How to realize Sustainable Development Goal No. 4 (Inclusive and Equitable Quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all) through harnessing opportunities presented by the Internet.

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Internet for Inclusive and Quality Education
@Maureen Mghambi Mwadime, Internet Society Kenya Chapter
internetsociety.ke
@ISOC_Kenya
INTERNET FOR INCLUSIVE AND QUALITY EDUCATION
A Kenyan Case Study during Natural Disasters and the COVID-19 Pandemic
The right to education and the law
States, including Kenya have committed, through regional and international frameworks to promote the
right to access education. These frameworks include - Article 11 of the African Charter on the Rights and
Welfare of The Child; Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 28 of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Articles 13 and 14 of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The regional and international frameworks are applicable in Kenya
by virtue of Article 2 (5) and (6) of the Constitution. Under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 4,
States commit to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education’. At the domestic level, these
principles have been entrenched in the Constitution under Article 43 (1) (f) that provides for the right of
every person to education and further Article 53 (1) (b) on the right of every child to free and compulsory
basic education.
In its General Comment 131
, the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights provided
detailed guidance to States regarding their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to
education. At the core of these obligations are the concepts of Availability(functioning educational
institutions and programmes have to be available in sufficient quantity within the country), Accessibility
(non-discrimination is a key element of accessibility meaning that education must be accessible to all
especially the most vulnerable groups), Acceptability (the form and substance of education, including
curricula and teaching methods have to be relevant, culturally appropriate and of good quality) and
Adaptability (education has to adapt to the needs of changing societies and communities and respond to
the needs of students within their diverse social and cultural settings).
1
United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, General Comment No. 13: The right to education (Article
13) (1999)
<https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Education/Training/Compilation/Pages/d)GeneralCommentNo13Therighttoeducation(articl
e13)(1999).aspx>

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In a bid to operationalize the right to education and give effect to the obligatory concepts spelled out in
national, regional and international legal frameworks, enabling legislation and policies such as the
Children Act and the Basic Education Act have been passed in Kenya. The Basic Education Act, for
instance, stipulates that the state must ensure the marginalized, the vulnerable and disadvantaged children
are not discriminated against in provision of education. To further address the inequalities in the
education sector, the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya was established with the core
function of initiating development of policies on nomadic education and to ensure geographic access to
education by nomadic communities. The Vision 2030, Policy Framework for Education and Training, the
National Education Sector Strategic Plan (2018-2022) and other numerous policies by the Ministry of
Education acknowledges, protects and guarantees the implementation of the right to education.
Being that the right to education has been widely legislated on in Kenya, the very crucial question would
then be; Does implementation of the right to education follow the legislation?
Effects of natural disasters on the right to education
Despite all the legislative efforts, perennial natural disasters e.g. droughts, floods, landslides epidemic
outbreaks coupled with man-made disasters such as ethnic conflict and terrorism have caused serious
disruptions to the education sector. According to UNESCO, Corona virus lockdown measures have
partially or fully closed schools for more than 90% of the world's student’s population. This translates to
over 18 million children whose right to education has been negatively impacted. In Kenya, during the
Covid-19 pandemic, disruptions in the education sector have further been exacerbated by floods and
landslides across the country that have resulted in loss of hundreds of lives, displacement of over 800,000
people and destruction of property including schools.
Honestly, although for the past 5 years the country has been consistently reporting on an increase in
enrollment rates across all levels of education, natural disasters, have to a large extent, occasioned reverse
progress on retention and transition rates. The disruptions not only impact on students’ performance in
schools but also the trajectory of their lives. In her article2
, Valerie Strauss notes;
“…floodwaters eventually recede, power is restored, buildings are repaired and daily routines
begin again, but many children struggle, finding it difficult to concentrate… at school, some will
act out, leading to suspension and expulsion... Adults don't always see how children are
reacting internally and expect them to bounce back quickly when routines are restarted, but the
effects can linger for years after the disaster… People may have died, and there is grief related
to that... Children don't easily get over it...”
The need for education in emergencies can therefore not be understated as it creates a sense of normalcy
for student victims. Stability in education provision can give children, their families, and communities
hope in the future. After all, it is often said that education is the great equalizer.
How then do we ensure accessible, inclusive and quality education for all in Kenya?
2
Valerie Strauss, The long-lasting impact of disaster on children,
<https://www.daily-journal.com/life/family/the-long-lasting-impact-of-disaster-on-children/article_8dec08b6-6883-5d1e-8081-
cd415e5f523c.html>

