Study shows early school enrollment boosts children's development, empowers mothers

A joint study by Kenyatta University and Yale University has revealed that enrolling three-year-old children in school not only enhances their cognitive development but also empowers their mothers economically.

The preliminary findings from a randomized control trial indicate that early schooling enables mothers to engage in income-generating activities, particularly farming, which is a dominant economic activity in the county.

Now in its second year, the study has involved approximately 60 schools out of the county’s 454 learning institutions. Researchers are assessing how young children's adaptability to the school environment impacts their learning capabilities and how it influences their mothers’ ability to work. The project has received funding from various institutions to support its implementation.

According to the findings, three-year-olds in the study have shown significant cognitive growth, making them more prepared for structured learning. Their school enrollment has allowed their mothers, many of whom rely on agriculture for their livelihood, to dedicate more time to their work, improving household income and overall well-being.

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The idea came from the construction of a world-acclaimed creche at the Chuka market that created avenues for mothers to go to the market with their children and leave them in the hands of a caregiver while they continue with business.

Afterwards, Kenyatta University, in its pursuit of opportunities for women empowerment, partnered with the County Government of Tharaka Nithi to take the programme beyond the market, thus integrating it into the ECDE curriculum, where three-year-olds are enrolled in school and taught by specially trained caregivers.

The universities involved in the research have used locally obtained material to come up with cognitive products that can be used for learning, as well as teaching the children in their mother tongue, and in the case of Tharaka Nithi’s diverse dialects, the children are taught in their different dialects.

This has, in turn, improved enrolment in schools as well as boosted the economic status of areas the parents are.

According to the Government, the right age for one to go to school is 4 years.

Sam Ngaruiya, a basic education expert from the Ministry of Education, noted that the project has the full blessings of the government and would be replicated across the country, citing that most of the country’s regions have almost the same conditions.

Tharaka Nithi governor Muthomi Njuki approved the study, stating that his government would greatly invest in basic education as has been brought out in the study, with the hope that it will not only increase school enrolment.

Also, the 60 caregivers trained under the programme will be absorbed as the first cohort of those to be employed to cater for the growing numbers of those enrolling in school.