citize voice & action final

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CITIZEN

VOICE & ACTION

CITIZEN

VOICE & ACTIONPromoting accountability and reforms in basic education service delivery in KenyaN E W S L E T T E R Vol 1 / 2012

One of World Vision Kenyascurrent ministry priorities asdocumented in WVK National

Of ce (NO) strategy is Access to qual-ity basic education and protection rightsfor children in Kenya, In addition, WVKsNO strategy is intentional in enablingcommunities to express their voiceand take action on local level decisionmaking processes through a strategic

objective of a Strengthened peace, jus-tice and governance within communities.

WVK continues to build the capacitiesof communities to demand for quality services while at the same time em-powering communities to monitor thedelivery of such services to ensureeffectiveness and ef ciency. Through

this newsletter we are escalating the journey of ensuring that key issues of

concerns from various communitiesare highlighted and shared widely withan objective of providing evidence thatwould enable communities to hold

the local leaders and government of -cials to account for policy implemen -

tation and public resources use in asfar as the delivery of basic education isconcerned. This journey is part of theCitizen Voice and Action (CVA) efforts

that enable communities to hold gov -ernment accountable for the status of service delivery.

Through this newsletter, accountability and reforms in basic education servicedelivery will not only be enhanced

through opinion pieces but also through sharing of experiences andlessons learnt by various community groups while undertaking monitoringof service delivery at the facility level.Success stories will be shared with de -

tails of the extent of effectiveness of dialogue and accountability sessionsbetween service providers and serviceconsumers. Welcome on board andwatch out for Volume 2.

As de ned by the General CommentNo. 13 of the United Nations Commit -

tee on Economic, Social and CulturalRights, Education is both a human rightin itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights. Educationis the primary vehicle by which chil -

dren can obtain the means to partici -pate fully in their communities. Through

the provision of basic education chil -dren are often equipped with skills andknowledge to be able to prevent andrespond to abuse, neglect, exploitationand violence affecting them. The school

system (whether formal or non-formal)usually provides mechanisms wherechildren are best protected and linked

to various basic services such as bir thregistration, primary health care; immu -nization and nutrition among others,for their growth and development.

Scaling up Citizen Voice and Action efforts

Basic Education a means to the realization of other rights of the child

CVA Learning Forum Participants

Scaling up Citizen Voice and Action efforts...................................... 1Basic Education.................................................................................................... 1Basic Education Service Delivery Community Concerns.. 2The quest for free and compulsory basic education ................ 2CVA groups championing education reforms ............................. 4

Education Reforms Citizens Participation.................................. 5The TSC Bill are all the teachers in Kenya aware? ............... 5The state of ECDE Centers ......................................................................... 6Improving Basic Education Service Delivery ................................... 6Education for All (EFA) goals...................................................................... 7


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2 | Citizen Voice & Action Citizen Voice & Action| 3

In spite of the very good intentionsand plans, as set out in the Educationpolicies in Kenya and accompanyingservice deliver standards, service de-livery is generally poor. The delivery of basic education has been worst hitwith overcrowding a common feature(particularly in the public schools) inaddition to non compliance to guide -lines and standards. There is inadequateaccess by citizens to information andfacts about government education poli -cies and service delivery standards. Re -lated to the challenge faced by citizensis the limited knowledge by local level

service providers themselves on their obligations and roles, in view of gov -ernment standards and guidelines andthe result has been poor and untimely service delivery in the Early ChildhoodDevelopment and Education centersand primary schools.

Despite the progress in terms of enroll -ment in public primary schools sincethe government of Kenya put in placea Free Primar y Education (FPE) policy,there continues to be reported casesof mismanagement of school funds andschool budget waste with attributionsbeing made to weak capacity of schoolgovernance teams and inadequate ac -countability mechanisms; often imply -ing that a lot of school funds do notbene t the poor children hence de -

livery of education services in variousschools has been compromised.

