It is the end of 2007 and we are enthusiastic and ready for a smooth start of our new programme. Who could have predicted the violent aftermath of the national elections of December, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths and 300,000 internally displaced persons? The education sector is a major victim of the unrest: schools are plundered or burnt, pupils and teachers flee with their families to other regions. Calm is gradually restored when, through international mediation, a Grand Coalition Government is formed, in March 2008.
Education technology through coordination and capacity development
The new programme for Kenya contributes to the Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (KESSP 2005-2010). KESSP joins ministries, donors, NGOs and other partners for improved quality of education in Kenya. Due to the creation of two ministries from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology the signing of the programme document is delayed till August.
The start of the sub-programme on ICT Integration in Education is affected by the transfer of senior staff to the new Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. But changes also create opportunities for innovation. ICT Integration is cross-cutting and works with all directorates and units within the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education takes the bold - and important- step to set up a ministerial ICT Integration team. This team is responsible for coordination and harmonization of all ICT initiatives within the KESSP. And there are plenty of those: all staff at headquarters start using e-mail to communicate, curriculums are converted into digital format and distributed on dvd, teachers learn how to use computers for better teaching and learning, an education management system offers relevant statistics, computers are purchased for various institutions and many more. This is a big task in a country with about 24,000 primary and 5,000 secondary schools that are, overall, centrally managed. However, since the introduction of free primary education, in 2003, measures are being taken to give districts and schools more management responsibilities.
Beginning is not always easy...
Integration of technology in teaching and learning requires changes in attitudes. It also requires policies and guidelines. Strategic planning is crucial. To support this change process, VVOB staff members are interacting, on a daily basis, with managers and the technical unit at the Ministry’s headquarters. VVOB also supports two semi-autonomous agencies with mandates for in-service training of education managers and teachers in mathematics and sciences. The focus of this approach is capacity development of our partners. Where required, and to speed up processes, we also purchase hardware to strengthen the basic technical infrastructure. In this all, we underscore the importance of technology and pedagogy going hand in hand.
In 2008, we give priority to appropriate service to the staff of the ministerial headquarters such as: e-mail, antivirus, access to shared documents, intranet, back-up, server configuration etc. Most improvements are done by the staff of the ICT unit, through coaching and on-the-job training.
Healthy Learning
The other part of the VVOB programme pays attention to the link between the quality of learning and the health status of children in primary schools. We focus on elementary insights and skills such as washing hands before eating, visiting toilets rather than the bushes, preparing nutritious meals at school and at home, keeping the environment clean,...
Healthy Learning is active in 25 “model” schools. Five schools in five different arid and semi- arid districts are enrolled. The schools and the districts are responsible for the financial management, using the existing systems of the ministry of education. The initial budgets are relatively small, but the programme creates opportunities to learn valuable lessons.
Healthy Learning stimulates collaboration between schools, other ministries (such as health, water, agriculture, livestock...) and non-governmental organizations. The ministry of education, healthy learning, World Food Programme and Unicef regularly exchange experiences. We all learn from each other and this will lead to adopting more appropriate approaches.
The school is responsible
Each school is offered the opportunity to start its own project to improve the health of the pupils and to make learning practical and more relevant. This can be done, directly, through initiatives such as growing their own vegetables or, indirectly, through income generating activities. At the end of 2008, we receive a variety of proposals: to build a water tank or a new toilet; to keep chicken, steers or bees; to develop a vegetable garden; to plant trees,… The whole school and the parents are involved in all steps of the project that offers opportunities for learning (weighing, measuring, calculating volumes, using water carefully, how do tomatoes grow?...) It is encouraging to notice that at the end of the year, several people involved in healthy learning have already experienced changes. Staff at the ministry headquarters say that they are working more systematically and are preparing their activities better. Heads of school and members of school committees who participated in training, already initiated healthy learning activities at school and at home. A certain, stimulating, rivalry is growing between the participating districts. District staff will make two ‘study visits’ per year to exchange ideas and experiences. In 2009, the 25 projects will kick off: it will be a busy year!
Skilled para-medical staff
VVOB is also active in the medical sector in Kenya. The year 2008 is crucial for the National Skillslab Expansion project that started in 2005. Over the past three years, skillslabs have been set up and the capacity of staff of the Kenya Medical Training College has been developed. In 2008, the focus is on sustainability, as the project will be concluded in December 2009. The curriculums for nurses and clinical officers (‘assistant doctors’) are reviewed and the skillslab methodology is being applied. The trainees now develop their practical skills before they meet the real patients, by using dummies or manikins and ‘simulated patients’.
All colleges of the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), countrywide, use the skillslab manuals and learning guides. The exam systems are harmonized. A platform for e-learning is available. It gives trainers and students opportunities to study independently through computer and Internet to offer and consult learning materials.
There is, however, one final task: to transform the current Skillslab National Coordination centre into a semi-independent unit that will continue to support innovation of medical education, to the benefit of KMTC and other providers in Kenya and the region.
