ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence the implementation of secondary education project for refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp. This study sought to achieve the following research objectives; to examine the influence of cultural practices on the implementation of secondary education project for Refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp, to assess the extent to which educational resources influence the implementation of secondary education project for Refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp, to assess the influence of influx of Refugees on the implementation of secondary education project for Refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp and to establish the influence of foreign academic certification of Refugees on the implementation of secondary education project for Refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp. The study was anchored on Refugee Aid Development theory by Betts and Gorman. The researcher employed descriptive survey research design. The study targeted all 12,783 students in the 5 secondary schools in Kakuma refugee camp in the year 2020. Determination of the sample size was done using Krejcie and Morgan Sampling Frame in which 378 students were proportionately selected Five school principals were sampled using purposive sampling. The students who participated in each school were selected using simple random sampling. Two research instruments were used to collect data, that is, self- constructed questionnaires and interview guides. Pilot study was carried in two schools in the camp to establish the reliability and validity of the research instruments comprising of 20 boys and 20 girls who were proportionately selected from form one to form four. Data on cultural practices, educational resources, influx of Refugees and foreign academic certification was analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations) and testing of hypothesis. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. The results were presented using tables. In total, out of the 378 questionnaires issued, 320 were returned and used in data analysis. The overall return rate for this study was 85%. Five principals were interviewed and all the interview guides were included in data analysis translating to 100 return rate. The percentage of male respondents was 74% while that of females was 26%. The mean age was 20.13 with a standard deviation of 3.02. The study results revealed that cultural practices such as early marriages, forced marriages and female genital mutilation affected the implementation of secondary education projects in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Lack of adequate education resources such as teaching and learning materials, physical facilities and qualified teachers, was also found to affect the implementation of secondary education projects in Kakuma Refugee Camp. The study also revealed that the high population of refugees affected the implementation of secondary education projects in camp. Even though the influence was not statistically significant, it was noted that having large population of refugees in the schools strained the available resources and compromised the quality of secondary education offered leading to poor academic performance in the schools. The issue of national examination certificates for secondary schools being different in different countries was also found to significantly affect the implementation of secondary education projects in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
In the past decades, education in emergencies and crises specifically Refugee Education, is a topic of great concern within governments, among scholars and non-governmental organizations (NGO). A report by Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE, 2010) highlighted key issues associated with conflicts and pointed out different ways through which quality education can increase or decrease conflicts. The report concludes that understanding context specific factors associated with conflicts is crucial in designing the strategies to use to help the affected people especially on education matters.
Effective response to education in areas inhabited by victims of conflicts is important since more than 35% of children in school age around the world living in refugee camps are out of school and spend on average between nine to seventeen years in refugee camps (INEE, 2010). Provision of quality education to children living in refugee camps is key in addressing social, economic and political issues for short term and long term planning on matters of people affected by conflicts (INEE, 2001). Within this context, Dupoy (2008) posits that education serves as the foundation that maintains social, economic and political structures. Nevertheless, education in refugee camps that does not take into account issues of equality, quality, management and relevance is very likely to escalate that situation since learners in these camps will always lag behind their counterparts studying in areas that are not affected by conflicts (INEE, 2010).
According to UNICEF (2000), quality education is the backbone of effective planning. UNICEF (2000) defines quality education within four dimensions: quality schooling contexts, quality learners, quality processes and high quality content. Nonetheless, these models and frameworks are comparatively new. As mentioned by Williams (2001), education in refugee camps has inadequate data that can enlighten planners of programs and projects regarding any best approaches to meeting the educational needs for refugee children.
Kenya is ranked as the third largest host for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Africa after Ethiopia and Uganda (IOM, 2018) and implements a Refugee camp policy. The refugee camps have been widely researched on, but minimal studies have been done within the context of refugee education. In the camps, refugees come face to face with violations of their human rights and abject poverty, coupled with limited access to education and other basic human rights (Ferris, 2008). As much as Education For All (EFA) goals, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are geared towards eradicating gender inequality and poverty in education they only focus on the effectiveness of the responses for people in conflict areas, hence the need for further research to raise awareness and enhance advocacy (CRC, 1989).
