EDUCATION-KENYA: Teachers Leave, Schools Close

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Philip Ngunjiri

GARISSA, Kenya, Apr 26 1998 (IPS) - The mass exodus of teachers from Kenya’s North Eastern Province due to ethnic tension between the teachers and the local residents has dealt another blow to the impoverished region.

Despite the province’s size, the number of schools, pupils and teachers is far less than any other province in the country. According to estimates, there are only 1043 teachers and 40,797 students.

Somalis are the dominant ethnic group in the North Eastern Province and there are smaller populations of the Boran, Burji, and Gabbra. “The majority of the teaching staff, especially in the secondary schools are non-Somalis,” says Ibrahim Dahiye, the Provincial Director of Education (PDE).

“The province has always performed poorly in the national examinations, and the threat by the non-Somalis to leave us, spells doom for the province,” adds Dahiye.

According to Dahiye, about 40 teachers have requested transfers in the last one month, citing various reasons ranging from insecurity to general hardships.

Teachers have been the main targets as ethnic tension mounts in the province. Last year, one teacher was killed by Somali students when he exposed an exam syndicate that led to the cancellation of O-level results in the Garissa District.

“This is not the first incident and we don’t expect it to be the last. We’ve always been the trampling grass whenever trivial feuds between the two clans take place,” says Washington Odembo, a primary school teacher.

Odembo alleges that the “bad blood between the locals and non- Somalis is always fueled by the locals themselves who regard us as Kafiri (pagans)…we (teachers) have a complex situation here, because these people have vowed not to accept us.”

Since the non-Somalis hold the teaching and other higher positions, their movement from the area could further cripple the educational system in the province.

Dahiye, who comes from the region, however says the onus is on the people to develop themselves, rather than leaving it all to outsiders. “Our people must act fast to catch up with other parts of Kenya, and to do that, they must be prepared to sacrifice and spend more time and wealth on the development of education in the area,” he says.

According to Siat Osman, the mayor of Garissa, the police’s reaction to banditry in the area also has fuelled the tension between the Somalis and other ethnic groups in the province.

“Whenever the bandits strike, the policemen who are mostly non- Somalis react with brutal and thoughtless force, which does more harm than good,” Osman says.

The North Eastern Province, which is the third largest in the country consists of three districts – Garissa, Wajir and Mandera. But it is a neglected region with no roads and little infrastructure. Also, “during the rainy seasons, the inhabitants move away from their permanent settlements where the schools exists. This movement causes resultant dropouts and …in some extreme situations, schools close down,” says Dahiye.

The migration of people from the district into the urban centres to escape drought and other hardships also affects education, he adds.

“Existing urban schools become over burdened by massive enrollment, while schools in the interior close down, disorienting the whole education system,” Dahiye says.