While the primary schools are sup-ported, but not adequately, through

the disbursement of FPE funds, theEarly Childhood and DevelopmentEducation (ECDE) centers have largely been neglected with parents shoulder -ing the costs of ensuring the centersare operational including paying theECDE teachers, though in some fewcases the government does providecommunity support grants to selectedcenters which is hardly enough. Some

of the pre-schools centers have beenestablished in total disregard of the ex -isting ECDE policy and guidelines withminimal safety and security measures,non-standard teaching curriculum andlimited child friendly environment.Negative stereotype, misconceptionsand beliefs about the causes and con -sequences of disability coupled withhigh levels of poverty and gender dis -crimination also continue to be barri -ers that prevent children with specialneeds from accessing quality basic edu -cation services.

Basic Education Service Delivery Community Concerns

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CVA team members from Machakos County raising concerns with members of a School Management Committee

Kenyas Constitution (2010) is clear un -der Economic and Social rights, Article43 (1) (f) that every person has a rightto education, while on speci c applica -tion of rights, part 3 ar ticle 53 (1) (b),every child has a right to free and com -pulsory basic education. (We take notethat part 3 of the bill of rights elabo -rates certain rights to ensure greater certainty as to the application of thoserights and fundamental freedoms tocertain groups of persons). The wordchild in this context refers to an in-dividual who has not attained the ageof eighteen years. Free and compul -

sory basic education should thereforebene t all such individuals. However the constitution fell shor t of de ningBasic Education. As we move for -ward with the quest for basic educa -

tion, utmost care should be taken toensure that the state puts measures toprovide for free basic education for allchildren without exclusion - the con-stitution further provides for access toeducation institutions and facilities for persons with disabilities.

The free encyclopedia (Wikipedia)de nes basic education as the whole

range of educational activities taking place in various settings (formal, non for-mal and informal), that aim to meet ba-sic learning needs. On the other hand,according to the International StandardClassi cation of Education (ISCED), ba -sic education comprises primar y edu-cation ( rst stage of basic education)and lower secondary education (sec -ond stage of basic education). In other developing countries, basic educationoften includes also pre-primary educa-

tion and/or adult literacy programs.

Dear people; do we want to de ne

The quest for free and compulsory basic education

basic education in terms of the num -ber of years the state will provide freeand compulsory education (obligatory duration) or do we choose to de nebasic education in terms of personaldevelopment (outcomes)?

The task force on the realignment of Kenyas Education sector to the con-stitution provides a de nition of BasicEducation as Education provided fromPre-primary to end of the Senior Second-ary education - this being the minimumlevel of formal instruction that every eligible Kenyan needs in order to be ad-equately equipped, with a rm founda-tion of knowledge for further learning and practical skills necessary for economicdevelopment.In addition the Task forceproposes that the content for BasicEducation should be designed with aview of equipping the learners withrelevant knowledge that lays empha -sis on technology, innovativeness andentrepreneurship, the development of

their full capacities, living and workingin dignity, enhancing the quality of their lives, making informed decisions andcontinuing with learning as a lifelongengagement.

With the constitutional framework,all children should be able to accesspublic education institutions and learnfor free. Early childhood and develop -ment education should be the startingpoint in this regard. Priority should bemade to ensure that all children accessquality free basic education in publicinstitutions. The greatest challenge thatcontinues to be faced by very youngchildren is the distance between house -holds and schools, food in schools andclothing. Imagine children of between3 6 years old walking long distancescurrently, especially in the r ural areas, inpursuit of early childhood education?Imagine the same group of childrenstaying on empty stomachs whole day in pursuit of education? Imagine thesame group of children walking bare -foot, sometimes in the cold, in poor clothing to and from schools? As weconsider provision of free and com-pulsory basic education, what are thecost implications? What is the dividebetween the duty of the state and re -sponsibility of parents?

The Free primary education has had itsgreat achievements particularly in termsof access to schools. We have seen en -

rollment rates increase over the yearsdespite the challenges around the pro -vision of quality education. However,

the grants from the government toprimary schools have never been suf -

cient. Parents & guardians still have topay for some of the school attendanceneeds.

