Project aims at reducing Gender Based Barriers in girls’ education launched

Program Officer FAWE Kenya Chapter Justus Mahulo{L}an education official Dixon Ogonya{R} and Principals of schools and students where the project known as Rise up Girls cuts a cake to officially launch the project in Kisumu-Photo and Story By Dickson Odhiambo

 

April 30, 2024

 

Project aims at reducing Gender Based Barriers in girls’ education launched

A Project with an aim of reducing  Gender Based Barriers in girls’ education has been officially launched in Kisumu by the Forum for African Women Educationists Kenya Chapter on a pilot basis.

The Program Known as Rise Up Girls being implemented by the FAWE Kenya Chapter in Five Counties namely Kisumu, Vihiga, Homa Bay, Turkana and Garisa. 

The five counties are targeted because they have high cases of teenage pregnancies early child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation and Gender Based Violence  according to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2022.

The above issues have reportedly led to high drop out of girls from schools hence can not continue to pursue their education successfully.

Addressing the press during the launch of the program for Kisumu, Homa Bay and Vihiga Counties, Forum for African Women Educationists Kenya Chapter Program Officer Justus Mahulo said it is meant to reduce the gender based barriers towards girls education in Kenya.

He says some of these Gender based barriers hindering girls’ education include teenage pregnancy, Early marriage, Female Genital Mutilation{FGM}, HIV and Aids and Gender based violence among other cross cutting issues.

Mahulo says the project targets three schools from each of the five counties where it is being implemented, adding that a total of nine schools are in the project.

 The FAWE Kenya Chapter Program Officer says the project will be implemented for two years until next year.

He says their expectation and overall impact will be effective implementation of Government policies on education especially the re-entry policy and the national Education Sector Strategic Plan 2023 to 2027.

Mahulo says the project aims at ensuring that more girls access education, adding that apart from the 15 schools where the project is being implemented, FAWE Kenya Chapter is also giving bursary support to the needy girls so as to be able to meet their school fees and other requirement while in school.

Dixon Ogonya from the Nyanza Regional Education Office says the Government is ready to support the implementation of the project.

He says the project will help in mitigating the factors that hinder girls to pursue education, adding that it will give girls who have dropped out of school due to gender based barriers a second chance to get education.

He says the re-entry policy is being implemented and a number of girls have been accepted back to school to carry on with their education.

“I can say that the implementation of the re-entry policy has not been done to 100 percent but there is a change of attitude,” he says.

Ogonya says more sensitization should be done on the issue of re-entry policy right from the community level and should be given a multi sectoral approach.