Equitable, quality education for children living in urban informal settlements presented at CIES Conference

We brought forward experiences from East Africa.

On 21 February 2023, GI-ESCR co-organised with the Africa Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), Dignitas Project and the Regional Education Learning Initiative (RELI) Africa a panel discussion on ‘Towards equitable quality education for children living in urban informal settlements: experiences from East Africa’ for the 2023 edition of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference attended by about 35 participants.

Ashina Mtsumi, Programme Officer for Public Services & Africa Representative presented a paper on The future of low-cost private schools in urban informal settlements: Applying the Abidjan Principles on the right to education. The paper highlighted the significance of the classification of public and private schools as elaborated in the Abidjan Principles and the relevance for the obligations of the State, and consequently the urgent need to review the legal and policy framework governing low cost private schools in Kenya, understanding their diversity and impacts.

Nyambura Thiong’o from APHRC presented findings from an upcoming paper: What is at stake for a more equitable world? Dynamics in accessing quality education in urban Kenya and Uganda; and Faith Muisyo Dignitas presented on Adaptive school systems for improved learning and teaching in urban informal settlements in changing times. The session was moderated by Margaret Wawira from RELI Africa