Implementation of Free Primary Education Policy among the Pastoralists in Kenya” Rhetoric and Reality”
- August 20, 2019
- Posted by: RSIS
- Category: Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VIII, August 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186
Barmaokipkorir Paul
Eldoret National Polytechnic , P. o Box 6429-30100, Eldoret Kenya
Abstract: – Despite various efforts by the government and development partners in ensuring Education for All in Kenya, the participation of pastoralist communities remains a challenge. It is estimated that 104 million children are not enrolled in school or are enrolled but do not complete their course in sub-Sahara (Global Monitoring Report, 2010). This study investigated the sustainability of free primary education policy implementation in West Pokot County. The donor community, nongovernmental organizations, and the Kenyan central government have been using a lot of resources towards this goal. Surprisingly, for many years pastoralist communities have lagged behind in education despite the efforts that have been put in place. This study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised of head teachers, students, parents and the County Director of Education in West Pokot County. The study involved 401 respondents which comprised of 300 students, 50 head teachers, 50 parents and 1 County Director of Education. Purposive sampling and simple random sampling were used to select respondents. This study adopted the pragmatist philosophical paradigm. Data was coded and analyzed with the help of computer package for social scientists. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics particularly frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation. It is hoped that the results of this study provide an insight to the Ministry of Education, county governments, school managers, teachers and parents in West Pokot County, on the measure of emphasis to engage in to ensure a sustainable education policy for all the children of pastoralist communities in Kenya. The study recommends thatthe County Government needs to take a holistic approach to assess and address the needs of pastoralist communities, groups and individuals. Secondly County Governments should strive to put in place quality and quantity of instructional resources, regularly in-servicing teachers to improve their pedagogical skills and economically empower parents. The County Government should formulate policies and strategies that will govern financing of FPE program. Furthermore the County policy makers need to listen to the concerns and opinions of pastoralist .lastly the national government needs to increase the budgetary allocations to the schools in pastoralist counties to improve the quality and quantity of input such as instructional materials and physical infrastructure. Finally, a research of the same kind should be conducted in other Counties with similar pastoralist characteristic.
Key words: Free primary, policy, Implementation, rhetoric, Reality
