Moses Oketch

Chapter 5: Policies on Free Primary and Secondary Education in East Africa--Retrospect and Prospect.

This chapter reviews the evolution of education policies in the East African region in a historical context. The focus is on the formulation of policies for access to primary and secondary education in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania since their inde pendence in the 1960s. We ask the following questions: What led to those policies and how were they funded? What was the role, if any, of the international commu nity? What were the politics and underpinning philosophy surrounding the formu lation of those policies and have the policies changed over time, and if so why? In recent years, several countries in sub-Saharan Africa have (re) introduced the Free Primary Education (FPE) policy in line with both Education For All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) international agendas. Three East African countries?Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania?are among them. All three countries are often held up as success stories in the implementation of FPE policies and in all of them, implementation of FPE policies is already leading to new policies for access to secondary education. But the idea of a universal primary education system is not new to these countries. Efforts have been made to expand access to education ever since they gained their independence from British colonial rule in the early part of the 1960s. Yet, still, there are those with no access, those who are excluded after initial entry, those at risk of dropout, and a majority excluded from any form of secondary education. The three countries have common characteristics and historical backgrounds. For example, few of their population had access to education at all levels in the past, and hence, each faced similar educational and literacy challenges at the time of their political independence in the 1960s. Kenya declared a campaign for Universal Primary Education (UPE) free of charge as a long-term objective in 1963. Tanzania followed in 1967, and Uganda, although lukewarm in its desire to expand primary education, nonetheless experienced improved access from the time of independence in 1962 until the late 1970s when internal political conflict and war caused serious

Education's Effects on Individual Life Chances and On Development: An Overview

ABSTRACT This paper estimates the effects of human capital skills largely created through education on lifes chances over the life cycle. Qualifications as a measure of these skills affect earnings, and schooling affects private and social non-market benefits beyond earnings. Private non-market benefits include better own-health, child health, spousal health, infant mortality, longevity, fertility, household efficiency, asset management and happiness. Social benefits include increased democratisation, civil rights, political stability, reduced crime, lower prison, health and welfare costs, and new ideas. Individual benefits enhance community-wide development. New ‘narrow’ social rates of return using UK Labour Force earnings correct for institutional costs, longitudinal trends and ability. The papers objective, however, is to estimate these earnings plus non-market outcomes comprehensively without overlaps and also relative to costs. Non-market outcomes are measured by averaging regression coefficients from published studies that meet scientific standards. New UK ‘narrow’ social rates of return average 12.1 per cent for short-cycle and 13.6 per cent for bachelors programmes. Augmented with non-market effects on life chances, they are over twice that. Short degrees are found effective for regional development and have potential for developing countries.

Do household characteristics matter in schooling decisions in urban Kenya

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine household characteristics and schooling decisions in terms of enrollment and type of school in an urban setting in Nairobi.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a cross‐sectional data set collected in 2005. The sample comprises 7,475 primary school‐aged children. A probit model was estimated to show what influences decisions at household level.Findings – Analysis shows that different household and individual attributes motivate different decisions. A considerable proportion (40 per cent) of children from the poorest quintile attends non‐public schools compared to 34 per cent from the richest quintile. The findings reveal that better‐off households are more represented in the free primary education (FPE) programme. The predicted probability of a decision to attend a public school for a primary school‐age child increases as the household wealth increases.Practical implications – The paper concludes that poorer households are least attending and may be...

Public-private mix in the provision of higher education in East Africa : Stakeholders' perceptions

Arguments in the international literature suggest that public–private partnership (PPP) can positively transform [higher] education as it leads to increased access, competition, efficiency and quality. But there are those who disagree and question whether PPP can deliver any one or all of these. This article does two things. First, it presents a discussion on higher education in three East African countries with a common history in the establishment of higher education, mapping their emerging PPP pattern on to the global patterns of public–private differentiation. Second, it analyses perceptions by key stakeholders: university students, lecturers and administrators on East Africas experience with public–private mix in higher education based on theories of public–private differentiation.

