George Saitoti Minister for Education, Science and Technology Professor, George Saitoti holds a Ph.D degree in Mathematics from Warwick University, Conventry, England which he obtained in 1972. Prof. George Saitoti has served as Kenya’s Vice President for 13 years. He has also served as the Minister for Planning and National Development; Minister for Finance; Chairman, World Bank and IMF Group; President of ACP Council of Ministers as well as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Nairobi. He has authored several papers in international journals and recently published “The Challenges of Economic and Institutional Reforms in Africa, Ashgate, 2002. Prof. George Saitoti is currently the Minister for Education Science and Technology for the Republic of Kenya. His greatest achievement in this capacity is the implementation of Free Primary Education in 2003 which opened opportunities for many disadvantaged children to access Primary School Education. His vision is to reform education at all levels so as to provide the critical mass of human capital required to achieve sustainable development.

Quality education and socio inclusion

In addressing the education needs of Kenyans, the Education For All (EFA) goals serve as a reference point. We also take cognizance of the Children Act (2001) which recognizes education as a basic right.

To achieve EFA, whose objective is to promote socio inclusion in Education, Kenya abolished all levies and declared primary education free in January, 2003. As a result, there was an influx of children to Primary schools from 5.9 million (2002) to 7.5 million (2004), an increase of 22%.

The challenges that affect provision of quality education are, teacher shortages, inadequate financial resources and inadequate teaching and learning resources. The government is in the process of reforming the education sector to adequately address these challenges by reducing the cost of education to the government and households, promotion of partnerships amongst education providers and creating a framework for private sector participation.

The Government has achieved a near gender parity nationally (Girls: 103.7) and (Boys: 105.8), however, this does not reflect regional disparities where girls are grossly under represented. At tertiary level girls are also under represented in the Scientific and technological disciplines. We are, therefore, in the process of creating an enabling environment that will improve access, retention and completion of girls in education. The government is also encouraging gender friendly learning environments in schools and targeted bursaries to girls education at the secondary school level. Equity will also be achieved by targeting the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups and children in arid and semi arid lands. Our priority is to ensure quality programs that are relevant to the needs of all learners. The government also promotes integration and inclusive education by providing additional grants to support regular schools and units that offer special needs education.

To synchronize and expand learning opportunities at Secondary and primary level additional opportunities that offer quality technical and vocational education and training are offered to those children who do not have access to secondary education. The skills enable them to fit in the modern job market.

This conference, therefore, is a welcome opportunity to discuss further strategies for provision of quality education for socio inclusion.