Education can end poverty
President Uhuru Kenyatta (centre) poses with Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (right) and Australia's former prime minister Julia Gillard on the second day of the Global Education Summit in London on July 29, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Investing in education is critical for sustainable, peaceful and resilient societies.
- The government must increase its allocation of domestic resources to quality and affordable education for all.
Education is key to development as espoused in Sustainable Development Goal No. 4, on inclusive and equitable quality education that promotes life-long learning opportunities for all. Moreover, education and training is a key area of focus in the social pillar of Kenya Vision 2030.
Covid-19 has adversely affected education. According to Unicef, the 10-month closure of schools due to the pandemic affected 1.6 billion learners, many of whom dropped out. Particularly affected were girls, many of whom became pregnant, were married off or underwent FGM. Boys got into informal trade.
The new Competency-Based Curriculum and 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school. Poor-quality teaching, weak infrastructure, low teacher-to-pupil ratio and large class sizes are among the challenges to learning.
The need to invest in additional education resources is critical, particularly to address the inequalities now deepened by Covid-19. This week’s Global Education Summit was timely. It was an opportunity to urge world leaders to invest in getting children into school and build back better from the pandemic so that every child gets an education.
Affordable education
Investing in education is critical for sustainable, peaceful and resilient societies. The education must impart skills for self-reliance and be broad, transferring knowledge that addresses health, food insecurity, gender inequality, climate change and others.
The government must increase its allocation of domestic resources to quality and affordable education for all. That would mitigate the impact of school closures on the most vulnerable children, particularly those who have dropped out of school, and to build robust and resilient education systems.
The resources should be invested for maximum impact and to ensure that every girl and boy gets the quality education they need to unlock their full potential and contribute to building a better world.
It is time to raise our hands and fund education because education is for life.
Ms Yiega is executive officer, Women Education Researchers of Kenya. [email protected]
