2 Million Kenya Learners Out Of School Despite Free Primary And Subsidized Secondary Education
Despite the free primary and subsidized secondary education policies, a new analysis indicates that an estimated 1,8 million Kenyan youngsters between the ages of six and eighteen who are supposed to be in school have either dropped out or never attended school.
A preliminary evaluation of the report by the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) and the Global Education Monitoring (GEM), which covers Sub-Saharan Africa, suggests that while enrollment in primary and lower secondary education has not been affected, enrollment in upper secondary education may have been impacted.
It is stated that the region remains the only one with the highest number of children and youth who are not in school, with 98 million children and adolescents not in school.
There are 244 million children and adolescents worldwide whose aspirations have been shattered, whose prospects have been halted, and whose potential has not been realized.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region where this figure is increasing; out-of-school rates are decreasing more slowly than the growth rate of the school-age population.
Sub-Saharan Africa has 10.25 million more out-of-school girls than boys, 7.6 million fewer than Eastern and South-Eastern Asia.
In addition, the research states that 22 million children of primary school age, 34.2 million adolescents of lower secondary school age, and 73.2 million adolescents of upper secondary school age who should be in school cannot be located.
According to the survey, grazing fields, marketplaces, public transportation firms, streets, and entertainment venues are the most prevalent places to find these children.
The report is notable that significant data gaps have been addressed in Kenya and other countries with substantial numbers of out-of-school children, where high-quality administrative data has not been accessible for more than a decade.
It adds that violence, displacement, and climate-related disasters deprive children of their hopes for the future.
The majority of these youngsters have either dropped out of school or are unwilling to go, shedding light on the education sector at a time when the government is advocating for 100 percent transition, according to the report.
The report reveals that some of these children have never attended school, will attend later, or have quit school entirely.
Commenting on the findings, Maniza Zaman, UNICEF Representative in Kenya, stated that all children have the right to an education.
Still, for many children in Kenya, Covid-19 and drought make this a pipe dream.
Change is impossible without education. For the future of our world, it is vital that we learn how to live sustainably. Zaman stated.
According to Stefania Giannini, assistant director general for education at UNESCO, all children should have access to a decent education.
Globally, fewer children are out of school, but far too many are still not receiving an education.
Giannini stated that countries have pledged to reduce the number of out-of-school children by more than half by 2030.
“We must discover answers during the Transforming Education Summit convened by the United Nations Secretary-General in September in order for countries to fulfill their commitments,” according to the UN Secretary-General.
A learning crisis and a budgetary problem are the double-edged dilemmas currently impacting education.
Antoninis stated, “We must increase our support for individuals who are being denied opportunities and keep a close check on those who have suffered upon their return following school cancellations due to Covid.”
Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), states that there is a need to discover a means to assist youngsters in continuing their education due to a number of interruptions in their education.
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“Today, I am asking for mobilization: education must return to the forefront of the international community’s attention if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Azoulay.
According to UNESCO, the new study provides a more precise examination of the available information by employing a new technique that, in the past, utilized several data sources to estimate key health indicators such as maternal and infant death rates.
This is the first time it has been utilized in education, resulting in a considerable increase in the accuracy of the estimates.
2 Million Kenya Learners Out Of School Despite Free Primary And Subsidized Secondary Education
