya
hosted its first ever Eastern Africa High Level Forum on EFA last September and
the outcome documents of the forum was the Mombasa call for Action that
includes EFA progress.” Notes Massaquoi “Kenya’s EFA end decade assessment
inspires other countries in the region notably Uganda and Tanzania which have
commenced similar assessments learning from Kenya’s model.” He adds
According
to Hon. Mutual Kilonzo minister for education, the EFA agenda is a global
commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, youth and
adults from a lifelong perspective, the Dakar Framework for action 2000 re-affirmed
the vision set out in the world declaration on education for all conference in
Jomtien in 1990.
Commenting
on the teachers strike, Hon. Kilonzo said that it is their constitutional
right. “I did not get any notice from KNUT or KUPPET about the strike, calling
for a strike is not a big issue, it is constitutional,” Says Hon.Kilonzo.
He
said that article 41 of the new constitution allows any worker to be a member
of a union and can strike whenever they feel their employer is stepping on
their rights.
“I
have asked the teachers bodies to suspend the strike until I finish the TSC
bill which will be through this week.” notes Hon. Kilonzo
Commenting
on Tuition Kilonzo said that it is an offence for teachers to tell students go
to school during the holidays, on weekends or extra classes and public
holidays. “Allow the children to visit their grandparents and play with their peers,
understand a child.” Says Hon. Kilonzo.
“I
am working on a draft education bill that aims to strengthen student governance,
“Let children elect their own leaders, not teachers to dedicate prefects to
them.” Remarks Kilonzo. “The future has arrived, education is where the future
is and if children develop a sense of ownership of their school, there will be
no riots, just involve them and you will solve the problem.” Observes Hon.Kilonzo.
Kilonzo
said that the EFA End Decade Assessment is not only a success model but a model
that is being replicated within the Eastern Africa region countries
“The
timing of the launch of this report ‘Education for All End Decade assessment
(2001-20100’ would not have come at a better time and I am happy to note that
this is happening when the sector is carrying out education reforms to align
itself to the vision 2030 and the constitution 2010. Articles 53, 54, 55 , 56,
57 and 59 of the constitution have provisions on children’s rights to free and
compulsory basic education including quality services . no doubt that this report
we are launching today is going to be a very important reference document in
the education sector and will help address significant issues underscored in
the vision 2030 and the constitution 2010 and challenges facing the education
sector in the context of globalization.”
Says Hon. Kilonzo.Hon Kilonzo also points out that the report confirms that
despite the milestone made by the Ministry, there still remain challenges that
may slow down the progress in attaining the EFA goals by 2015. “the challenges
include comprehensive data to measure progress , the HIV/AIDS pandemic causing
unprecedented strain on education resources and issues of security and long
distance to school.” Notes Kilonzo.
In
a statement, Hon Margaret Kamar notes that, At this juncture, I would like to
reaffirm my Ministry’s commitment to the objective of realizing EFA. I believe
that our contributions shall argument and accelerate the achievement of EFA. In
line with our mandate my Ministry’s contribution to Education for all will be
through the provision of appropriate and life long skills to the Kenyan Youth
for sustainable development. Towards this end, and appropriate TIVET curriculum
is in place and necessary financial and technical support is being extended to
TIVET institutions. I wish to state that the development of TIVET is
fundamental in Kenya’s efforts to rid herself of poverty, thus promoting
self-worth of the people. TIVET is an essential component of education as it
provides skills development for young people and adults. As such, it is
provided as part of EFA goal Three. Further, Vision 2030 places great emphasis
on science, technology and innovation in general and TIVET in particular as the
vehicle for socio-economic and technological transformation in the country. In
the recent past, enrolments in TIVET institutions have increased considerably
following the introduction of Free Primary and free Day Secondary education.
No comments:
Post a Comment