FREE
SECONDARY EDUCATION IN KENYA, FINALLY!
On
the 1st of June 2015 during Madaraka Day celebrations, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that the
government is committing itself by increasing the budget for education to make
secondary education free in the next three years. This will mean that every
child in Kenya will be entitled to free education for the first 12 years of his
or her life as primary education is currently free. Many students, particularly adolescent girls, have failed to go to
secondary school due to this challenge. According to statistics from UNICEF, 1
in 2 girls will not finish high school due to challenges including lack of
school fees. Various organizations and social enterprises like Mdada
have come in to try and be a part of the solution and now the government has
moved in to solve this problem which will likely bring the change we desire much faster. In the meantime, before implementation is carried out, social enterprises like Mdada that also train students in financial literacy, will continue to do their part and keep girls in school.
I believe we all agree that knowledge is
power and information is liberation. “Education is the premise of progress in
every society and every family” aptly put by former UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan. Education equips one with the right tools and skills to tackle life. It
is the dream of each and every person to get access to education. Everywhere
you go you get to hear people singing the words Elimu
ni ufunguo wa maisha(Education is the key to life).
One thing is certain, education is not a
cheap commodity. For one to see and taste the sweet fruits of education, there
has to be a huge investment on their part. I guess that’s why they say the
roots of education are bitter, but the fruits are sweeter. Unfortunately, not
everyone has the ability and capacity to cater for the education costs and especially
the secondary and tertiary levels. At least a good percentage of children are
lucky enough to go to through preschool and primary school levels without facing
this obstacle. Sadly, when it comes to going to secondary school, a good number
of students who come from financially challenged backgrounds either do not make
it to join or are forced to drop out not
because they are not bright enough or did not pass well during the K.C.P.E, but
mainly because their parents cannot afford the secondary school costs. The
average cost of getting a student through a public secondary school in Kenya is
about Ksh 100,000 which is approximately about $1100. For the lucky few who
manage to join and remain at school full-time, mostly are the ones who get full sponsorships,
and those who get partial scholarships, that means part of the school fees is
paid by the sponsor and remaining part is supposed to be provided by the parents.
Despite that, It still proves a challenge for some parents to clear the remaining part of the
balance and due to this, you find that a student is sent home to collect the remaining balance. It is really
depressing for a student to know that even if they go home, there is no hope of
returning back to school anytime soon, due to such circumstances at times a
student opts to hide behind the classroom and sneak back to class. Sneaking back to class is an act that is against
school rules and regulations, the feeling of fear being a normal nature in
human beings, when a student has sneaked back to class. She is bound to live in
constant fear of being caught and punished. For instance, I will take the case
of Michelle.
Michelle (beneficiary of Mdada)
Michelle is one of the girls who depend
on Mdada for education finance support.
This term Michelle reported back to school without her fee being paid. Apparently,
she hides behind the class to avoid being seen by teachers. Thanks to this kind
teacher who asked her colleagues to overlook Michelle when they go for classes
given that the principal has issued strict orders of not allowing any student
who has not cleared her school fees arrears back in class.
So far, that’s how Michelle has been managing
to stay in school. ne, she would have missed classes, time
wasted can never be recovered, once a student has missed even a single class it
proves very difficult to recover it, It will require much sacrifice and effort,
not wanting to imagine the much a
student who has been home for a week misses.
These are the challenges a girl like Michelle faces:
- one, she would have missed classes, time
wasted can never be recovered, once a student has missed even a single class it
proves very difficult to recover it, It will require much sacrifice and effort,
not wanting to imagine the much a
student who has been home for a week misses.
- ·
secondly, there are high chances of such
a student developing depression due to thinking of the problems surrounding her background, the financial challenges, the tough situations back at
home, the chances of dropping out of school etc
- ·
Thirdly,
the embarrassment one encounters at times, for instance when a teacher spots u
and shouts at you in front of your fellow classmates that you have not cleared
fee balance and that you are in class illegally, having sneaked back. Just to
mention a few.
It is therefore always great to hear
about social enterprises such as Mdada that have managed to connect individual
Kenyans to these girls such that when they buy clothing items from Mdada, they
are helping keep a girl like Michelle in school. Alternatively, some of them
have become more connected to the cause to an extent that they would give
hundreds of dollars to pay their school fees directly. We are touched by the
generosity of these people. We are extremely grateful to our supporters who
have either bought an item from Mdada
to support of Mdada and the girls and those who have given their hard earned
cash in donation to their school fees payment. You are beautiful beyond words.
God bless you abundantly.
A message of gratitude from Michelle's mother.
Here's a message from another beneficiary's mother.
To continue supporting us, you can
purchase our merchandise below. 10% of our profits go to the girl. If you
choose to donate directly towards their school fees, 100% is deposited into
their school account. The idea of having clothing items is to bring individuals to be a part of something beautiful simply by what they wear.
Young & Gifted tshirt- Ksh 1,000
Jelly sandals- Ksh 1000
Mdada Kenya bracelet- Ksh 250
We also take orders to customize the bracelet with your name/company's name
CALL
OR TEXT 0717832311 to order or donate
We also link you up to the specific beneficiary. Hopefully, we can touch your heart in the process and show you the impact you had on someone's life. Thanking you in advance for your interest in Mdada.
(This article was written with the help of Superwoman, Woriab :) a volunteer at Mdada)
Spreading love and happiness,
Lila
Founder
