Education stakeholders in Turkana County will work to improve Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) following an assessment using the Kenya Schools Readiness Assessment Tools (KSRAT).
The KSRAT assessment identified gaps in the sector, including a shortage of teachers, inadequate feeding programmes, and poor-quality assurance.
The County Government and Partners have come up with a plan to recruit more ECDE teachers, maintain feeding programmes, improve quality assurance, and increase water access to learners through drilling of boreholes and more.
The assessment has provided a roadmap for improving the sector, and the County Government and Partners are committed to working together to ensure that every child in Turkana receives meaningful education.
The KSRAT assessment findings were presented to the County Assembly Committee on Education, Sports, and Social Protection to ECDE partners, and other stakeholders during the closure of training of 75 trainers of trainees (TOTs) Tuesday.
The results revealed gaps in the sector, which called for immediate attention and action from the relevant authorities.
According to County Executive Committee Member for Education, Sports, and Social Protection, Ms Leah Audan the there is need for more human and government resources to improve the teacher-pupil ratio in ECDE centres.
Audan also asked partners to support the provision of mobility devices to ease supervision and monitoring of quality assurance standards in ECDE centres.
Committee Chair and MCA representing Kaputir Ward Mr. Michael Ekaale, acknowledged the lack of attention given to the ECDE sector, which has negatively impacted performance attributable to weak background development.
He promised to give any necessary support to ECDE matters to realise improved quality assurance.
Ms. Fariza Baidaly, UNICEF Kenya Representative, affirmed the need for collaboration with partners to achieve the desired outcomes in ECDE. She called upon other partners to support ECDE centres with learning materials that will catalyse school interest among learners.
The KSRAT assessment identified several challenges in ECDE centres, including a shortage of teachers, inadequate feeding programmes, and poor quality assurance. The KSRAT assessment has shed light on the current status of ECDE centres in Turkana County and provided a roadmap for improving the sector.
Other contributors present in the workshop were Peter Ewat (KNUT), Dr. Teria Ngasike (Patron ECDE), Losinyono Benjamin (Mary Meals), Sarah Musengya (Education Officer -UNICEF) among others.
Present at the meeting were Samuel Eragae (Director for ECDE), Alice Akiru (ECDE Administrator) among other education officers and representatives of partner organisations.
By Peter Gitonga