While focusing on the current crises regarding refugees, it is paramount to recognize the importance of the United Nations (UN) in a historical condition. The UN was established in 1945 to focus on promoting peace and security in the world, establishing friendly working relations among states and to promote social progression, improve standard of living and human rights’ (UN, 2007). UNHCR which is under the UN deals with Refugee Protection (Loescher et al., 2008). UNHCR was founded in 1951 to take the place of International Refugee Organization, which was established by USA to repatriate people who were displaced during WWII in 1946 (Loescher et al., 2003).
However, when the refugee emergencies shifted dramatically and expanded globally, UNHCR was established under Article 22 of the UN Charter to provide protection to the refugees and seek lasting solutions to refugee problems (UNHCR, 2007; Loescher, 2001). UNHCR grew rapidly between 1950s and 1960s and become an important international body and increased its autonomy among states and increased its activities in areas that were moving away from the protection of refugees (Loescher et al., 2008). UNHCR played a significant role in assisting the displaced people during decolonization and national liberation movements in Africa, for example in Liberia and Burundi (Loescher, 2001).
According to Loescher, Milner, Newman and Troeller (2008), 1980s was the genesis of migration of people affected with conflicts, where millions of people were internally displaced. In the early 1990s there was a rise in conflicts among countries due to territorial disagreements and fight to control natural resources (Loescher et al., 2008). As Westin
(1999) reports, in 1960s Africa had thousands of internally displaced persons, in 1970s ‘the number increased to hundreds of thousands and in 1980s the numbers dramatically multiplied to millions. Due to this, the Refugee Agency became overwhelmed and shifted to provision of assistance to protect the rights of internally displaced persons (Loescher et al., 2008).
During the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, there were a raft of changes in UNHCR that greatly transformed how it handled issues of refugees. During this period, the credibility of UNHCR to manage refugees declined due to the collapse of communism that led to the displacement of millions of people in Africa, Europe, Latin America and Asia. (Loescher, 2001). Even though member states did not interfere with the way UNHCR managed refugees, the inability of the commission to manage that large number of refugees led to a significant reduction in funding which crippled its operations (Loescher et al., 2003).
International organizations entirely rely on funds from donors and this kept UNHCR under pressure to implement political agendas of the countries that provided the funds, a factor that made refugees to become pawns the politics of states (Loescher, 2001). The growing number of refugees due to trans-continental migration led to the establishment of immigration and xenophobic policies which made the issue of refugees a global affair (Loescher et al., 2008). Some countries in Europe and North America experienced a large number of immigrants which forced the countries to move from just supporting the refugees to the development of internal policies regarding the refugees to prevent abuse of immigration systems (Bernstein and Weiner, 2002; Ghosh, 2000; Weiner, 1995).
Furthermore, the states in the Global South experienced high number of immigrants, together with economic struggles, democratization and liberalization led to instability especially in African countries (Loescher, 2001). Some African countries experienced increased conflicts associated with bandits and warlord actors who became prominent in countries such as Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda (Loescher et al, 2003).
According to Loescher and Milner (2005) due to increased conflicts, the number of refugees increased significantly and this made the issue of refugees a global crisis. The powerful nations failed to address issues of conflicts in the affected countries meaning that the situation continued to lead to more displacement of people (Loescher and Milner, 2005).
Furthermore, the relatively stable countries did not engage the countries that were affected by conflicts to reduce insecurity but instead introduced policies that controlled entry of refugees (Bernstein and Weiner, 2002). This forced countries in the Global South to largely depend on international organizations such as UNHCR to compensate for the failures of those countries with the responsibility of maintaining international peace (Loescher et al., 2007). Lack of goodwill, communication and failure to seek long term solutions to refugee issues resulted to protracted refugee problems experienced today.
Kenya has been hosting a large number of immigrants from the neighboring countries which include South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. The Refugees are hosted Kakuma Refugee Camp, Daadab Refugee Camp and in major urban centers. It is estimated that over 185,000 immigrants are hosted at Kakuma Refugee Camp by end of the year 2018 (UNHCR, 2019).
Refugee Education
In the Global Trends 2016 report, UNHCR estimates that there are over 45.2 million people globally who were forced to flee from their original homes. The number increased by over five million from 40 million people that had been reported by the same Refugee agency just four years earlier. In 2009, USCRI also indicated that about 9 million of people affected with conflicts live in refugee camps around the globe. The report also indicated that the world hosted 15 million people in camps as at 2016. As highlighted by UNHCR, today there is a crisis in the education of refugees. Having tens of millions of Refugees hosted in developing countries, the effects are consequential. In the view of SDG number 4 for Education 2030 and the unpredictable large number of movements of Refugees, UNESCO indicates that everyone has a right to education and therefore it’s important for the refugees to have access to education.
