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Kenya: Govt Orders Reduction of Number of Course Books

Kenyan/19 de Junio de 2017/Allafrica

Resumen: El gobierno ordenó el miércoles una reducción de los libros de curso con el objetivo de desmantelar los cárteles aprovechando ilegalmente los materiales de aprendizaje.

The government on Wednesday ordered a reduction course books with the aim of dismantling cartels profiting illegally from learning materials.

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i asked the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development to review the course books, saying one per subject was adequate as opposed to the current six.

He said many books were only benefiting those in business while learners bore the burden of carrying and reading them.

«The collection of books in the Orange Book is being influenced by people we know. Marketers go out to influence people who choose the books,» said Dr Matiang’i during the launch of a report on Sh5 billion Tusome project that seeks to improve learning outcomes for class One and Two in Swahili and English at the KICD.

He said despite the government allocating billions of shillings to schools for books, millions of children were still sharing them.

«We cannot achieve better learning outcomes if children in schools have no learning materials. People cannot complain that I am putting them out of business. I have no problem putting thieves out of business,» said Dr Matiang’i.

 He told KICD to identify one course book for each subject but that parents who can afford supplementary books would be allowed to buy them.

ORANGE BOOK

The current Orange Book, a list of approved titles for schools, was last revised in 2003 and has a list of six different copies for each subject.

«The list is supposed to be reviewed every five years but we last reviewed it 13 years ago so we have been using the same books for long,» said KICD Director Julius Jwan.

Dr Matiang’i said a total of 20 million books had been distributed to class One and Two for Swahili and English across the country.

 A report released by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission last year unearthed massive irregularities in the procurement of textbooks for public schools, with headteachers playing a key role in the racket.
 The fraud ranged from forged signatures, delivery of phantom books, overpricing and single-sourcing of suppliers by instructional materials selection committees at the school level.

The report, titled «Examination into the Disbursement and Utilisation of Free Primary Education Funds», blames headteachers, school management committees and suppliers for the failure to achieve the 1:1 book-to-pupil ratio, which he said currently stands at 5:1 in primary schools.

The study also found that children’s ability to read in English and Swahili has significantly improved since the beginning of the project in 2015.

‘STRONG GAIN’

About 5,000 pupils in Standard One and Two from a national sample of 200 schools were tested in both 2015 and 2016.

«On average, the pupils showed improvements in their reading rates of between 7 and 20 words per minute, which is considered a strong gain,» says the study.

 It says the Tusome approach is having a strong, positive influence on reading outcomes, with relationships between project implementation and reading outcomes.

«Project activities, such as curriculum support officer (CSO) observations, in-service training and access to materials, are associated with higher reading scores. The Tusome project has achieved a high level of national implementation. About 98 per cent of teachers had received at least some Tusome training, and 95 to 99 per cent of classrooms had received materials, such as a Tusome teacher’s guide, pupils’ books and exercise books,» says the report.

The study also found a decrease in the percentage of children who couldn’t read at all, while 70 per cent of Class One pupils could not read any words in Swahili at baseline and this number dropped to 45 per cent within one year.

Fuente: http://allafrica.com/stories/201706150580.html

 

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Kenia: Students should choose varsities, courses of choice

Kenia / 14 de junio de 2017 / Por: OUMA WANZALA / Fuente: http://www.nation.co.ke

Students should be allowed to select courses and universities of their choice, a Vice-chancellor has said.

KCA University Vice-chancellor Noah Midamba said students do not need to be told ‘go to that university and take this course’.

“A student should make a choice of the institution that they want to go to,” said Prof Midamba during the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examinations Board (Kasneb).

At the moment, Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Services (KUCCPS), is the statutory body tasked with placement of students in universities and colleges.

However, it has been criticised for forcing courses on students in most cases ignoring their needs.

Last year, there was an attempt to have universities and colleges select and admit students directly but the proposal did not go through parliament.

KUCCPS was to focus on developing career guidance programmes for the benefit of universities and students.