Quality of Primary Education Inputs in Urban Schools: Evidence From Nairobi

This article examines the quality of primary school inputs in urban settlements with a view to understand how it sheds light on benchmarks of education quality indicators in Kenya. Data from a school survey that involved 83 primary schools collected in 2005 were used. The data set contains information on school quality characteristics of various types of schools in Nairobi. On the basis of the national benchmarks, the quality of education provided in government schools was shown to be “better” with regard to infrastructure, teacher qualifications, and textbook provision than that provided in all the nongovernment-owned schools. However, nongovernment schools have smaller class sizes and lower pupil—teacher ratio (PTR). The bad news is that government schools have large class sizes and higher PTR and hence low levels of teacher—pupil interaction. Nongovernment schools had poor classroom structures and a higher pupil—textbook ratio, particulary private individually owned schools and community-owned schools. It also emerges that although in the government schools, student learning space is constrained by the class size, the student learning space in nongovernment schools is constrained by the classroom size. Meeting quality benchmarks in primary schooling, therefore, remains a challenge among urban populations.

Free primary education still excludes the poorest of the poor in urban Kenya

The Kenyan government introduced free primary education in 2003 in order to universalise access to primary education. Although the policy allows universal coverage, it ought to benefit the poor most as they are the ones who were excluded from the education sector before the policy was introduced. Using household-survey data collected in Nairobi, this contribution assesses the impact of the policy on schooling outcomes of the poor. The findings reveal that the free primary-education policy in Kenya still excludes the poorest of the poor.

Implementing Free Primary Education Policy in Malawi and Ghana: Equity and Efficiency Analysis.

Malawi and Ghana are among the numerous Sub-Saharan Africa countries that have in recent years introduced Free Primary Education (FPE) policy as a means to realizing the 2015 Education for All and Millennium Development Goals international targets. The introduction of FPE policy is, however, a huge challenge for any national government that has experienced declining or slow economic growth and heavily relied on charging fees to parents and other sources to finance the education system. It follows, therefore, that the approach taken in implementing the FPE policy has implications for equity and efficiency in the education sector. Malawi and Ghana have differently implemented FPE policy. In this article we assess the impact of the implementation approach taken by each of the two countries on equity and efficiency in their education systems.

Affording the unaffordable: cost sharing in higher education in sub-Saharan Africa

The purpose of this article is to discuss some financial aspects of the future development of higher education in Africa entering the 21st century. Two main aspects can be distinguished: first, problems that concern the economy as a whole, the macroeconomic problems; second, questions that apply to the individual institutions of higher education. The former group includes questions such as: How much will the future expansions of higher education in Africa cost? How large is the capacity of African economies to finance this expansion and to what extent can tuition be applied? The article makes three recommendations to Africas higher education: flexible tuition fees; a well-designed loan scheme; and a proactive measure to promote access and quality.

Why do pupils dropout when education is ‘free’? Explaining school dropout among the urban poor in Nairobi

The introduction of universal primary education in sub-Sahara African countries in the 1990s increased enrolment rates and provided opportunities to children who were previously not in school. Research demonstrates that eliminating fees is not the magic bullet that delivers universal access. This study seeks to determine risk factors associated with dropout among primary school children in the low-income areas of Nairobi. Qualitative data is from the Education Research Program, collected between June and July 2008. The study found that: dumpsites in the two slum sites of Korogocho and Viwandani lure children out of school; school levies still charged in schools keep children out of school; and chronic poverty within families lure girls aged 14–16 into transactional sex. In conclusion, the declaration of free primary education is not sufficient to realize improved educational attainment as dropout after initial entry negates the purpose for which it was introduced.

The corporate stake in social cohesion

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a function that transcends, but includes, making profits, creating jobs, and producing goods and services. The effectiveness with which corporations perform this function determines their contribution (or lack of contribution) to social cohesion. This article therefore presents a discussion of some of the social cohesion issues involving corporations, particularly concerns over how corporations make profits, create jobs, hire, promote, fire, treat shareholders, run their boards, and give back to the communities in which they function. Most of these functions depend on the quality of corporate governance, which in turn has implications for social cohesion. The article begins with a discussion of the concept of CSR. Then it presents an identification and discussion of some corporate behaviors that promote CSR in the following areas: governance; employment practices; and involvement in communities, environmental protection, and ethical investment. In conclusion, successful business strategy that contributes to social cohesion in society is that which fosters integrity in internal governance while promoting positive engagement in communities in which corporations operate.