Impact of Social Inequality Factors on Access and Completion Rates in Public Primary Schools in Athi-River District, Machakos County, Kenya

The thrust of this paper is to access how factors in social inequality impact on learning process among primary school children in Athi-River district.  The objectives of the study were three fold, namely i)  to identify types of social inequality and challenge,ii) document access to education by primary school pupils and  iii)  determine the state of retention of learners  in schools.  The study was premised on the Reference Theory by Matron (1936) which stipulates that people often identify with social and cultural group to which they belong.   A descriptive survey design was adopted to guide the study. A combination of purposive and stratified sampling techniques were applied to select  256 subjects comprising of 48 parents, 72 teachers , 120 pupils and 2 quality assurance and standards officers (QASOs) to participate in the study.  Questionnaires for teachers and pupils, focused group discussion for parents and interview guidelines for QASOs were the main research instruments used to collect data.  The major findings were that poverty, family background (orphans) poor infrastructure, poor pupil-teacher ratio, level of parental education and poor housing were the major social inequality factors in the community.  It was also evident that although   accessibility to school was good, the schools were not enough for all school-age going children.   The conclusion was that the negative impacts of social inequality on education of pupils include poor academic performance, lateness to school, dropping out of school, early marriages, early employment and drug abuse. The study recommended that employing   more teachers, improving school feeding programs and infrastructure were some of the measures meant to reduce the negative impacts of social inequality in schooling in the study locale of Athi-River District, Machakos County, Kenya.[278  words]. Keywords: Social inequality, Access, Retention, Completion rate, primary schools, Athi-River District, Machakos County, Kenya

Learning the Smart Way: Lessons Learned by the Reaching Agents of Change Project.

The Reaching Agents of Change (RAC) project was a pilot that advocated for increased investment in orange-fleshed sweetpotato to combat vitamin A deficiency among young children and women of reproductive age. It was implemented by the International Potato Center and Helen Keller International primarily in Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania and to a lesser extent in Ghana and Burkina Faso between 2011 and 2014. The project had multiple deliverables in advocacy for raising of new investment, policy change and strengthening of institutional and individual capacities in the project countries. RAC incorporated a systematic and comprehensive results-based monitoring and evaluation system and continuously documented the implementation process over the project period. This booklet shares the learning process that RAC adopted and highlights some useful and replicable lessons learned

Data protection within the cloud: lessons for the new African data protection regime from the European data protection framework.

A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Law (LL.B) degreeThe digital wave has finally hit Africa, and its effect upon the African economy has been immensely positive. With the development of innovative products such as Safaricom's M-Pesa money transfer service, as well as iCow, a farming digital product that has optimized dairy farmers' productivity, the consumer market has developed an appetite for sound, data-centric solutions in order to enhance the various socio-economic activities present within the Continent. At the centre of the immense adoption of emergent technologies by the African populace is one of the most valuable resources present in the current technology era; data. The latter enables the adoption and execution of innovative strategies by multinational companies in order to minimise costs and maximise profits. Moreover, the widespread use of Big Data technologies and the incorporation of data into corporate strategies enables efficient market segmentation as solutions are tailor-made to suit specified clientele according to their needs. The latter leads to products that effectively lead to technological leaps and contribute immensely in terms of trickle-down benefits to the larger society. This could go a long way in combating familiar foes of African development such as ignorance (through educational platforms, such as Coursera), disease (through healthcare solutions such as HelloDoctor) and poverty (the kuhustle.co.ke application has enabled the provision of on-demand software services to the public through a bidding process, leading to access of cheaper affordable services for customers, while generating revenue for the biddee). . .~ Despite the monumental opportunities presented by the advent of emergent technologies, specifically cloud technologies whose proliferation in Africa is abundant, the African Union 's member states remain largely unprepared for the data presence within their jurisdictions. Only seven out of fifty-four African States have a working data protection policy, while the mobile phone industry continues to post sales of upto 50million units per year within the African market. The exposure to the violation of consumer rights as well as privacy rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is immense for citizens of African States . This paper intends to analyse the various data protection principles sourced from the European Union, whilst juxtaposing it with the present African data protection regime, insofar as the recent adoption of the African Union's Convention on Cybercrime and Personal Data Regulation is concerned. This paper will also critically analyse the encounter between an emergent, cloud¬based technology and the Kenyan jurisdiction, in the case of Bernard Murage v. Fine serve Kenya Limited & Three Others, in order to understand the state of Kenya's data protection standing in the current crisis. Finally, this paper will give the author's humble recommendations based on the view of more prominent Internet jurists who have dealt with the subject matte

From "best practice" to "best fit": a framework for designing and analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services worldwide

