Department of Education, in Uasin Gishu county, has acquired teaching and learning materials worth Sh 22 million for its Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) learners in fulfillment of the Nguzo Kumi election manifesto.
Governor Jonathon Bii’s ‘Nguzo Kumi’ election manifesto, pledged to improve the learning environment for all ECDE learners with a view to improve the quality of education for nursery school pupils to set a good education foundation for them.
Education County Executive Committee Member, Ms. Janeth Kosgei, confirmed that the materials have already been received and packaged ready for distribution to all the ECDE centers next week, This will ensure education for all Uasin Gishu learners.
“We have employed 1287 teachers on permanent and pensionable terms, provided learners with milk twice a week and now they will get learning materials. All this is geared towards improving the quality of Education at our ECDE centers,” the CECM said.
“We have made huge strides compared to what was happening in the past. The learning materials we have procured align with the current Competency-Based Curriculum,” she said.
The county has approximately 40,000 pre-primary learners in 687 public ECDE centers. In early June, the county launched a Sh 60m milk feeding program to see all nursery school learners receive milk twice a week.
Since ECDE Education is a devolved function;
In Kiambu County, Sh. 400 Million has been set aside to construct 130 new Early Childhood Development (ECDE) centers each estimated to cost Sh. 3.5 Million. The project is estimated to take three financial years to be fully completed in all 524 ECDE centers present in the county.
Nakuru County, in line with the governor’s manifesto for the provision of quality education, the county announced that they plan to employ additional ECDE teachers to bridge the gap in the teacher-to-learner ratio, with priority given to teachers currently employed by parents in public ECDE centers. Since the onset of the exercise, 1,550 chairs and 270 tables have been distributed to over 65 schools in Molo, Njoro, Nakuru West, and Nakuru East sub-counties.
Makueni County, Education County Executive Committee Member for ICT, Education, and Internship, Elizabeth Muli launched 21 ECDE classes across the county. The classrooms feature separate toilets for young students. Also, they are equipped with lockable cabinets, each student has his/her own desk with ample spacing between rows. The classrooms also incorporated water harvesting systems.
Bungma County, Sh.2.5 Million has been allocated in the first supplementary budget to facilitate the purchase of Information Technology equipment to equip ECDE learners with digital knowledge to keep up with global technological advancements.
ECDE Education faces many challenges such as; inadequacy of teaching and learning resources, financial constraints, lack of government goodwill, poor training of ECDE teachers, insecurity, high pupil-teacher ratio, and poor teacher remunerations.
Early Childhood Education in the participating African Union countries has been examined on the basis of expansion, enrolment, teachers, rural, and gender distribution. In the last three decades, Early Childhood Education has undergone tremendous changes in terms of growth and development. More schools for Early Childhood Education have been constructed in villages, rural areas, and urban areas. Such construction has been in response to the demand of the people for such provision. This indeed is a new chapter in the history of Africa, given that for too long, neither the governments in power nor parents paid that much attention to Early Childhood Education.
The earliest beginning of Early Childhood Education in Kenya, was in 1942, when a school was opened for European children. In subsequent years, ECE was available for African children as well, particularly in urban areas where mothers needed to go to work. Expansion of ECE was more felt following Independence in 1963, as more and more ECE schools opened to meet the existing demand for such education.
Since Kenya’s Independence in 1963, the Government of Kenya has recognized the importance of education both as a basic right as well as a tool for achieving Social Economic development.