THE IMPACT OF POST ELECTION VIOLENCE ON EDUCATION IN KENYA; A CASE STUDY OF THE NORTH-RIFT REGION OF THE RIFT VALLEY PROVINCE.

Abstract

The relationship between education systems and conflict presents policy makers with a conundrum. Schools are almost always complicit in conflict. They reproduce skills, values, attitudes and social relations of dominant groups in society; accordingly, they are usually a contributory factor in conflict. Simultaneously, reconstructing and reforming education is increasingly viewed as a critical element in the strategy to reduce the risk of conflict or relapse into conflict. The central message in this paper therefore is that conflict presents not only challenges for reconstruction, but also significant opportunities for reform of education systems. The challenge of simultaneous reform and reconstruction at a time of constrained human, financial, and institutional resources and considerable urgency calls for particular attention priorities and sequencing of inter-venations. Short-term immediate responses need to be conceptualized within a framework that provides for more substantial systematic reform as the new political vision emerges and system capacity is built.