Prof Midamba at the same time said the government should not shy away from shutting down universities that do not provide quality education.

“We must meet the need of students which is quality education all the time,” said the Vice-chancellor.

Already the government has suspended, for three years, the establishment of new university campuses and has warned that it will not hesitate to close down underperforming campuses.

It has also promised to strengthen university governance and management as well as strengthen the university internal quality management systems.

The number of universities have doubled from 35 in 2012 to 70 last year and the number of students enrolled in universities has also increased from over 361,379 in 2012 to over 564,507 last year.

Fuente noticia: http://www.nation.co.ke/news/education/Students-should-choose-varsities–courses-of-choice/2643604-3968458-u5a31mz/index.html

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Kenya: Education Donors Favour Kenya, UN Report Shows

África/Kenia/11 Junio 2017/Fuente: /Autor: Ouma Wanzala

Resumen: Kenia no ha dejado de ser prioridad para aquellos que aportan recursos al sector de la educación, en comparación con otros países de la región, señala un informe publicado por la Educación Global de la UNESCO Monitoreo (GEM). El informe indica que esto es contrario a las tendencias mundiales, que indican que la cantidad de la ayuda asignada a la educación ha estado cayendo durante seis años consecutivos.

Kenya has continued to be prioritised by donors in funding of the education sector as compared to other countries in the region, states a report published by UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM).

The report indicates that this is contrary to global trends, which indicate that amount of aid allocated to education has been falling for six years in a row.

«Total aid to education in Kenya has been increasing on average since 2010, with one blip in 2014, when aid fell from Sh10.2 billion to Sh8.9 billion,» states the report.

It adds that in 2015, it rose again to Sh9.9 billion, more than double what was being received in 2010 with only six other countries in the region receiving more as a total amount of aid to education in 2015.

Kenya allocates over Sh300 billion to the education sector annually.

«Aid remains far short of what is needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, putting our commitments at risk,» said Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.

He went on: «Aid would need to be multiplied by at least six to achieve our common education goals and must go to countries most in need. Yet, we see that donors to education are shifting their attention away from the poorest countries.»

The United States and the United Kingdom remain the two largest donors to basic education, but reduced their allocations by 1 1per cent and nine per cent respectively between 2014 and 2015.

The report indicate that Norway and Germany, meanwhile, increased their allocations to basic education by 50 per cent and 34 per cent respectively.

The report adds that aid is not being allocated according to need.

«Sub-Saharan Africa, home to over half of the world’s out-of-school children now receives less than half the aid to basic education it obtained in 2002.

This amounts to 26 per cent of total aid to basic education, barely more than the 22 per cent allocated to Northern Africa and Western Asia, where nine per cent of children are out-of-school.

In contrast to trends in bilateral aid to education, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), allocated 77 per cent of its disbursements to sub-Saharan Africa and 60 per cent to countries affected by instability and conflict.

The report provides country-specific examples of donors’ biased resource allocation. It demonstrates that aid is not allocated according to out-of-school rates so as to meet the cost of achieving universal education in each country concerned.

Some of the donor-funded programmes in Kenya includes Sh5 billion Tusome project that seeks to improve early grade reading for Standard One and Two pupils across the country and which is funded by US and UK governments.

GPE is also supporting Kenya Primary Education Development project at a tune of Sh8.8 billion and seeks to improve early grade mathematics competencies among others.

The Ministry of education is also set to train teachers in 4,000 schools which have recorded low performance over years across the country with funding from Global Partnership under the supervision of the World Bank.

Fuente de la noticia: http://www.nation.co.ke/news/education/Education-donors-favour-Kenya/2643604-3961686-kqdc2uz/index.html

Fuente de la imagen:

 http://www.nation.co.ke/image/view/-/3897774/highRes/1664979/-/maxw/600/-/40remhz/-/EDUCATIONPIC.jpg

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Kenia: Government to hire 5,000 new teachers

Kenia / 07 de junio de 2017 / Por: OUMA WANZALA / Fuente: http://www.nation.co.ke/

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has announced the recruitment of 5,000 new teachers across the country to address a shortage of 87,000 tutors.