"The paper develops a framework for the design and analysis of pluralistic agricultural advisory services and reviews research methods from different disciplines that can be used when applying the framework. Agricultural advisory services are defined in the paper as the entire set of organizations that support and facilitate people engaged in agricultural production to solve problems and to obtain information, skills and technologies to improve their livelihoods and well-being... To classify pluralistic agricultural advisory services, the paper distinguishes between organizations from the public, the private and the third sector that can be involved in (a) providing and (b) financing of agricultural advisory services. The framework for analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services presented in the paper addresses the need for analytical approaches that help policy-makers to identify those reform options that best fit country-specific frame conditions. Thus, the paper supports a shift from a “one-size-fits-all” to a “best fit” approach in the reform of public services... Based on a review of the literature, the paper presents a variety of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches derived from different disciplines that can be applied when using the framework in empirical research projects. The disciplines include agricultural and institutional economics, communication theory, adult education, and public administration and management. The paper intends to inform researchers as well as practitioners, policy-makers and development partners who are interested in supporting evidence-based reform of agricultural advisory services. from Authors' AbstractAgricultural extension work, Pro-poor growth, Capacity strengthening,

Orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). Investment guide.

OFSP investment guide aims to unpack the investment opportunities in the OFSP value chain and offer a decision tool for determining where the key opportunities are and the activities for transforming them, including details on the human, financial and physical resources required. This guide is targeted at national level technical experts in public, private and development institutions, to support them through multisectoral and multi-stakeholder actions to identify and attract investments and implement pro-poor, nutrition-sensitive agricultural growth programmes to reduce vitamin A deficiency

Participatory Epidemiological Assessment of Priority Livestock Diseases, Their Seasonal Occurrence and Impact on Livelihood in Mandera West Sub-County, Mandera County, Kenya

Participatory epidemiology (PE) is a valuable technique for mapping livestock diseases, as it recognizes the indigenous knowledge held by pastoral communities regarding diseases that impact their livelihood and acknowledges the creative capacity of these communities, which can be harnessed to complement scientific disease control and prevention measures. The study aimed to evaluate the priority livestock diseases, their seasonal occurrence, and their impact on the livelihood of communities in Mandera West Sub-County, Mandera County, Kenya. A Cross-sectional study using participatory epidemiological (PE) methods and approaches was conducted with livestock keepers in Mandera west Sub-county from December 2021 to January 2022. Forty group discussions of 10-15 informants involving both men and women were held in 40 randomly selected villages in five administrative wards (Gither, Dandu, Lagsure, Didkuro and Takaba). Data collection tools used in PE study consisted of semi-structured interviews, simple ranking, pair-wise ranking, proportional piling, matrix scoring, disease impact matrix scoring (DIMs) and seasonal calendars. Livestock species were ranked by informants based on economic value to their livelihood. The order was camel, goats, cattle, sheep, donkey, and poultry. The top five priority livestock diseases were Camel Pox, Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP), Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), and Enterotoxaemia. Disease Impact Matrix Scoring (DIMs) revealed CCPP as having the highest livelihood impact at 35.4%, followed by PPR (32.8%), CBPP (30.6%), and trypanosomiasis (28.1%). Proportional pilling indicated Black Quarter (BQ), Enterotoxaemia, CCPP, and Camel Pox had highest case fatalities (CF) of 69.8%, 55.9%, 45.5%, and 37.2% respectively. Informants identified four main seasons: Bira (January to March, dry season), Gan (April to June, long rain), Atholes (July to September, cold season), and Agay (October to December, short rain). Trypanosomiasis and mange were prevalent during the dry season, while CBPP, PPR, and CCPP were high in the cold season. Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Sheep and Goat Pox (SGP) occurred frequently during the long rain, while Camel Pox and Haemorrhagic Septicemia (H.S) tended to occur during the short rain. In conclusion, the PE study identified a strong consensus among key informants in ranking priority livestock diseases, such as Camel Pox, CCPP, PPR, CBPP, and Enterotoxaemia. CCPP, PPR, CBPP, and trypanosomiasis had the most significant impact on community livelihoods. The study underscores the value of community involvement in disease control, utilizing indigenous knowledge

Orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). Investment implementation guide.

This OFSP Investment Implementation Guide is targeted at those involved in the implementation of OFSP investment programmes such as local government or NGO field staff. It provides a brief overview of the reasons for investing in pro-poor, nutrition-sensitive agricultural growth and vitamin A deficiency reduction programmes such as the promotion of OFSP. It presents a decision tool for determining where the key opportunities exist in the OFSP value chain. It then unpacks each of the investment areas in detail and presents the activities for achieving its transformation, including details on the required human, financial and physical resources. It assumes such an investment will be undertaken using a multisectoral approach