Reaching pastoralists with formal education: A distance learning strategy .

1. Reaching pastoralists with formal education: A distance learning strategy. Jeremy swift, SaverioKratli, David Siele.

2. Kenya • Population=40M • Pastoralists = 12M • They occupy 65% of land mass • Live along the borders of Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania

3. Challenges in pastoralist areas • Sparse population • High poverty levels • Little rainfall • Poor infrastructure • Inadequate social amenities • Reliance of technical personnel from other parts of the country

4. Challenges in Education • Low enrolment rates • 400,000 children estimated to be out of school in pastoral areas • Schools are far apart • Low achievement levels • Relatively higher teacher shortages • Huge gender gap in enrolment and performance • Limited transition to tertiary and higher levels

5. Mode of education provision and pastoralism. • Increasing demand for education services • Education system not responsive to pastoral lifestyles. • Not responsive to the child’s role in the pastoral productive system • Education provided as an alternative to pastoralism • Modelled on a fixed physical classroom and a teacher • Model cannot work for mobile families

6. Pastoralists views • Focused group discussions held with pastoralists. Need education which; • Is relevant to their needs • Allows the child to participate in the productive systems i.e. Herding • May address your needs

7. Current interventions • Boarding primary schools – Kids below age 9 cannot attend • Mobile schools - Many quality challenges • Regular fixed schools – only accessed by those in settlements and urban areas mostly. • Free primary education – for those who can attend school • 40% enrolment rate in pastoralist areas after all these. National average NER 95%

8. New initiative – distance learning(DL) by radio. • To address challenges associated with mobility, teacher shortage , flexibility etc • Use of community radio stations • National curriculum adapted for radio lessons • Region to be divided into cells • Kids to be provided with low cost reception devices with play back functions • Mobile teacher to monitor and guide learners in each cell

9. D.L. initiative • Teachers to be supplied with cell phones for more effective monitoring • Recording done at headquarters(Nairobi) • Broadcasting done at the county level • An outline of printed material for each audio unit to be given to learner • Broadcasts to be aired 3 times a day

10. D.L. initiative • Flexibility for learners to move to regular schools from D.L. and vice versa through agreed ‘equivalents’ • Teachers to be trained on D.L. and pastoralist lifestyles • The programmes to be used in mobile schools • The strategy to be used for adult education after successful piloting.

11. D.L. initiative • Piloting to be done in two counties • The formation of the National Commission on Nomadic Education in Kenya( NACONEK) is in its final stages of formation. It will manage the pilot before handing over to the ministry of education