Devolution of Basic Education: Could it be the Panacea to Education Marginalization of ASAL Regions of Kenya?

Abstract

The provision of basic education in the ASAL regions of Kenya continues to face numerous challenges in spite of the government efforts to provide basic education to all its citizens. Since independence, national plans and solutions have largely failed to provide adequate solutions to challenges of education in ASAL regions. Net enrolment rations in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools remain far below those of the national level. The regions have few educational facilities, low access, retention, completion and transition rates. They have high teacher shortage and currently teachers from other regions of Kenya are not willing to work in some ASAL regions due to problems of insecurity. In 2010, a new constitution was enacted which provided for the devolution of many roles of the national government to the county governments. The provision of pre-primary education, village polytechnics and home crafts was devolved to the county governments. The objective of this paper is to explore whether devolution of education could solve many problems of education inequalities and marginalization in the ASAL regions.