By Dickens Wasonga.
A four year strategic plan has been developed by the Nyanza provincial education board to boost the girl child education in the region.
Speaking to reporters in his Kisumu office the area director of education Mr.Geoffrey Cherongis said the plan which will be launched soon will see over 20 low cost boarding primary schools built.
The director said the girls friendly centers will target to help girls who are mostly orphans in the worst hit areas such as Gem in Siaya county.
He disclosed that funds to construct the low cost boarding schools for the girls will be mobilised through UNICEF.local MPs and the ministry of education as a collaborative effort to address the vulnerability of the learners many of whom do not even have homes to live in.
Cherongis said Nyanza was amongst the worst hit regions when it comes to gender disparity in relation to education.
He said Nyanza comes as the third last bottom after Coast and North Eastern with the parity levels standing at between 56 boys-44 girls in primary and 61boys-31 girls in secondary.
Last year only eight girls scored a mean grade of A at the KCSE and most girls in areas like Suba,Mbita,Rachuonyo, Bondo and Nyatike, cases of drop outs due to pregnancies continue to rise.
Meanwhile the Nyanza women education initiative which seeks to promote girls education in the region has mobilised over 600 professional women from the area to help mentor the girls .
The initiative which is co-convened by the regional education manager Microsoft East and South Africa Mr. Mark Matunga has visited several girls secondary schools in the area since its inception to give talks to the students on values and benefits of educating girls.
”many of these girls are vulnerable because they are orphans and can easily be abused by men.the worst affected are those who hails from the fishing communities along the shores of Lake Victoria”.Said Matunga
Other counties like Kuria and Kisii where culture is still embedded,girls education is still facing stiff opposition as compared to the boys.
Good initiative Mark. That to me is a mark of progressive leadership. Let us do something for our people.
thank you for empowering the girl child when you educate the girl you empower the community and we get better home and families all stake holders to go on with the gudwork in du season it will bear fruits . mark thank you
This is a good and plausible initiative. Don’t you think that this would also be a good time to start looking into the plight of the boy child? Girl-centered affirmative action is now affecting the enrollment and retention of the boy child in school. This situation needs urgent attention.
I salute all those who support girl child education.
What is the way forward? Set up structures that will motivate them. Organize tour trips, let them be exposed and meet women of substance. Let there be initiatives that occupy them e.g inter-school forums for girls, let them discuss their issues and come up with solutions or recommendations. It is their life, they can mess it up or make it bright. Provide scholarships to rural girls and monitor their education through mentors and let them come back to the communities and encourage the rest. Meanwhile let us not forget that the boy child could be more vulnerable than the girls whose advocacy is at international level.
A move in the right direction. Lets support the girl child for us to achieve gender parity in all spheres. Congratulations.
I am looking forward to a time when these good programs to promote girl child education are going to be decentralized to take shape at grassroots level. I mean schools, churches, chief barazas and households taking responsibility to ensure we narrow the gap. I am willing to be in the planning committee for the way forward programs, in every aspect. Mark, count Janesam in.