Chief executive officer Nancy Macharia said 2,205 teachers will be deployed in primary schools while 2,795 teachers will be sent to secondary schools and tertiary institutions.

“Interested candidates should submit their applications to county directors of education for primary schools and boards of management for post primary institutions not later than June 14,” Mrs Macharia said in an advert.

She said eligible candidates must be Kenyan citizens, aged 45 years and below, registered with TSC and must have original professional and academic certificates.

Mrs Macharia said applicants for posts in primary schools must be holders of a P1 certificate and should apply to the TSC county director where there is a vacancy, attaching relevant documents.

APPLY A FRESH

“The application should be submitted through the respective TSC sub county directors. Those who had applied earlier and were unsuccessful must apply afresh since a new merit list for 2017/2018 financial year will be generated,” said the CEO.

She said successful candidates will be deployed to any part of the country and not necessary in the county they will be recruited in.

Those applying for jobs in post primary institutions must be holders of a diploma in education and should apply to school boards of management attaching relevant documents.

“TSC will only deal with its county selection panel and boards of management in this exercise. Individual applications to the Commission will not be considered,” said Mrs Macharia, adding that the Commission is an equal opportunity employer.

EMPLOYMENT FORMS

“Successful candidates must not fill employment forms in more than one station as it will lead to disqualification.”

The Commission cautioned Kenyans against fraudsters who may want to extort money from unsuspecting persons purporting to assist them in the recruitment.

The Commission was allocated Sh2 billion for the exercise in the financial year starting July but teachers’ union leaders had demanded employment of more than 90,000 teachers.

TSC currently has 305,000 teachers on its payroll with a budget of about Sh200 billion annually. It has been replacing teachers who exit the service through natural attrition on quarterly basis and last year 5,000 were recruited.

Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary-general Wilson Sossion and Kenya Union of Post Primary education chairman chairman Omboko Milemba said more teachers ought to be recruited to guarantee quality education.

FREE EDUCATION

“People are talking of free education and that can only be achieved if we hire enough teachers,” said Mr Sossion.

A survey by Twaweza East Africa, released last week, revealed that majority of Kenyans believe that recruitment of more teachers is important, followed by improvement of infrastructure.

The government has committed to improve working conditions for teachers and is set to implement a new collective bargaining agreement from next month.

Last week, Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i called on teachers to work towards improving learning outcomes, regretting that the country was doing poorly.

PERFORMANCE

The CBA puts emphasis on performance of teachers; they will be promoted on the basis of their performance and not necessarily experience.

“In recognition of the fundamental shift in policy in public employment and with a view to promote, enhance and maintain high performance standards in the teaching service, parties hereby agree to ensure continuous professional development and annual performance evaluation system,” the CBA says.

Fuente noticia: http://www.nation.co.ke/news/education/Government-to-hire-5-000-new-teachers/2643604-3956772-11rv9a3/index.html

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Kenia: State to take over school feeding scheme from January

Kenia / 31 de mayo de 2017 / Por: OUMA WANZALA / Fuente: http://www.nation.co.ke/

The government will take charge of school feeding programmes from January.

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said the government had increased budgetary allocation to the programme by Sh1.6 billion.

“We want to tell the World Food Programme to go and feed others. We want to give meaning to independence,” said Dr Matiang’i while addressing an Africa Union and WFP continental consultation on homegrown school feeding in Nairobi.

PROGRAMME SUPPORT

“Today the programme supports over 1.1 million children while WFP, who is our main partner in the programme, is supporting slightly over 500,000 children,” said the CS.

He said WFP would continue providing technical support to the programme.

Education ministers from Benin, Niger, Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia, Zimbabwe and a Brazilian government representative attended Monday’s meeting.

OVER-RELYING ON DONORS

Dr Matiang’i said the school feeding programme had helped keep children in school.

