Education in Mombasa:

 

 

Education in Mombasa: Investing on Kenyan Coastal City Children’s Brains

Education is central to the growth of this second largest city of Kenya known as Mombasa that is important economically. Mombasa is a culturally diverse city with diverse population and the education systems in Mombasa has the mission of offering quality education to the citizens. The city caters for the educational needs from the primary school going children to the university level institutions providing education services that play a significant role in the talent development as well as fostering social and economical growth. It is now time to discover the prospects of education in Mombasa and what it could mean for learners of different age.

1. Primary and Secondary Education: The Centre of Learning

The basic system of Mombasa education starts with primary education followed by secondary education, in line with the Kenyan national curriculum system of 8-4-4 where, eight years of primary school followed by four years of secondary school and four years of University. There exists the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) that was recently introduced and slowly being executed in the education system with an aim of producing students with relevant skills and competencies for the current world.

• Primary Schools: There is a great many primary schools including public and private schools in Mombasa where children from the age of 6 to 14 years attend. Government aided public primary are partially funded by the government and children attend these school free as Kenya has embraced Universal free Primary education. Nevertheless, public schools are associated with challenge consisting of overcrowding, low supply of teaching resources, and inadequate facilitates among others.
• Private Schools: There is also a good number of private primary schools in this area which seems to charge reasonable fees, have smaller class sizes, better equipments and more activities. These institutions target families who are financially capable of paying tuition fees to enable them offer the much needed alternative to the public schools.
• Secondary Schools: The following key points on secondary education are worth of note: Secondary education is institute through both government aided and self-help school. The public secondary schools are themselves aided by the government and offer质量 education to the students from all the sectors. On the other hand, private secondary schools are usually costly as compared to their counterparts but they provide better endowed facilities and more subject choices, (in some cases even the British or the American system).

2. Technical and Vocational Education: .skill gaps

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions are very essential since they prepare students with practical knowledge that is marketable in the workplace. Mombasa has TVET institutions that provide the courses that meet the Mombasa economy’s demands for such sectors as hospitality, engineering, IT and maritime.

• Technical University of Mombasa (TUM): TUM is medium to large scale, publicly funded institution, which is among the largest institutions in the city and offers diploma and degree programs in fields of technical and applied sciences. This university is in particular famous for offering technical education, research, and technology and provides skillful workforce in Kenya.
• Mombasa Technical Training Institute: This is another organization that plays a significant role offering vocational education; it offers training in areas of automotive engineering, electrical installation, plumbing, business studies as well as in producing skilled technicians and artisans.

TVET institutions are important providing education in Mombasa because they help fill skills deficiencies and offer options for students who may not attend university-like institutions therefore improving employment rate and consequently boosting Mombasa’s economy.

3. Higher Education: Hence, Universities and colleges

Today, Mombasa has quite a number of universities and other institutions of higher learning that offer undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programs in several areas of specialization. They play a crucial role in nurturing the workforce that will define the future renewable energy sector and other sectors of the economy in the future such as business, health, education and cultural and arts sectors.

• Pwani University: Pwani University is a public university situated in Kilifi which started in the year 2004 and offers various programmes in areas of environment, agriculture, social sciences, teacher training among others. The focus is made on the research activities, partnerships, and social impact of the university towards the development of the region.
• University of Nairobi (Mombasa Campus): The Mombasa Campus is among Universities in Kenya that provides quality Education in the Higher Institutions through University of Nairobi being among the established Universities in Kenya. The campus provides learning in business, law and social sciences and therefore it attracts many students in Mombasa.
• Mount Kenya University (Mombasa Campus): This is a private chartered university with a catalog of under graduate and post graduate programs The school targets working students offering programs in the evening and over the weekend.

 

4. This paper focuses on the examination of the challenges which are encountered in the education sector.

While Mombasa’s education sector has made significant strides, it still faces several challenges:While Mombasa’s education sector has made significant strides, it still faces several challenges:

• Infrastructure and Resources: This is especially true in Mombasa where many public schools are poorly equipped in terms of infrastructure; they lack adequate number of classes, proper sanitation facilities and educators’ necessary teaching aids such as textbooks and other reading materials. This has implication to quality of education and learning environment for students.
• Teacher Shortages: A concern arises in the aspect of trained teachers whereby there is lack of enough teachers, especially in public schools, and this has a bearing with the teacher student ratio and offering of quality education. There have been continued efforts to recruit and train teachers but this process is still faced with challenges.
• Access and Inclusivity: While primary schooling is free in most Kenyan schools, subsequent education levels prove expensive thereby limiting many families from being able to send their children to these institutions. It is always a factor to consider on how the education is provided such that it reaches out to the marginalized and vulnerable groups.
• Transition to CBC: In the case of the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum the following benefits and drawbacks were noted. Thus, while it strives to offer a broader, generally accepted type of education increased attention to such values as skills, imagination, and rationality makes this process costly in terms of teachers’ preparation, textbooks, and schools’ facilities.

5. Developmental or Advancement Prospects

Despite these challenges, there are numerous opportunities for growth in Mombasa’s education sector:Despite these challenges, there are numerous opportunities for growth in Mombasa’s education sector:

• Investment in Technology: Technology integration in learning can improve learning and its effects can be felt most in urban based institutions. Virtual lectures, online libraries, digital classrooms are some of the trends which if ventured well can help to make quality educational resources available to the learners.
• Public-Private Partnerships: Multisectorial partnership involving schools, government departments and non-government organizations also provides a means towards complementing resource deficits, enhancing school facilities for learning as well as promoting teachers professional development.
• Focus on Vocational Training: Increased and popularised vocational training can direct the learners to other markets different from university education, meaning the training policy is set to meet the needs of Mombasa’s economy.

Conclusion

The education in Mombasa therefore still a dynamic and rapidly growing sector after Dec – 2013 though holds very significant role in future of the city. Despite the problems that may come in the way there is still an effort to face the future towards greater access quality and inclusion. As the population of people in Mombasa’s education system increases and as more and more stakeholders continue to invest in the system while adopting new and creative solutions, the education system has the capability of uplifting the inhabitants, propelling the socio-economic growth of the coastal city, and molding out a better and brighter future for Mombasa.