Moving forward with the proposed ba -sic education cycle could some unitcost be provided? The unit cost can

then be the basis of demanding from the state speci c aspects of nancialcommitment to the provision of freeand compulsory basic education asprovided for in the constitution.

Moving forward with the education re -

forms in Kenya, and as efforts are ac-celerated towards a new education bill,it is critical that actors identify and stateclearly the extent of the governments

nancial support to basic educationprogrammes and the responsibility of parents & guardians. If these are provid -ed for in a legal framework then it willbe possible to track how all the actorswill be participating in the progressiverealization of the right to educationand hold every actor accountable.

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Will we ever realize our right to quality basic education?



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A team of CVA members from Busia County championing for Education Reforms

On February 3 rd 2012, the Task-forceon the realignment of education sector to the constitution did hand over their report to the Minister of Education; im -mediately thereafter, the CVA groupsembarked on a process of conveningcounty level education policy forumsto discuss the report and documentfeedback from the communities whileworking closely with the local DistrictEducation Of ces and other partners.The purpose of the forums was to un-pack the education task-force report,take stock of the strengths, gains made,gaps or weaknesses and make policy recommendations.

On the issue on Structure and Cur-riculum of Education system whichhas attracted a national debate in Ke -nya - participants at the Busia County forum, did share one major strongrecommendation that The proposed commencement dates are not realisticlooking at both the resource burden and the paradigm shift required and a such

the implementation should start with acohort that is currently not enrolled inschool (the 0-4 years) to give time for resource mobilisation, teacher capac-ity enhancement and re-organisation of the MoE structures in a progressive and systematic manner with a robust imple-mentation strategy. On the same issue,participants at the Nyamira County fo-rum did recommend that The imple-mentation should be done in phaseswith due consideration of transition atdifferent levels.

In their efforts to link local level advo-

cacy to national level policy advocacy,CVA groups from 10 Counties didparticipate in the National level CivilSociety policy dialogue forum on 26thMarch 2012 whose purpose was toconsolidate the voices from grassrootsand adequately prepare to engage in

the Ministr y of Education led confer-ence on education reforms whichwas held thereafter from 27th 29thMarch 2012 in Nairobi. The Civil So -

ciety forum brought together variousgroups from over 30 counties in Ke -nya who appreciated the need to pushforward the community voices to thenational conference around certain

themes that included; Quality; Equity and access; Education investment and

nancing; Education management andgovernance; & Implementation of re -forms. These voices moved forward

to the National conference on Educa- tion for a period of three days. Under the banner of Elimu Yetu Coalition, theparticipation of the Civil Society in theconference was remarkable many ac -

tors from the Civil Society were discus-sants in various syndicate groups whileothers did make plenary presentationsof the groups deliberations. The Voicesfrom community groups were heardloud and clear and it is expected that

the issues raised and recommendationsmade in the conference will inform thedrafting of the sessional paper and ed -ucation bill.

Kenyas Constitution, article 237 estab -

lished the Teachers Service Commis-sion (TSC) whose functions includeregistering trained teachers; to recruitand employ registered teachers; to as -sign teachers employed by the Com -mission for service in any public schoolor institution; to promote and trans -fer teachers; to exercise disciplinary control over teachers; and to termi -nate the employment of teachers. TheCommission is also charged with theresponsibility to review the standardsof education and training of personsentering the teaching service; to re -view the demand for and the supply

of teachers; and to advise the national

government on matters relating to the teaching profession.

A bill that provides for the composi - tion of TSC; the quali cations and pro -cedure for appointment of members;functions and powers of the Commis-sion; the regulation of the teaching ser -vice; and for connected purposes hassince been drafted with a lot of contri -butions from education stakeholders.

Over the years, myriad of issues havecontinued to affect teacher manage -ment and the service provided by the

teachers in Kenya. Appreciating this

fact, the Civil Society Organizations did

convene a series of consultative meet-ings where the draft bill was analyzedand recommendations developed andshared with Commission for the imple-mentation of the Constitution. As thecountry waits for the bill to be tabledand debated in parliament, it is neces -sary to start putting more concertedefforts towards ensuring that the

teachers and other education stake-holder begin to internalize the provi -sions in the bill.

