This paper focuses on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the education system in Kenya with reference to vocational training institutions. The paper analyses how the provision of vocational... Show moreThis paper focuses on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the education system in Kenya with reference to vocational training institutions. The paper analyses how the provision of vocational training was impacted after Covid-19 from the perspective of principals of colleges, tutors, and students. The paper collected qualitative experiences of the above-mentioned stakeholders to understand to which degree vocational education has been affected by Covid-19. This was accomplished through the use of interviews, questionnaires, and document analysis. The study has found that the Covid-19 pandemic completely disrupted learning in six public VTCs as institutions were closed and students and tutors did not meet or interact for more than eight months. It was impossible for a work-based learning model to be used by students after institutions were closed because even the industries and businesses where they were supposed to undertake their practicum and internship programmes downscaled their operations, while others closed down completely. After reopening of VTCs in January 2021, close to 34.8% of their former students did not report back because some of them dropped out, some could not pay fees, some engaged in alcoholism, drugs, and substance abuse, some emigrated to other areas to look for opportunities while some settled down in marriage. It is recommended that guidance and counselling should be continuously provided to tutors and students as a way of addressing the psychological and behavioural challenges brought about by Covid-19, tutors need to be trained on remote learning methodologies (digital skills) and county governments need to invest in setting up infrastructure to support online learning in VTCs. This research provides a realistic picture of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on vocational education and training in public institutions in West Pokot County which is considered to be a marginalised and arid and semi-arid region in the North-western part of Kenya. Show less
Many African countries have experienced sustained economic growth, but few have achieved the type of structural change, driven by rising productivity, that has transformed mass living standards in... Show moreMany African countries have experienced sustained economic growth, but few have achieved the type of structural change, driven by rising productivity, that has transformed mass living standards in parts of Asia. In the Developmental Regimes in Africa Synthesis Report, editor David Booth examines how DRA research has shed new light on how developmental regimes might emerge and be sustained in Africa in the 21st century. He outlines a concept with defining features at three levels: policy content, especially regarding agriculture; policy process, especially the ability to arrive at appropriate policies through iterative and adaptive problem-solving; and a type of political settlement that frees policy-making from the usual constraints. Among the other authors are the ASC's Ton Dietz and André Leliveld, with a contribution on the Agricultural 'pockets of effectiveness' in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda since 2000. Show less
Wetlands support livelihoods of communities living around them as in the Nyando Papyrus Wetland in Kenya. The Nyando Papyrus Wetlands provide multiple resources hence there are multiple uses and... Show moreWetlands support livelihoods of communities living around them as in the Nyando Papyrus Wetland in Kenya. The Nyando Papyrus Wetlands provide multiple resources hence there are multiple uses and users who often overlap spatially and seasonally causing conflicts. More claims are being exerted on these wetland resources from different sides and institutional levels with different actors. The actors involved refer to various legal systems and mechanisms, and frequently create new hybrid law as in the case in the Nyando papyrus wetlands. These institutions, in various degrees of transformation, still have an important role in determining how resources are used. The objective of this study is to find out about the institutions affecting wetland resource use in the past and in the present and to determine the dynamics of specific natural resource-related institutions in four sub-locations in the Nyando Papyrus Wetlands, Kenya. The study shows that there is legal pluralism in the Nyando Wetlands, which requires synergy for sustainable livelihoods in the local communities and for ecosystem management. Show less
Dietz, A.J.; Rutten, M.M.E.M.; Bergh, M. van den; Foeken, D.W.J.; Hees, S.; Hemsteede, R.; ... ; Veldkamp, F. 2014
Etniciteit heeft altijd een centrale rol gespeeld in de Afrikaanse politiek. Politieke leiders hebben in het verleden hun machtsbasis steeds gevonden binnen hun eigen volk. Vanwege de etnische... Show moreEtniciteit heeft altijd een centrale rol gespeeld in de Afrikaanse politiek. Politieke leiders hebben in het verleden hun machtsbasis steeds gevonden binnen hun eigen volk. Vanwege de etnische tegenstellingen zijn velen pessimistisch over het welslagen van de golf van democratisering die op dit moment Afrika overspoelt. Hoe 'etnisch' werd er bijvoorbeeld gestemd in Kenia en Kameroen tijdens de algemene verkiezingen in hun landen in 1992? Dit artikel gaat in op deze vraag. In etnische termen behoort Kameroen tot de meest gefragmenteerde landen van Afrika. In 1992 heeft president Biya gehoor gegeven aan de roep om politieke democratisering, hetgeen resulteerde in twee vrije verkiezingen: parlementsverkiezingen in maart en presidentsverkiezingen in oktober. Uit een analyse van de verkiezingsuitslagen blijkt dat regionale etnisch-religieuze tegenstellingen, alsmede lokale machts- en afhankelijkheidsrelaties, een bepalende rol hebben gespeeld in het stemgedrag van de bevolking. Ook in Kenia is de etnische versnippering groot. De bevolking van 25 miljoen mensen is verdeeld in ongeveer 40 etnische groepen. Geen enkele groep heeft een numeriek overwicht. Ook hier weerspiegelt de uitslag van de verkiezingen voor het presidentschap en voor het parlement van december 1992 de realiteit van de etnische politiek in Kenia. Show less
