Promoting child rights in Kenya - Pelastakaa Lapset ry

A key concern with regard to education is that there are few teachers compared to the high numbers of pupils whichcoupled with other constraints has contributed to the poor quality of education in most public schools.p) The Ministry of Labour: The Employment Act No. 11 of 2007 (sections 53 & 56) prohibits the worst forms of childlabor and defines a child as any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. It further provides that no personshall employ a child who has not attained the age of thirteen years whether gainfully or otherwise in any undertaking.The policy is implemented by the Child Labour Division of the Ministry of Labour which, however, is under resourced.The ministry has also established District Child Labour Committees (DCLCs) though most of them are poorlyresourced. CSOs such as ANPPCAN have also supported DCLCs to address child labour issues by supporting dropoutchildren to go back to school.q) Information management in the children sectorThe government has made progress in centralizing data collection and dissemination through platforms such as KenyaInfo KENINFO) and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). KENINFO is a development data systemdesigned to enhance data storage and access by policy makers, development partners, and research institutions,among other users. It aims at providing the State Party and stakeholders with reliable mechanisms to measure theefficiency and the effectiveness of public policies and service delivery as of the State Party commitment to improvetransparency and accountability.Through these efforts, information on children is available though it is not adequate to meet the broad stakeholders’information needs. Some of the agencies require very specific data and information which may be difficult to decipherfrom these broad systems in their current state. In addition the data which is generated through these studies may notbe reliable for planning at project level. As a result the government is planning to establish a national children database to supplement the information currently available. Some of the data collection initiatives useful for planning forchildren nationally include: Kenya Population and Housing Census, Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS),Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey, Kenya Aids Indicator Survey, Multiple Cluster Indicator Survey (MICS),and Labour Force Survey which are all coordinated by the KNBS.r) Statutory Children’s Rescue Centres: These are established under the Children Act, 2001 to care for children inneed of care and protection. They are managed by the Department of Children Services.The current children rescuecentres are in Nairobi, Thika, Machakos and Garissa.s) Statutory Children Rehabilitation Schools: They were originally referred to as Approved Schools 63 and areestablished under the Children Act to rehabilitate children in conflict with the law. They serve both girls and boys andare in different parts of the country. Currently they are: Dagoretti Girls; Kirigiti Girls; Wamumu; Othaya; Kakamega;Kabete; Likoni; Kericho and Getathuru Rehabilitation School.63The term “Approved School” was used in the Children and Young Persons Act, Cap 141 of the Laws of Kenya that was repealedwith the enactment of the Children Act in 2001. The term was considered demeaning and stigmatizing to children and was replacedwith the term “Rehabilitation School”.59