Given the fact that Teachers are thekey actors to be served directly by TSC, they must internalize and under-

The CVA groups did commit to take this discussion back to the grassrootswith a focus on dialogue with the chil -dren and other community membersand ensure that a critical mass of thecitizenry are lobbied to support the al -ready agreed aspects of the task forcereport even as they critically give their

views on the contentious issue on thestructure of education system. Thegroups also committed to monitor theprocess in terms of the linkage of theeducation conference recommenda-

tions with the drafting of the sessionalpaper and education bill. One major

aspect that that CVA groups are pas -sionate about is to ensure an increasedlevel of community participation in thisreform process and ensuring that thesessional paper and the education billare scrutinized right from the commu -nity level.

CVA groups championing education reforms

The TSC Bill are all the teachers in Kenya aware?

Education Reforms Citizens ParticipationKenyas Task Force on the Re-alignmentof the education sector to the Consti-

tution & Vision 2030 had its expectedoutputs being a Comprehensive Task Force report; Proposed SessionalPaper; Draft Education Bill; Cabinet

Memorandum and Policy brief. By theend of March 2012, the only documentavailable in public was the Task forcereport which was presented for dis-cussion during the three day Nationalconference on Education reforms heldfrom 27th to 29th March 2012 at theKenyatta International ConferenceCenter (KICC) Nairobi. Even though

there was notable participation of thepublic in this conference, concernshave since been raised to whether thevoices from the grassroot were heard,especially those from the children and

the hard to reach groups in Kenya. Inaddition, the conference did not con-clusively address the emotive issueabout the structure of education sys -

tem, among other issues that are criti -cal for Kenyas Education sector if thecitizens are to realize the right to qual -ity education.

As the sector moves towards hav-ing a new education law and policy

framework, it is important that the en-gagement in this process is sustained

through a more consultative and inclu -sive process. The grassroot voices must

nd space in this process this is theonly way their concerns will be provid -ed for in the education bill. In the event

that such opportunities are not pro-vided for, then it becomes absolutely relevant for other actors in governance

to explore options for enhancing citi -zens participation until completion of a public policy formulation process, fol -lowed thereafter with participation in

the implementation process. KenyasConstitution provides for the citizensparticipation in all public policy pro -

cesses and it is important that the citi-zenry nd opportunities to engage inlegislative and policy reform processes.Possible options for engagement in thisprocess, moving forward, include; Re -view and analysis of the draft educa-

tion bill and sessional paper by think tanks, sector working groups or evenat individual organization level; andsubsequently convening public debates

to generate more recommendations;Citizens platforms both at commu -nity and county levels to focus on thedraft education bill and the sessionalpaper and providing feedback to thepolicy makers; Media engagement e.g.

through discussions, debates, opin -ion pieces among others; An audit of

the Government led education sec - tor reform process to ensure that it is transparent, accountable and allows for citizens participation as provided for in

the constitution.


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stand the provisions of the draft bill.The teachers should not be caught un -aware. Upon debate and passing of thebill in parliament followed by an assentby the president, there will be a newlaw to govern the teaching professionin Kenya and any proven violations of this law will result into various conse-quences as provided for.

To be able to enhance the services of teachers in Kenya, it is important that the government puts in place goodplans for massive mobilization and sen -sitization of the teachers, school chil-dren and other citizens on the provi-sions of the proposed TSC bill. This willhelp prepare them to appreciate thenew framework for managing this sec -

tor and ensure that the children bene tfrom the so desired quality educationwhose key providers are the teachers.The proposed TSC bill will go a longway in enhancing teaching services inKenya; but this can only be realized if

the teachers are adequately prepared to support the implementation of theTSC act.

The most crucial period in a childs de-velopment is the formative years, par-ticularly from 3 6 years. It is duringthis time they acquire and lear n inter-

personal skills, how to socialize, speak,read and write and this can throughformal and informal systems. Any hab -its and behaviour acquired during theformative years are very dif cult if notimpossible to change.

