Education CS Ezekiel Machogu has thanked the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) for supporting Kenya’s commitment to the provision of inclusive, quality education and training for all children and young people.
Machogu said the UK Government has supported 10 million learners to access textbooks for grades one and two through the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), noting that this has allowed Kenya to attain a 1:1 learner-to-textbook ratio in public primary schools.
The CS made the remarks when the Deputy High Commissioner at the British High Commission in Kenya, Mrs. Leigh Stubblefield, paid him a courtesy call at the Ministry Headquarters, Jogoo House, together with the Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Dr. Belio Kipsang, also in attendance.
Machogu revealed that the UK has also supported over 300,000 marginalised girls to access, stay in school, and transition into higher education, training, and work.
“These girls were mainly from disadvantaged counties in North and North-East Kenya,” added Machogu, saying that this was achieved through the Girls Education Challenge (GEC) programme.
Further, the CS thanked the UK government for the Commonwealth Scholarships it has been giving Kenya annually, asking the Deputy High Commissioner to request her government increase the number of slots for scholarships it allocates to Kenya.
Machogu attributed Kenya’s highly educated, skilled, and trained manpower to the British education system dating from the colonial era.
In her response, the Deputy High Commissioner maintained that her government was committed to supporting education, training, and initiatives on foundational learning in Kenya.
She assured the CS that the UK will support the implementation of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER).
Stubblefield also added that her government is committed to supporting the formulation of Kenya’s research and development policy.
Earlier, the Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Dr. Belio Kipsang, thanked the UK government for the support it gave to the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER).
He said PWPER had made recommendations to the government to strengthen foundational learning, which is the basis for quality education.
Also present during the occasion were the Deputy Development Director, Mrs. Eduarda Mendonca-Gray, the Secretary of Administration in the State Department for Higher Education and Research, Fredrick Ndambuki, the Director for Technical Education, Meshach Opwora, and the Education Advisor at the UK High Commission, Michael Musyoka, among others.
By Michael Omondi
