Quality Education for the Pastoralist in Public Primary Schools in Kajiado County, Kenya: Case Study of Dupoto-E-Maa Education Project in Kajiado Central District

Abstract

Conditions of learning are critical in determining quality of education. There have been real concerns raised by stakeholders regarding the quality of education for pastoralists in public primary schools in Kajiado Central District in Kenya. Interventions have been put in place to address the issue of quality education. One such intervention is the Dupoto-e-Maa education project. The study investigated the extent to which the project has promoted quality educations in terms of institutional capacity in the public primary schools in Kajiado Central District. The evaluation used both cross-sectional survey and phenomenological research designs. Phenomenological research design provides in-depth information about individuals, groups or institutions as they naturally occur. This design helped generate qualitative data through information gathered from head teachers, School Management Committees (SMC), teachers, pupils, Quality Assurance and Standards Officer (QASO) and project staff. The cross-sectional survey design assisted the evaluators to access quantitative data from a wide range of informants. A sample size of 183 respondents was selected using purposive sampling as well as stratified random sampling procedures. Head teachers of the sampled schools participated as key informants. The instruments of data collection used in the study included questionnaires, interview guide, document analysis guide, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) guide as well as observation guide. From the analysis it was concluded that Dupoto-e-Maa education project had significantly contributed to improved institutional capacity in terms of installing new facilities in schools as well as rehabilitating the existing ones. They were also involved in teacher training programs as well as stakeholders’ awareness campaigns. The study recommends that the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), the County Government of Kajiado and the Government of Kenya (GoK) should allocate/commit more resources for improved infrastructure as well as in-service training and professional support of teachers. The findings could also be used to inform policy dialogue with regard to education for pastoral communities.

Keywords: Pastoralists, Quality education, Institutional capacity, Public primary school