Report - Bernard van Leer Foundation

The Early Care & Education of Young Pastoralist Children in Sepeko Ward –Challenges & Opportunities Identified …3 … In the Existing Community Pre-Schools & Primary Schools3.1 Communities’ interest in formal education is increasing, and they are actively mobilising their own communitypre-schools to improve the quality of care & early education of their young children, however with the manyunresolved challenges of primary schools, they are not sure if the District Council will assist them.Community Pre-schoolsPrimary SchoolsCHALLENGESGovernment has emphasised the need forpartnership approaches to supportingcommunity –based early care & education, andpastoralist communities are actively mobilisingtheir own community -based pre-schools formultiple purposes. However, they are not sure towhat extent the District Council will assist them.As the Ministry of Education & Culture hasindicated,° ‘The success of this (partnership) model ofdevelopment will depend on the willingness andeconomic capacity for the communities concerned’,Communities’ level interest in formal education is increasing butthe challenges are discouraging° long distances to schools (for both children & parents)° lack of water & food at school° content & approaches are not locally appropriate, andcommunities fear that by their children going school they willlose their cultural identity.° A number of primary schools in Sepeko Ward are strugglingwith low Std 7 pass rates‘ … one of our primary schools was the last in the country in2004.We can’t let our children go on until Std 7 and then just fail’Village Chairperson° ‘… there is an inherent risk in depending on theefforts of communities alone. (MOEC, 2001,Basic Education Master Plan, 2001 - 2005)All community pre-schools have ManagementCommittees in place, but they have had nospecific training to assist their planning andensure that the pre-schools meet their specificneeds.Some community members are unsure whether they have tochose between formal education & informal, or if its possible tohave bothA number of schools in Sepeko Ward are struggling with, lackof regular attendance & low Std 7 pass rates‘ … one of our primary schools was the last in the country in2004.We can’t let our children go on until Std 7 and then just fail’Village ChairpersonOPPORTUNITIESCommunities’ level of interest in their pre-schools is high indicated by• the growing number of active centres over the past two years• children’s regular participation, especially in those closer to bomas• the fact that all have Pre-school Committees in place that are stronglylinked to local government structures – which provides an additionalopportunity for their capacity development to support pre-schooldevelopment & later primary school participationCommunities in Sepeko Ward ARE actively mobilising their owncommunity pre-school centres, closer to home, for …• supporting women through providing day -care for their childrenwhile they are involved in the their work ‘At least we have a place forthe children to play and be safe while we are looking for water.’Women’s Group• ensuring young children’s quality day -care and ongoing informaleducation• being extended to include programmes for children up to the ageof 8 / 9 years, after which they are old enough to walk the longdistances to primary school;• supporting their children’s preparation for success in primaryschool.• possibly a primary school being located where their pre-school is.This provides other cross-sectoral stakeholders with a unique opportunityto work in collaboration with themCommunities ARE interested in formaleducation‘Pastoralist families are interested in formalschool because they can see it is helping them, forexample, some of our educated ones havereturned and are helping our communities.’Traditional LeaderPrimary Teachers indicted that childrenentering school with pre-school experienceare better prepared for school.The high success rate of LosimingoriPrimary School provides an opportunityfor further study in order to document &share the lessons to be learned. – thisschool has recorded an enrolment rate ofalmost 94% of children within vicinity ofthe school, 99% Std 7 pass rate in 2004 – 23of 24 Std 7 students. Eight of these weregirls and all of them have gone on tosecondary school28