Provide School Shoes to Kenyan Orphans

Schooling still elusive to many students

Starting February, this year, the 2015 graduates of Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) will be joining various high schools throughout the country. According to the Kenya ministry of education, the number of students getting placements in Secondary Schools, after the form one selection, has increased tremendously. It is estimated that out of the 925,744 candidates who sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations, in late 2015, 759,603 will get admission to form one (9^th grade).

One implication of this data is that, the learning dream of the 166,141 candidates who have not been placed in any secondary school still remains largely elusive. Put in another way, this marks the end of schooling for these children. These children include those who come from low income backgrounds, lack support from their families, are homeless or, orphaned. Given their young age, it is not likely that these children are even ready for the job market or vocational training. While private entities, including the nonprofit organizations, like Fabulous African Fabrics (FAF) have played an active role in supporting students coming from such backgrounds, it is important that the government, and other stakeholders, urgently devise ways of making education more accessible to such disadvantaged children. One way of achieving this is by constructing more secondary schools and training enough teachers to serve the students.

On the brighter side, the number of students transitioning to secondary schools in Kenya (as demonstrated in the current number of secondary school placements) signal the expansion of educational opportunities in the country. There is need to provide these children with relevant and high quality education that prepares them to the emerging dynamics of national and global job markets.