Unique programme gives hope to out-of-school children in Nairobi

Michele Anyango, together with her sister, Pollet Achieng, joyfully walked to school ready for the day’s lesson.

Schooling, they say, is a gift they both cherish.

Two years ago, as their peers walked to school, the two would arm themselves with frying pans to help their mother prepare the popular Swahili bread locally known as ‘mandazi’, and supply them for income generation.

“After cooking and supplying mandazi, I used to feel so lonely with nobody to play with because all my friends were in school,” Michelle recalls

Anyango, is currently a Grade Six pupil at Mowlem Superloaf Primary School in Kariobangi, Nairobi.

She, with her sister, were enrolled back to school through a school programme sponsored by UNICEF and partners.

Michael Cacich, Educate A Child Technical Head of East and Southern Africa, under the Education Above All Foundation, explains that the initiative is committed to providing quality primary education globally, for the hardest to reach out of school children.

In Kenya, AA has partnered with UNICEF and the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (NACONEK); to offer quality primary education for 250,000 of the most marginalised out-of-school boys and girls.

The programme has also accommodated children with disabilities.

“Our commitment to this stems from our belief that every child has the right to quality primary education, no matter their circumstances,” notes Cacich.

Clare Mumbua, a Grade Six pupil, is also a beneficiary of the programme.

Mumbua dropped out of school in 2021 and had been looking after her younger sibling as her mother went about selling avocados and tomatoes to earn a living.

The earnings did not raise enough income to cater for the education of the 13-year-old.

“I isolated from my friends because it pained me to stay at home as they attended school. Being home was the most hurting experience in my life,” recalls Mumbua.

She adds, “Being out of school for two years made me feel like an outcast”

Today, Mumbua is happy to be back in school.

“I missed such moments (schooling). I am determined to excel in academics to become a doctor,” she says, an air of reflection of her past written on her face.

Mowlem Superloaf Primary School Headteacher, Wilson Irungu, acknowledges that the programme has boosted learner enrolment in the school.

“Not only has programme increased enrolment, but a supply of learning materials has improved the quality of education. Without writing materials, learners cannot write and concentrate in class,” cites Irungu.

At least 700 pupils have been enrolled back to school in the past two years.

A visit at the school by ‘The Standard’ revealed that leaners are taken through remedial and accelerated studies to help catch up with the syllabus.

UNICEF and partners also provide the school with teaching and learning materials for example exercise books, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, rulers, ball pens for learners and chalks, hard cover books that can support teachers develop their notes.

Additionally, enrolled out-of-school children are offered mentorship sessions to motivate them, a methodology that also retains them in school.

Teacher capacity has been built to offer psycho-social first aid, since some of the out-of-school children have been exposed to trauma, making it difficult for them to concentrate in class.

Apart from the programme’s impact on education, the headteacher acknowledges that it has “helped reduce cases of early marriage, drug and substance use, and reduced crime rates within the community”.

Child Protection volunteer in Kariobangi South, Jane Wangechi, links poverty to high school drop-out rates.

“Children do not attend school because of high poverty levels. Some have parents who are extremely alcoholics, whereas others do not understand the importance of education,” opines the volunteer.

She adds, “High school drop-out is high among boys because they are easily wooed into drugs and substances at tender ages,”

Child protection volunteers, in collaboration with local administrators, identify children who are out of school through home visits and chief’s meetings or ‘barazas’. These barazas are also key in identifying the drop-outs and reasons behind it.

The team also sensitises parents on the need of education, and link the learners to their respective schools for enrolment.

Despite education being a right to every Kenyan child, data shows that a number of children are out of school because of poverty, poor infrastructure, parental neglect, and cultural practices among other factors.

To address these challenges, UNICEF undertook an innovative program titled ‘Expansion of Operation Come-to-school program’, that is committed to ensuring that disadvantaged and vulnerable children including those with disabilities, can have access to equitable and inclusive quality primary education, regardless of their background or status.

To address these problems and help children to be enrolled in school, UNICEF Kenya in partnership with the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation – Educate A Child (EAC) programme, the Government and other Non-Governmental Organisations partnered to ensure that this dream is realised.

 Other key sectors including the Ministry of Interior, the Department of Children Services and the Social Protection Unit have jointly implemented the Operation Come-to-School program through a multi-sectoral approach in five outcome areas.

The areas include a scaled-up capacity of parents and communities to mobilise and enrol children in school and improved access to learning in a child-friendly environment through improved infrastructure

 Teachers have also been empowered through capacity building to ensure an improved quality of teaching and creating a conducive learning environment in schools.

Boards of Management and Education officials have also been delegated to ensure the provision of teaching and learning materials.

Other areas include promotion of equity and role modelling through mentorship sessions and Psychosocial support.

Based on a baseline survey conducted by the Ministry of Education in 2021 in the 16 targeted counties, key barriers identified include poverty, distance to school, poor school infrastructure, quality teaching, child labour, early marriages, and negative attitude towards education among others, as the push factors in high school dropout rates.

The 16 counties identified to have the highest numbers of out-of-school children were targeted under the programme. They include Mandera, Garissa, Wajir, Tana River, Isiolo, Marsabit, Samburu, Baringo, West Pokot, Turkana, Bungoma, Narok, Kajiado, Kilifi, Kwale, and Nairobi informal settlements.

Cacich explains that the project addressed financial barriers to education by providing cash transfers and covering costs associated with school fees, uniforms, and transportation to support attendance.

Income-generating activities have also empowered communities to sustainably support their children’s education.

“To improve the learning environment, child-friendly facilities were established by renovating classrooms, providing supplies to low-cost boarding schools, constructing gender—and disability-sensitive latrines, installing handwashing stands, and operating school health clubs,” says Cacich.

The partnership also worked with the Government to review and finalise the Nomadic Education Policy, deliver re-entry guidelines for learners, and support curricular reforms to enable the participation of all children in quality education.

This further ensured lasting and impactful change and paved the way for a brighter future for the children of Kenya.

Elizabeth Waitha, the Education Officer at UNICEF Kenya says Out of School Programme offered under the Expansion of Operation Come Back to School in Kenya focused on increased access to equitable and inclusive quality education.

“The Expansion of Operation Come-to-school program was launched in 2021 following a study that showed at least 2.5 million school-going children aged between four and 17 years were out of school,” says Waitha.

The program targeted 250,000 learners aged six to 13 years.

By last year, when the program came to an end, at least over 256,000 children had been enrolled back to school, among them 17,000 learners with disabilities.

Additionally, the Expansion of Operation Come-to-school programme monitored learners’ class attendance through an innovative digital application dubbed Digital Attendance Application (DAA – ONEKANA).

To retain learners in school, UNICEF, together with partners and the Ministry of Education, has trained school boards of management on how to develop a school strategic and sustainability plan.

One of the key sustainability mechanisms is the government-led school feeding programme and a rigorous follow-up system on irregular attendance. Follow-up is critical to identify the cause of truancy and prevent eventual incidents of school dropouts.

UNICEF also supported the Ministry of Education, through NACONEK, in revising the nomadic education policy framework to align to the new legal and policy documents.

Despite the success of the programme, Waitha notes that a concerted effort is required to support learners in acquiring birth registration certificates that will support the registration of learners in the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS).

Also, the implementation of Inclusive Education as provided through the Sector Policy for learners and trainees with disability will increase opportunities of learners with disabilities to be enrolled in more schools.

On her part, Directorate of Quality Assurance and standards at the Ministry of Education, Susan Onyango, notes that the out-of-school programme has given a boost in the access to quality education, more so in slums, and arid and semi-arid counties.