| dc.description.abstract | Alternative Approaches to Basic Education (AABE) were introduced in Kenya to promote access to basic
education and to enhance Universal Primary Education (UPE.) However, in Samburu County, the levels of
school enrolment and literacy have been chronically low currently at 44% and 12% respectively. In order to
investigate the success of AABE in Samburu County, this study tested government policy, resource-input,
perception, nomadic pastoralists’ lifestyle, distance and AABE approaches applied in Samburu County. Primary
data were collected using structured questionnaires for 400 learners’ household heads, 56 teachers from 56
AABE Centres and 10 AABE providers, while secondary data was obtained from the Ministry of Education
offices, AABE Centres, libraries and the internet. Stratified random sampling technique was used, while
descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze and present the data. The study found that 92.5%
of the population regarded AABE as inferior to formal education, 69.1% viewed government policy as lacking,
91.1% viewed AABE approaches as inappropriate, 80% acknowledged that nomadic lifestyle affected success of
AABE, 62.7% indicated that AABE Centres were beyond the ideal 2.5 km and 73.4% said that resource input
was inadequate. The study recommended for policies with a multi-faceted approach to development in nomadic
pastoralist areas, addressing the problems of water, medical facilities, infrastructure, livelihoods and conflicts as
a way of mitigating low enrolment and literacy levels. | en_US |