In the last 8 years or so, Kenya has wit-nessed reforms in the education sec-tor with a lot of emphasis placed onprimary schools and the reforms havegone hand in hand with some increasedlevel of funding, which is barely enoughthough. This has brought a very highlevel of expectation and misconcep-tion about the funding to ECDE andcommunities dont understand why this sector has not been considered for adequate funding from the state. Theconsequence of this is that there existvery few public ECDE centers that can

cater for the very large number of chil -dren requiring entry into pre-schoolfacilities. While the well to do familiescan easily enroll their children into pri-

vate ECDE centers, the poor have tocontend with the mushrooming of un -registered and unregulated centers.

The policy framework on ECDE is very clear as to the standards of service de-livery expected in these centers. Key among these is the recommended sizeof classrooms, suitability of furniture,feeding and nutrition, safety and secu -rity. The policy framework is very clear as to the ratio of teacher (caregiver) tochildren which 1:25. Many of the ECDEcenters particularly those patronizedby underprivileged communities haveratios in the excess of 1: 50, twice therecommended one. With this state of affairs, the caregivers are not able todevote adequate attention to all thechildren in terms of nur ture and over-all development.

The public and low cadre ECDE cen - ters are shor t of quali ed and profes -sional teachers able to effectively con -

tribute to the physical, mental and even

psychological development of the chil -dren. The government currently doesnot have scheme for the recruitmentand maintenance of the caregivers and

the burden to engage them is on theshoulders of the parents and guardians.

With very limited funds, the centersare forced to engage unquali ed care -givers.

Within the framework of the currenteducation reforms, it is expected that

the factors contributing the poor de -livery of services at the ECDE centerswill be addressed. Communities andchildren must be facilitated to be partof the discussions and decision makingregarding the proffered system of edu -cation as proposed by the report.

The state of ECDE Centers vis--vis Policy guidelines and Service delivery standards

For effective engagement in monitor -ing of basic education service delivery,knowledge on basic education servicedelivery standards and accountability mechanism is paramount. However,some communities in Kenya hardly have access to the Ministry of Educa-tions policy information, budgetary andexpenditure records. Worse is the factthat at the school level, some schoolhead teachers often display informa-tion on funds received from govern -ment on school notice boards, but the

spect to basic education service deliv -ery. The primary focus is at the schoollevel where key actors being the chil -dren, parents, guardians, teachers andSchool Management Committees aresupported to engage in processes thatwould lead to improved transparency and accountability in the delivery of ba -sic education service. The CVA groupsin these counties have selected somepublic primary schools where they car -ry out activities that include commu-nity mobilization around schools and

extent to which such information is a true re ection of what is in the schoolbooks of accounts is often question -able. In addition some communities arenot properly equipped with suf cientknowledge and skills on quality delivery of education services. Social Account -ability efforts by the Civil Society andlocal communities themselves haveresulted into attempts of openness by some government of cials and schoolmanagement teams; however somecommunities still do not have con -

sensitization of communities on servicedelivery standards and empowermenton simple skills of monitoring servicedelivery & good resource use. In ad -dition, the CVA groups also conduct

the actual monitoring exercises in thevarious schools. The ndings from suchmonitoring exercises are discussed withrespective School Management Com -mittees, children and parents/guard -ians; commitments to action by all ac -

tors are thereafter agreed upon duringsuch meetings. On issues that require

dence in the government led account -ability mechanism in Kenyas Educationsector.

To be able to address these concerns, World Vision Kenya is currently workingwith Citizen Voice and Action groups inBusia, Kisumu Nyamira, Elgeyo-Marak -wet, Baringo, Machakos, Kajiado, Narok and Mombasa Counties in Kenya witha focus on improving basic educationservice deliver y. The initiative is deliber -ate on engagement of both the demandand supply side of governance with re -

the attention of the Ministry of Edu-cation, dialogue sessions are held withrespective District Education Of cialsand appropriate actions taken wherepossible. By the end of June 2012, theCVA groups will be sharing their docu -mented progress towards results; thiswill include a presentation of the situ-ation as it was at the beginning of theyear (January 2012) in comparison to

the status of service delivery as at themiddle of the year (June 2012). Watchout for this exciting moment in June.

