A lobby group has urged Kenya to develop and actively implement inclusive policies that will encourage refugee children to attend school.
In a report released last week at the United Nations General Assembly, Kenya will have to remove any policy barriers that prevent refugee children from attending the formal school system.
Save the Children said the country must fulfil its legal and moral responsibility by having an inclusive and flexible registration and documentation system that allows students to enrol in school without unnecessary requirements.
Kenya was present at the Leaders’ Summit and pledged to implement the “Guidelines on Admission of Non-Citizens to Institutions of Basic Education and Training in Kenya.’ This will facilitate enrolment of refugees and other non-citizens in Kenyan schools.
“This is not a new commitment, but is a welcome reaffirmation of an existing valid effort by the government to promote these guidelines,” the report says.
It was also recommended that the international community, through UNHCR, increases funds immediately to address the education and protection gaps in the camps. The funding should be multi-year and predictable.
Going by the report, Kenya will continue hosting refugees, particularly with the current drought and pre-famine situation in Somalia.
“Where repatriation does occur, the process should be voluntary and guarantee provision of social services in Somalia, including health and education for children,” the report states.
As of July 2017, Kenya was hosting 488,000 refugees, 57 per cent of whom are children. More than half, 291,000, are from Somalia, with 108,000 from South Sudan, 34,000 from DRC and the rest from Ethiopia, Burundi, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and Eritrea.
Eighty-seven per cent of these refugees are in Dadaab and Kakuma camps, and 13 per cent live in Nairobi.
In refugee camps in Kenya, which have been in existence since 1992, the primary school net enrolment rate is 40 per cent and the secondary school enrolment rate is only four per cent.
The study shows that access to education is a major challenge for refugees, especially at the secondary level.
In Kakuma refugee camp, only 65 per cent of children are enrolled at the primary level and only three per cent are at the secondary level.
In Dadaab, the enrolment rates are 47 per cent for pre-primary, 73 per cent for primary and 29 per cent for secondary.
The report indicates that inadequate funding to support quality education in camp settings restricts refugees’ access to prime education.
Funding for education in the refugee camps is provided by UNHCR, while the government provides funding for schools in host communities, which some refugees may access.