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A case for internet use for education in Kenya
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed glaring impacts that disasters have on the right to education. As a
matter of fact, this unprecedented effect on the education sector has forced governments to accommodate
other alternatives to the norm i.e physical learning. In Kenya, stakeholders have leveraged on internet to
roll out online programmes in private and state-funded (public) learning institutions. For instance, the
state, through its Institute of Curriculum Development has been running digital programmes on four
different platforms; Television through Edu-Channel, Radio through Radio Taifa and English service,
You-Tube through @edutvkenya and the Kenya Education Cloud through www.kec.ac.ke.
While efforts by the state and private actors are commendable, strategic implementation of the adaptive
measures are wanting. Parents and students have raised critical concerns over accessibility and
affordability of the strategies adopted. Lack of required equipment (e.g computers and TVs), poor or lack
of internet connectivity and expensive internet costs are among the concerns persistently cited. Worth
noting, these concerns disproportionately affect the student population since those that have the least (e.g
children from poor backgrounds, persons living with disability and victims of forced displacements) are
impacted the most. In a recent interview3
, a student from Technical University of Mombasa narrated his
frustrations to access his learning materials and assignments as he resides in one of Kenya’s rural areas-
Taru.
Notably, if Kenya is to heed the SDG clarion call of “Leaving no one behind” in SDG No.4, the use of
internet to implement e-learning alongside other strategies is crucial. The former will sustainably address
areas such as inclusivity, availability and access to education that are disrupted during natural disasters.
To transition to an inclusive e-learning environment, a collaborative multi-stakeholder and multi-faceted
approach is necessary to address the technical and non-technical gaps that contribute to the digital divide.
In this regard, it is recommended as follows;
i. The Ministry of ICT needs to ensure that commercialization of the internet -in as far as e-learning
platforms are concerned- is regulated to ensure access for all.
ii. Government should purposely program, plan, budget and execute online learning. Ministry of
education should endeavor to ensure that candidates across all levels of education have alternatives
that promote uninterrupted access to quality education.
iii. Public-Private Partnerships should be encouraged to scale up internet infrastructure to lessen the
digital gap. In this respect, the government should make deliberate efforts to incentivize private
actors to invest in internet infrastructure in far flung areas. ISOC should spur a conversation on
building community networks citing its piloted projects as success stories.
iv. Internet experts e.g ISOC actively engage with government internet policy documents (e.g. the
Kenya National Broadband Strategy (2018-2023)4
and the National ICT Policy) and provide
periodic advisories on progressive realization of thematic areas (such as education) through
effective use of the internet.
v. The Ministry of ICT needs to take deliberate steps towards enhancing digital literacy in Kenya.
3
Joseph Jira, Kenya's digital gap widens as Covid-19 penalises students without internet,
< http://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20200417-covid-19-widens-kenya-s-digital-gap-as-students-without-internet-access-penalised-
coronavirus-rural >
4
<https://ca.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Kenya-National-Broadband-Strategy-2018-2023.pdf>

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Conclusion
Education is a right not a privilege. Making education a reality for all children and persons in Kenya
would require genuine commitment from the state and private actors. Though categorized as a right to be
achieved progressively, disruption of education has had long term psychological impacts on children in
addition to denying them knowledge and skills that they need and deserve during their development. In
his book, What Would Google Do? (2009,210) Jeff Jarvis carefully observes;
“…education is one of the institutions most deserving of disruption—and with the greatest
opportunities to come of it.”
Indeed, embracing the use of the internet as an enabler of the right to education will go a long way
towards achieving SDG No. 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong
learning opportunities for all.

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About the author
Maureen Mwadime is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a Senior Human
Rights Officer at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR),
within the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Division. Her practice focuses on
human rights including; digital rights and economic, social and cultural rights. More
specifically, Maureen is engaged in constitutional litigation, legislation review,
institutional reforms, community engagement and partnership building.
Prior to joining the division, Maureen worked in private law firms (mainly
commercial litigation and transactions) as well as Kenya’s Refugee Affairs
Secretariat.
Maureen’s enthusiasm for digital rights stems from her rich human rights
experience, current global digitization and the need to protect digital spaces through
responsible innovation of technology.
The Internet Society
Internet Society Kenya Chapter is an Internet technical community chartered by the
Internet Society and registered in the Republic of Kenya. It seeks to provide
leadership on Internet policy, technology standards and future development of the
Internet in Kenya. The Chapter establishes and promotes principles that are intended
to persuade governments and other stakeholder to make decisions that are right for
the citizens and the nation’s future.
Internet Society is the world's trusted independent source of leadership for Internet
policy, technology standards, and future development. The Society has for many
years been the champion for Internet advancement and open resource usage. More
than simply advancing technology, we work to ensure the Internet continues to grow
and evolve as a platform for innovation, economic development, and social progress
for people around the world.
Preparing a new generation to succeed as Internet technology, policy, and business
leaders is a key objective for the Internet Society. To be successful, the next
generation of Internet leaders will require a wide range of skills in a variety of
disciplines as well as the ability and experience to work with people at all levels of
society.
For more information, please visit the Internet Society Kenya Chapter website at:
www.internetsociety.ke
Follow us: @ISOC_Kenya