“This improves not only enrolment and attendance, but all aspects of learning,” he said.

He urged African governments to stop over-relying on donors. “Africa leaders should wake up from public relations language at AU summits. Five decades after gaining independence we cannot be discussing how our children are going to be fed by others,” he said.

Fuente noticia: http://www.nation.co.ke/news/education/State-to-take-over-school-feeding-scheme-from-January/2643604-3947340-9v00u3z/index.html

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Kenia: Pay talks underway as TSC promotes teachers

Kenia / 24 de mayo de 2017 / Por: OUMA WANZALA / Fuente: http://www.nation.co.ke

A total of 10,000 teachers have been promoted by their employer after interviews conducted in March and April.

The Teachers Service Commission in a statement said the effective date for promotion is May 3.

«Letters for the successful applicants will be released to respective TSC county directors starting Monday (tomorrow) for onward transmission to the teachers.

«It is anticipated that all letters will have been dispatched in two weeks’ time,» TSC’s head of communication Kihumba Kamotho said.

JOB GROUPS
The teachers were among 27,000 short-listed for interviews conducted by the commission in February in various parts of the country.

They include 2,351 secondary school teachers who have been promoted from Job Group ‘L’ to ‘M’ and 1,800 secondary school teachers who have moved from Job Group ‘M’ to ‘N’.

Another 943 secondary school principals and deputies have been promoted to Job Group ‘N’ from ‘M’.

Mr Kamotho added that 1,500 headteachers and deputies in primary schools have been promoted from Job Group ‘L’ to ‘M’ while 1,011 and 469 classroom teachers in primary schools will move to Job Groups ‘M’ and ‘N’ respectively.

«Some 500 graduate headteachers and deputies in primary schools have been promoted from Job Group ‘G’ and ‘H’ to Job Group ‘K’,» he added.

CBA
Other staff who have been promoted to Job Group ‘M’ and ‘N’, Mr Kamotho said, include lecturers in Technical and Vocational Education and Training Institutions (TVET), Curriculum Support Officers, tutors in teacher training colleges, and officers at the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (Cemastea) and the Educational Assessment and Resource Centre (EARC).

«TSC will continue addressing terms and conditions of service for all teachers to motivate and support their career progression in the teaching service as a way of attracting and retaining staff,» he said.

He added that preparations for implementing the collective bargaining agreements signed with the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) are under way and the first phase will begin from July 1.

REWARD TEACHERS
Talks planned for last week between the unions and the TSC on the payment schedule were postponed to a later date.

The CBA will take Sh13.7 billion annually and will run from July 1 this year to June 30, 2021.

It provides that teachers can only be promoted on the basis of their performance in school and not experience.

However, Knut Secretary-General Wilson Sossion said more teachers should be promoted as a way of motivating them.

Kuppet chairman Omboko Milemba, for his part, said his union welcomed the promotions but said that more of its members should be given promotions.

Fuente noticia: http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Pay-talks-underway-as-TSC-promotes-teachers/1056-3936230-612x1uz/index.html

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WomenStrong International Launches Menstrual Education Campaign to Reduce Obstacles Preventing Impoverished Girls from Finishing School

Africa – Asia – North America – Central America/23 may 2017/By: WomenStrong International/Source: http://www.kait8.com

WomenStrong International, a consortium of non-profit organizations in five nations supporting women-driven solutions to extreme urban poverty, today launched a campaign to increase menstruation education and reduce obstacles preventing girls from getting the education they need to create better, more prosperous lives.

WomenStrong invited those who care about women and girls to join #WomenStrongWarrior on Menstrual Hygiene Day, May 28, and support the fight for access to menstrual and reproductive health education, sanitary pads and basic facilities, such as school toilets.

«Our experience working with adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa and India demonstrates the importance of education, which is everything to a girl hoping for a better life,» said Dr. Susan M. Blaustein, WomenStrong Founder and Executive Director. «We call on schools, local governments, multilateral institutions, policymakers and international development organizations to help create a world where menstrual health is a human right and girls can grow up with dignity and joy in their womanhood.»