Improving Basic Education Service Delivery

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A Training Session for a group of CVA members

Governments have an obligation toensure that the six EFA goals and tar -gets are reached and sustained just as

they had committed during the WorldEducation Forum, held in Dakar, Sene-gal in 2000. Citizens have a responsibi l -ity to demand for an account from thegovernment on the extent to whichprogress has been made towards therealization of the six EFA goals below.Let you voice count.

1. Expanding and improving com -prehensive early childhood careand education, especially for themost vulnerable and disadvan -

taged children

2. Ensuring that by 2015 all chil -dren, particularly girls, children indif cult circumstances and thosebelonging to ethnic minorities,have access to and completefree and compulsory primary education of good quality

3. Ensuring that the learning needsof all young people and adultsare met through equitable ac -cess to appropriate learning andlife skills programmes

4. Achieving a 50 per cent im -provement in levels of adultliteracy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to

basic and continuing educationfor all adults;

5. Eliminating gender disparitiesin primary and secondary edu-cation by 2005, and achievinggender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuringgirls full and equal access to andachievement in basic educationof good quality

6. Improving all aspects of the qual -ity of education and ensuringexcellence of all so that recog -nized and measurable learningoutcomes are achieved by all,especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.

Education for All (EFA) goals where are we as a country?

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The content in this newsletter has been put together by:Bonyo Elijah Don ([email protected]) and Brezhnev Henry Otieno ([email protected])

World Vision KenyaP.O. Box 50816 -00200 Nairobi Kenya; Tel +254 20 3883652-66

Article 28

1. States Parties recognize theright of the child to education,and with a view to achieving thisright progressively and on thebasis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:

(a) Make primary educationcompulsory and available freeto all;

(b) Encourage the development of different forms of second-ary education, including gen-eral and vocational education,make them available and accessible to every child, and take appropriate measuressuch as the introduction of free education and offering

nancial assistance in case of need;

(c) Make higher education ac-cessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriatemeans;

(d) Make educational and voca-tional information and guid-ance available and accessibleto all children;

(e) Take measures to encourageregular attendance at schoolsand the reduction of drop-out rates.

2. States Parties shall take all ap -propriate measures to ensure

that school discipline is admin-istered in a manner consistentwith the childs human dignity and in conformity with the pres-ent Convention.

3. States Parties shall promote andencourage international coop -eration in matters relating toeducation, in particular witha view to contributing to theelimination of ignorance and il -literacy throughout the worldand facilitating access to scien -

ti c and technical knowledgeand modern teaching methods.In this regard, particular accountshall be taken of the needs of developing countries.

Article 29

1. States Parties agree that theeducation of the child shall be

directed to:(a) The development of the childs

personality, talents and men-tal and physical abilities totheir fullest potential;

(b) The development of respect for human rights and fundamen-tal freedoms, and for the prin-ciples enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations;

(c) The development of respect for the childs parents, his or her own cultural identity, languageand values, for the nationalvalues of the country in whichthe child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizationsdifferent from his or her own;

(d) The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society,in the spirit of understanding,peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, nationaland religious groups and per-sons of indigenous origin;

(e) The development of respect for the natural environment.

2. No part of the present articleor article 28 shall be construedso as to interfere with the lib -erty of individuals and bodies to

establish and direct educationalinstitutions, subject always to theobservance of the principle setforth in paragraph 1 of the pres -ent article and to the require-ments that the education givenin such institutions shall conform

to such minimum standards asmay be laid down by the State.

Did you know what the Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC) saysabout the right of the child to education? How about what education of the child should be directed to?

Now that you know it is you duty to demand for the full implementation of these two articles by the state (and allother articles as provided for in the CRC).

Speak out in the best interest of the child!

citize voice & action final

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