On 4th July, 2022 the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) together with the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Dignitas, East African Centre for Human Rights (EACHRights) and the Regional Education Learning Initiative (RELI) organised a learning visit on urban education in Dagoretti, an informal settlement within Nairobi, Kenya.

The learning visit included a visit to a low-fee private school, often referred to as ‘APBET (Alternative Provision of Basic Education and Training) school’ in Kenya, called called Jolly Day Centre. This was followed by a community dialogue at Lighthouse School Church Hall, bringing together 37 participants including members of civil society, parents, teachers, learners and key decision makers from the Ministry of Education to discuss and contextualize education issues in urban informal settlements. The objective of the visit was to take stock of the progress made, identify existing opportunities and the challenges in access to quality education in urban informal areas in the last five years.

The dialogue unfolded around the four following key themes:

• Demand versus supply of public education in urban informal settlements;

• Privatisation and commercialisation of education and its impact on accessing quality education;

• School leadership, management and governance;

• Regulatory frameworks that are enablers and/or barriers to provision of quality education for all.

The learning visit took place as a pre-convening to the Regional Education Learning Initiative (RELI) Kenya’s annual country convening between 4 - 7 July 2022. RELI Africa is a peer learning initiative and policy influencing network comprising 70 organisations in East Africa with a vision of “An East Africa where ALL children receive a quality education”. It brings together a diverse and impactful group of members from across East Africa working to ensure inclusive learning for all children in the region. It works by leveraging local knowledge and expertise to influence education policy and practice.