By Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD (Leading Environmental Law Scholar, Policy Advisor, Natural Resources Lawyer and Dispute Resolution Expert from Kenya), Winner of Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021, ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award 2021*
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs), which was adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, acknowledges the place of education in the sustainable development debate. SDG Goal 4 requires that all State Parties should ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The corresponding Targets are that: by 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes; by 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education; by 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university; by 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship; by 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations,
Further, by 2030, state parties are bound to ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy and ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development; build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all. In addition, State Parties are to ensure that by 2030, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries. Lastly, by 2030, State Parties are required to substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing states.
In essence, the realization of sustainable development goals depends not only on the availability of natural resources but also on the availability of relevant human knowledge. It is out of this recognition that the United Nations 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development acknowledges the place of education and gives the right of access to education prominence under Goal 4. Arguably, the right to education forms the basis for the realization of many other sustainable development goals especially those related to empowerment, poverty eradication, peacebuilding, justice, and development, among others. Indeed, education is considered to be a key driver to transform lives, build peace, eradicate poverty, and drive sustainable development. Arguably, education promises to free all citizens from the shackles of ignorance, poverty, and disempowerment, and endow them with the capacity to be architects of their destiny, and catalysts of entrepreneurship, innovation, and global citizenship. It is thus viewed, and rightly so, as an empowerment tool.
This is recognized under General Comment No. 13 on the Right to Education which states that ‘as an empowerment right, education is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities. Education has a vital role in empowering women, safeguarding children from exploitative and hazardous labour and sexual exploitation, promoting human rights and democracy, protecting the environment, and controlling population growth’. Despite the recognition of the place of Education in achieving sustainable development, many countries, including Kenya, are still struggling with the achievement of the right to quality education. For instance, in Kenya the provision of education is often hampered by several challenges and while the law guarantees the right for all learners and other groups of people, there still exists practical challenges in the country. The challenges are attributable to different factors which range from social, economic, cultural, and political among others. Further, in spite of the positive steps made by successive governments in Kenya towards ensuring that all persons have access to inclusive and quality education in the country, many children of school-going age are still unable to access education opportunities and are still out of school as well as many other adults who are deprived of learning opportunities.
The situation may be attributed to many challenges which include but may not be limited to social, cultural, and economic factors. It is estimated that Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of education exclusion, with about 97.5 million children and adolescents being out of school in the sub-Saharan Africa region. It has been argued that without an urgent will and combined resources and efforts, the situation will likely get worse as the region faces a rising demand for education due to a still-growing school-age population. As of April 2016, UNESCO Observatory on the Right to Education raised their concern that ‘that the State party had not dedicated sufficient resources to financing school facilities and qualified teachers, and to ensure effective enjoyment of the right to free primary education for all.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was also concerned that inadequacies in the public schooling system had led to the proliferation of so-called “low-cost private schools”, which has led to segregation or discriminatory access to education, particularly for disadvantaged and marginalized children, including children living in informal settlements and arid and semi-arid areas. Some of the other challenges that have been identified regarding the education system in Kenya include very low school enrolment and completion rate in the arid and semi-arid areas and urban informal settlements, as well as low retention rate of teachers in these areas which undermines the quality of education; higher barriers faced by girls, compared to boys, in obtaining education due to heavy domestic workloads, adolescent marriages, and pregnancies, negative societal attitudes towards the importance of educating the girl child as well as unaffordable menstrual protection and sanitary wear and lack of sanitation facilities in schools; the Basic Education Act (2013) allows schools to charge tuition fees to non-Kenyan citizens; low quality of education and rapid increase of private and informal schools, including those funded by foreign development aids, providing sub-standard education and deepening inequalities.
*This article is an extract from the Article: “Towards Inclusive and Quality Education as a Tool for Empowerment in Kenya,” (2021) Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development Volume 6(1), p. 83 by Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD, Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021 (Nairobi Legal Awards), ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and ADR Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 (CIArb Kenya). Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a foremost Environmental Law and Natural Resources Lawyer and Scholar, Sustainable Development Advocate and Conflict Management Expert in Kenya. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a Senior Lecturer of Environmental Law and Dispute resolution at the University of Nairobi School of Law and The Center for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP). He has published numerous books and articles on Environmental Law, Environmental Justice Conflict Management, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Sustainable Development. Dr. Muigua is also a Chartered Arbitrator, an Accredited Mediator, the Africa Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates. Dr. Muigua is recognized among the top 5 leading lawyers and dispute resolution experts in Kenya by the Chambers Global Guide 2022.
References
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Roger Slee, Defining the Scope of Inclusive Education Think Piece Prepared for the 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report Inclusion and Education 2 (2019).
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UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), General Comment No. 13: The Right to Education (Art. 13 of the Covenant), 8 December 1999, E/C.12/1999/10.
UN General Assembly, Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 21 October 2015, A/RES/70/1.