A private agency, Ongoza initiative Friday held a colourful graduation ceremony for teachers who had undergone rigorous eight-month training in Nairobi
Under the partnership of the Innovation Development progress (IDP) Foundation, Dignitas and Premier Credit Ltd, 210 teachers including school directors from 68 schools received training in basic education.
Its main objective is to raise the quality of education in slum areas.
The eight months of training which was offered by Dignitas began in April 2022 and culminated in a colourful graduation ceremony where teachers and school directors showcased what they had learned during the training.
Selected teachers were taught on better ways of delivering the curriculum to the learners while directors and school managers undertook courses on general financial literacy and managerial skills.
The programme targeted schools and children from vulnerable communities.
Dignitas Executive Director Deborah Kimathi thanked IDP leadership and Premier Credit Ltd for the role they have played.
She further thanked the graduands for taking seriously their studies and urged them to put into practice the amazing skills acquired during the training to transform the lives of not only the pupils but the entire society.
In a speech read on his behalf by Edwin Saka, the Chief guest Harun Yusuff who is the CEO of the National Commission for Nomadic Education in Kenya (NACONOK) thanked the partners and sponsors of the programme for ensuring even vulnerable pupils have access to basic education.
He assured them of NACONOC’s support in ensuring the promotion, coordination and provision of quality education and training to not only nomadic communities but also to vulnerable children in slum areas in our cities.
Saka who is NACONOK’s chairman promised the sponsors and partners in the programme their support to ensure future training programmes become a reality and a big success.
Stephen Caleb Opuni who is the Country Director for the IDP Foundation in Ghana said education is key to conquering many of the world’s greatest challenges and that everyone should have equal access to educational opportunities to break the cycle of poverty.
He said IDP will continue to support educational programmes, partnerships and collaboration to ensure the provision of quality education to the most marginalized populations and to ensure education for all.
The Alternative Provider for Basic Education and Training (APBET) Coordinator Meshack Adiedo asked the school directors to ensure that they comply with government registration and other regulations to ensure they smoothly continue offering basic education to thousands of learners and to complement the national government.
He further urged the government to speed up the registration process of private schools saying there are over 2,000 schools in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu counties offering basic education and training.
He said the role of APBET cannot be gainsaid as the institutions have effectively complemented public schools towards ensuring Kenyan children have access to basic education as envisioned in the basic education act, 2013 and the Constitution of 100 per cent transition.
A baseline survey conducted in the 86 schools indicated that three per cent of the schools had school improvement plans and by the end of the training, 89 per cent had developed school improvement plans.
The directors also acknowledged that before the training, they used to run the school accounts as personal accounts but after training, they separated school accounts from personal accounts and this they say has given them great financial discipline.
According to the baseline survey, only nine per cent of the schools had extra income-generating activities or projects but upon completion of the training 68 per cent of the schools had initiated income-generating activities such as the sale of school uniforms, swimming classes, running and operating of food kiosks, poultry farming, rental of school premises and hiring out of school buses.
Before the commencement of the training, according to the baseline survey, only 17% of the schools were preparing lesson plans and by the end of the training, 86% of the schools had adopted preparing the lesson plan.
Further, at the end of the training, school directors reported that unlike before, they are now able to prepare financial statements and other financial books including salary slips for teachers and non-teaching staff.
