Kenya

The Girls' Education Challenge (GEC) had seven projects working in Kenya, which aim to improve learning opportunities and outcomes for over 331,675 of the country's marginalised girls. Access to good quality education will give these girls the chance of a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.

The GEC was launched in 2012 and is the largest donor-funded global girls' education programme. Through their strong focus on improving literacy, numeracy and life skills, GEC projects are supporting girls to seek out and secure their full potential. Projects supported under the Leave No Girl Behind initiative aim to reach highly-marginalised girls and will support essential interventions to provide literacy and numeracy and skills relevant for life and work.

GEC projects are implementing a diverse range of interventions in a variety of different contexts. They are financing access to education, providing materials for learning and creating safe spaces to learn. They are working with governments, communities and schools to raise standards and to build support for girls' education. They are training and mentoring teachers and governors to improve the quality of teaching and the effectiveness of school governance. And they are working directly with girls to raise their aspirations and achievements and enable them to transition from primary education to secondary education, or technical or vocational education and training or employment.

The GEC implements a rigorous approach to monitoring and evaluation. All projects must demonstrate the additional impact they are making on girls' learning outcomes, using robust statistical approaches. This is generating a substantial source of qualitative and quantitative evidence on successful strategies for girls to learn and thrive at school.

"In some regions, where poverty levels are high, only 19 per cent of girls are enrolled in school."

Girls' education in Kenya

Kenya introduced free primary education in 2003 and enrolment numbers in schools rose to 84%. However, in some regions, where poverty levels are high, only 19% of girls are enrolled in school. Families are often required to pay for textbooks, uniforms, and teachers' salaries - costs they are often unable to meet. In addition, when children attend school, they are not contributing to the family's income, creating a perceived short-term 'opportunity cost'. This can make it difficult for families to justify sending a child to school, and in communities where girls are expected to marry early and join their husband's family, parents do not readily see how education benefits their daughters or the family. This is exacerbated in secondary school as girls reach adolescence and the costs around education are higher.

Kenya has made impressive progressive on education since introducing free primary education in 2003, achieving over 90% primary enrolment today and attaining gender parity in primary schools. The national picture, however, masks significant disparities at the regional level. Girls in the arid and isolated Somali border counties, in particular, face significant barriers to education and as a result in some areas girls make up less than 30% of those taking secondary exams. 

Projects

iMlango - completed implementation in June 2021
Avanti Communications

iMlango (a word derived from the Swahili for doorway or portal) is a private sector-led project. It aimed to help 70,130 marginalised girls improve their learning and transition to the next stage of education, through the innovative use of technology. The project provided schools with satellite broadband and computer labs which allowed students to use an online programme for tutoring in maths. The project generated real-time data on student attendance and also on their learning progress, so the teaching content is tailored to each individual child. It also provided stipends and loan schemes for parents.

Kenya Equity in Education Project (KEEP) - completed implementation in December 2022
World University Service of Canada (WUSC)

The KEEP project aimed to support girls from Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps and the surrounding communities for whom conflict, displacement, and extreme poverty have made access to education extremely challenging. The project helped these girls to stay in school as long as possible and attain functional literacy and numeracy. It helped them to be safe and supported in school and at home, and to make successful transitions to further education or employment. It focused on girls, mainly adolescents, at the highest risk of dropping out of school, supporting them financially, offering remedial classes and equipping them with life skills and greater self-confidence. The project also worked with local and national governments and the surrounding communities, notably the men and boys within them, to increase support for girls' education and ensure the long-term sustainability of the project.

Let our Girls Succeed (Wasichana Wetu Wafaulu) - completed implementation in March 2023
Education Development Trust

Let our Girls Succeed worked with highly marginalised girls living in arid and semi-arid lands and slum areas in Kenya. It provided primary school girls with the qualifications, skills and confidence necessary to successfully transition to a productive next phase of life. Through improved teaching quality, the majority of girls transitioned to secondary level education. With improved literacy and numeracy skills, the girls also had the opportunity to attend higher performing schools. Other girls were supported to transition to alternative pathways focused on employment and technical and vocational education and training.

Jielimishe - completed implementation in June 2022
I Choose Life

This project aimed to improve the life chances of 10,120 marginalised girls in primary and secondary school, allowing them to complete a full cycle of education and transition to the next level, including alternative pathways such as technical and vocational education and training. The approach focused on increasing girls' motivation to learn through girls' clubs and mentorship schemes; improving the quality of teaching through teacher training, coaching and mentorship; and encouraging local communities to support girls' education. The project also supported 6,980 boys in primary and secondary school to ensure that boys were also able go to school and benefit from a supportive learning environment.

Expanding inclusive education strategies for girls with disabilities Kenya - completed implementation in March 2022
Leonard Cheshire 

Leonard Cheshire's project aimed to increase the educational and vocational opportunities of girls with disabilities in five counties within the Lake Region. It tackled the specific barriers that girls with disabilities face in order to improve their quality of life, skills and livelihood opportunities. The girls in this project were helped to transition through primary into secondary school, vocational training and self-employment, or adult education and home learning programmes. In tandem, the project worked to build positive attitudes and community support for disabled children. It also worked with families to create households that are willing and able to support the girls' journey through to adulthood and beyond.

Discovery Project - completed implementation in December 2020
Impact(Ed) International

Impact(Ed) International has supported marginalised girls to improve their literacy and numeracy skills, develop their life skills and raise their aspirations. Impact(Ed) International’s approach combined professional development of teachers with video technology and teaching resources. These were used to support learning gains, the completion of primary schooling and the transition to secondary school, and to enable the pursuit of both educational and life goals. By improving the quality of education with government partners and shifting community attitudes and actions to further support girls’ education, the project aimed to positively impact girls (and boys) now and for years to come. Known locally as the Nawiri project, and in partnership with Kenya’s Ministry of Education, Impact(Ed) International reached a total of 514 primary and junior secondary school communities.

Leave No Girl Behind project

Education for Life (EfL) - completed implementation in March 2023
ActionAid 

ActionAid’s Education for Life (EfL) project worked with up to 5,000 highly marginalised 10 to 19-year-old, out-of-school girls and 500 boys in the counties of Isiolo, Garissa, Migori, Kisumu and Kilifi. Of these, 1,500 of the girls and all 500 of the boys were children with disabilities. The EfL project provided both out-of-school learning activities and improvements to existing school provision to address teaching quality, curricula, school environments, and management practices. It also contributed to improved life chances of marginalised girls by tackling barriers such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, gender norms, stigma, discrimination and violence.