Studies show that most girls don’t receive the information they need on changes that occur at puberty and don’t have money to buy sanitary products. These gaps become insurmountable barriers to school attendance. Yet, education is known to be the most critical factor in a woman’s ability to delay marriage, survive childbirth, raise healthier and better-educated children, and emerge from poverty.  When a girl misses a week of school each month because of her period, or drops out, she is condemned to a life without resources or dignity. The impact of losing this girl resonates in the national economy since educating girls is now known to be one of the highest yielding investments in the economic growth of developing countries.

WomenStrong’s Consortium members working at the community level in the slums of Kisumu, Kenya; Kumasi, Ghana; and Madurai, India, have established Girls’ Clubs, providing thousands of adolescent girls with a safe place to make friends, build confidence, learn about sexual and reproductive health and rights, and exchange information with peers and mentors.  The Clubs have seen the substantial positive impact of training girls and boys on puberty and menstrual and reproductive health and hygiene. Including boys, men, mothers, teachers, health workers and others in trainings helps break the silence around menstruation, destroys negative myths and misinformation, and removes the stigma from this natural biological process.

But trainings alone aren’t enough. Girls also need school toilets with doors and locks for privacy, and basic menstrual supplies.  So, as often as possible, trainings are followed up with the provision of personal hygiene packs containing sanitary pads, soap and panties, all of which increase a girl’s chances of staying in school.

Research funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found that 65% of Kenyan women and girls were unable to afford sanitary pads and often resorted to using rags or even leaves, the source of a variety of health risks. Families living on less than $2 per day are faced with choosing between buying sanitary pads for their daughters or food for the family.

«To a young girl, the obstacles seem huge, simply overwhelming. Confusion, embarrassment, no money to buy the supplies so many of us take for granted.  But it really takes so little to change a girl’s life,» Dr. Blaustein said.  «Even a small contribution makes a big difference to a girl, now and for years to come.»

  • $12 can buy a girl a year’s worth of sanitary pads
  • $25 pays for two packets of sanitary pads, a monthly recording chart and pencil
  • $50 buys a menstruation kit, with a year’s worth of pads, panties and soap
  • $100 buys a girl a menstruation kit for two years
  • $200 provides menstruation kits for four girls in a WomenStrong location of the donor’s choosing

#WomenStrongWarrior is a part of a growing global movement calling for menstrual hygiene education that informs and empowers girls and women to make decisions on managing their own bodies. Organizations and governments are calling for menstruation education to be part of national school curricula, as well as policies and programs for teen boys and girls.

For more information on WomenStrong International, and to stay updated on program news, innovations and stories that inspire from around the world, please visit www.womenstrong.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

ABOUT WOMENSTRONG INTERNATIONAL
WomenStrong International is a consortium of non-profit organizations in five nations supporting women-driven solutions to extreme urban poverty. WSI emerged from a decade of work at Columbia University’s Millennium Cities Initiative where we found the most successful programs were local and led by women. Through our Consortium members in Ghana, Kenya, Haiti, India and Washington, D.C., we help thousands of women and girls meet their 6 Essential Needs for health, shelter, safety, education, economic empowerment and a functioning urban environment. These women, in turn, improve the lives of their children, families, communities and nations. WomenStrong International believes the path out of poverty and toward a more just and prosperous world can be found by making women strong. For more information, visit www.womenstrong.org.

Media Contacts:
Melissa DiMercurio
Public Relations Manager
mdimercurio@delucchiplus.com

Natalie Dudas-Thomas
WomenStrong International
ndudasthomas@womenstrong.org

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/womenstrong-international-launches-menstrual-education-campaign-to-reduce-obstacles-preventing-impoverished-girls-from-finishing-school-300460882.html

Source:

http://www.kait8.com/story/35485232/womenstrong-international-launches-menstrual-education-campaign-to-reduce-obstacles-preventing-impoverished-girls-from-finishing-school

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