Education has a critical role in promoting peaceful and cohesive societies, which are free from conflicts, violence and fear. Actually, education allows people to interact in a peaceful way on matters of politics and in exercising civic rights. It also leads to a higher participation of women and youth in politics, people accessing legal protection and justice. By improving personal capacities of people, education enhances awareness, tolerance and the spirit of citizenship. Education has been considered as an important tool that can be used to combat
terrorism, racism, religious intolerance, crimes against humanity and wars. It can also be used to ensure peace, stability, protection of human rights, gender equality, environmental protection and development of communities.
Kakuma Refugee Camp
Kakuma is located in the North-western region of Kenya, Turkana County, about 120 Kilometers from Lodwar town and 95 Kilometers from Lokichoggio on the Kenya-South Sudan border (UNHCR, 2019). According to UNHCR (2019) the camp was established in 1992 when the “Lost Boys of Sudan” arrived in the region. In the same year, large number of refugees from Ethiopia fled the country due to the fall of the Ethiopian government. Somalia had also experienced civil war which made people to flee the country. Likewise, Sudan conflicts led to displacement of people causing influx in 2014, which led to establishment of Kalobeyei Settlement to accommodate the growing population.
The current population, as of 27 February 2020, stands at 194,514 according to recent report by Relief Web (2020). The camp population is extremely multicultural, with recent demographics of the current population as: 57.9% South Sudanese, 18.0% Somali, 6.5% Congolese, 5.6% Ethiopians, 5.4% Burundians, 5.3% Sudanese and the remaining 1.3% shared by Uganda, Rwanda, Eritrea, Tanzania and other countries (Relief Web, 2020).
Statement of the Problem
Despite the efforts that have been made to enhance the provision of secondary education to refugees, a substantial number of refugees do not transit to secondary schools (UNHCR, 2019). This is the problem that the study sought to solve. The UNHCR report indicated that less than 30% of the refugee children in Kakuma are attending secondary school. The report also indicated that the retention rate and access rate were low. Furthermore, it was revealed that academic performance in secondary schools in the camp has been far below average. In the year 2016, the KCSE mean score was 3.23(D), in 2017 it was 2.94 (D) and in the year 2018 it was 3.31(D).
There is much emphasis to the member states for the Incheon Declaration; Education 2030: “Towards inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all”, to commit themselves to develop more inclusive, responsive and resilient education systems to meet the needs of children, youth and adults including internally displaced persons and Refugees
(UNESCO, 2015). UNESCO (2015) states that equity and inclusion in education are required in order to ensure there is no child who left behind in terms of education. As such, inclusion and equity are two crucial elements to take to consideration when in education in emergency and crises contexts. The multiplier effect of education on the other Sustainable Development Goals underlines the important role of education in achieving them. Particularly, secondary education for Refugees for displaced persons represents a crucial step in the education pathways for better living standards and entry into careers. It adds value to the development of social and human capital of Refugees, self-reliance and permanent solutions. Education also ensures that Refugees have the basis for increased earning power and the skills to rebuild their countries once they repatriate. Education is a crucial human right that equips the youth with the necessary skills required to succeed in life.
However, achieving this right to education for Refugees is faced with a myriad of challenges, which the presence of the refugee crisis in Kakuma refugee camp has made it more visible. Some of these challenges include; negative cultural beliefs, inadequate resources, congestion due to influx of Refugees and failure to recognize the academic certifications from the home countries. It is against this background that this study sought to determine the factors influencing implementation of secondary education project for Refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of cultural practices, educational resources, influx of Refugees and foreign academic certification on the implementation of secondary education project for refugees: a case of Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.
Objectives of the Study
This study sought to achieve the following research objectives;
- To examine the influence of cultural practices on the implementation of secondary education project for Refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
- To assess the extent to which educational resources influence the implementation of secondary education project for Refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
- To assess the influence of influx of Refugees on the implementation of secondary education project for Refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
- To establish the influence of foreign academic certification of Refugees on the implementation of secondary education project for Refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
