MANOAH ESIPISU: Kenya and UK bid to keep millions of children in school

The forthcoming Global Education Summit will be hosted in July 2021 by President Uhuru Kenyatta and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

It will mark the close of the Global Partnership for Education’s fourth replenishment campaign, which has been adeptly stewarded by the two leaders. The campaign calls on us to Raise Your Hand for global education and seeks to raise at least $5 billion to support education systems in up to 90 countries and territories, enabling 175 million boys and girls to remain in school.

The summit will congregate world leaders and global education advocates over two days between July 28-29. Given the challenges we have collectively faced as a result of Covid-19, the summit could not be timelier or more urgent.

Over the last year, the world has dedicated a significant proportion of its resources to fighting the pandemic, relegating other priorities to the backburner. As the world begins to transition into a recovery period, perhaps this is the appropriate time to pause, take stock, and re-centre education in the development agenda.

The funds raised over the course of the campaign will ensure 88 million more children, including 46 million girls, will get access to a quality and equitable education. It will also enable beneficiary countries to recruit teachers to support more than 140 million students worldwide.

I, therefore, invite you, fellow AU heads of state, to partner with us in this effort to commit to protect education budgets in your countries

The summit will bring together a wide spectrum of stakeholders, including heads of state, ministers, parliamentarians, thought-leaders, technical experts, civil society, youth leaders and advocates, business and community leaders, faith-based organisations, international financial institutions, academics, and many others invested in ensuring the next generation receives an equal and quality education.

President Kenyatta’s stewardship of the campaign does not come as a surprise. He has been at the forefront in articulating and amplifying education issues, not just in Kenya, but also across the world. Early this year, he challenged the African Union summit to show and hold governments to account in setting aside adequate resources to ensure all children can go back to school and complete their studies.

“I, therefore, invite you, fellow AU heads of state, to partner with us in this effort to commit to protect education budgets in your countries,” said at the AU Summit in February 2021.

In championing education, President Kenyatta continues to lead by example. This is illustrated by the fact that education takes a significant portion of Kenya’s annual budget and takes clear precedence in policy development. For example, under the Early Childhood Development and Education sub-program, the government is set to increase the pre-primary gross enrolment rate from 76.6 per cent to 83 per cent by 2022 and will ensure 100 per cent transition from pre-primary to primary education across the country.

President Kenyatta’s drive for more resources to be directed to education reflects targets set by Unesco, which urge countries to spend at least 10 per cent of their budgets on pre-primary education.

However, this commitment is not necessary reflected across the continent. Unesco data trends show countries are spending an average of two per cent of their budgets on pre-primary education, far below the recommended international target.

Limited education funding, particularly for pre-primary education, is a consistent trend across sub-Saharan Africa. For nearly all countries across the region and the broader developing world, pre-primary education continues to represent a very small fraction of the total education spending. This is why it is critical for the GPE fourth replenishment campaign to succeed in raising the $5billion it has targeted.

I don’t have to belabor the benefits that come with investment in every component of early childhood development. Statistics show there are significant economic returns resulting in gains for families, communities, and economies.

Research by Theirworld, a British NGO rooted in mobilising resources for ECDE, shows children’s brains are like a house – they are built in stages. The development of a child’s brain starts with the foundation and builds upwards — investing in high-quality ECDE helps lay these foundations, securing children’s lifelong learning.

The research further notes that every dollar invested in pre-school has been shown to have a return of investment of up to $7.1, while in sub-Saharan Africa it has been estimated that every dollar spent towards tripling pre-primary education enrolment would yield a $33 return on investment.

ECDE is an invaluable, effective opportunity that is intricately tied to other development milestones critical for young children. Simply by being enrolled in pre-primary, young children are statistically more likely to have access to safe water, basic sanitation, immunisation programs, and nutrition.

It also sets the youngest generation on a path to attaining their fullest potential. Statistics show that 47 per cent of children globally who attend high-quality ECDE find skilled employment later in life compared to the 27 per cent who do not have access to school.

From the government’s perspective, the assurance of equitable access to ECDE is, therefore, not only critical to each child’s path, but a valuable return on investment. The government’s policies thus aim to reach all children, whilst increasing the efficiency and sustainability of the education system.

It is scientifically acknowledged that learning begins in the earliest moments of a child’s life. The first five years are the most critical for a child’s development. Investing in high-quality ECDE ensures that we make the most of children’s early years.

Through the GES, we need to motivate governments to progressively increase the size of ECD spending to meet international targets, starting by allocating 10 percent of education sector resources to pre-primary education.

We must urge world leaders to make ECD a key component of Covid-19 emergency and recovery plans, ensuring it is mainstreamed in critical areas such as child protection, education, health, nutrition, and social protection. Spending on ECD services should also be safeguarded as a critical priority, and not scaled back during fiscal consolidation.

The summit will be a platform for governments and other organisations to announce voluntary, global commitments — including financial ones — that will accelerate progress on ECDE. The commitments will guide the development of specific national and county commitments for investment and will contribute to our collective goal of having at least 10 per cent of education budgets to go towards ECDE.

On May 13, President Kenyatta and Prime Minister Johnson displayed their commitment to pushing this agenda after they directly engaged with pupils at Westlands Primary School in Nairobi and Cleves Cross Primary in London, aged between 9 and 11 years, with a special focus on technology and girls’ education.

The two schools are part of the Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning, a programme that provides opportunities for pupils to engage peers across countries on global issues such as climate action and gender equality.

The fact that Kenya and Great Britain will be co-hosting this summit reaffirms the close relations that exist between these two Commonwealth nations.

I am looking forward to being in London during this pivotal moment as the world coalesces around a united goal of raising funds to support global education systems and to ensure that children around the world can access quality education.

The writer is Kenya’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom