User:Jasminecory/sandbox

Why I chose Harambee schools as my Article topic
I want to study Harambee school because I have a personal connection to Kenya as my mother lived there for over a year.

I also really like the idea of Harambee and how far this mantra goes in Kenya society.

I am really looking forward to seeing how this idea is brought into schools to be able to apply it to society.

In my wiki page I am going to descried the Harambee school revolution and its out come. Next the context e.g finance and Kenya's school system, and the significance. Then Harambee schools today and how they have effected Kenya and what they continue to do today.

Response to feedback on draft article
I found it really helpful and encouraging as I know that my points are coming across.

I am definitely going to go through my page and make sure all the references are cited where they are meant to be.

I am also going to try and find information about the lack of resources for the schools however i have not yet been able to find any so i will have to take the comment on but know that if the sources are not there for me to be able to use then i can not fully respond to this suggestion.

I am also going to relook over my opening line to make sure it sets out the topic as well as possible. = Article on Harambee schools = Harambee schools emerged in 1963, as part of the Harambee movement in Kenya, to provide proper education from the local communities. They stemmed from colonial unrest in the lack of quality education; off the back of Kenya's unrest in oppression by Britain. It is a community response that brings people to work together rather than targeting the oppressors. The schools mostly began by local churches support but since then it shifted to hold political power and rely of funding from local authorises. They have been seen as a symbol of hope advancement in society. Although Harambee schools made up the majority of secondary schools for some time in Kenya there were problems with their pupils accelerating into higher education. Today there no Harambee schools in operation as the government has converted them into state run schools. Harambee schools played a key role in enabling education to be evolve in Kenya.

What is Harambee?
Harambee stems from colonial revolt. It means 'let us pull together', which is the moto of Kenya. For the fight against poverty, ignorance and disease. For the new nation after the Kenya Independence Movement it held great social and political importance to Kenya, shown by Harambee being on the countries' coat of arms. It creates community with the main focus being the fight against the oppression of the British by raising themselves up. After colonial government's were disbanded in Africa urbanisation started to be promoted which called for the need for people to have better educational credentials. The people of Kenya want for social mobility was best reflected in the Harambee school movement. One of the biggest signs of the independence movement was the building of Harambee secondary schools. In the movement communities made other things such as cattle grids and irrigation systems. A large proportion of the efforts were directed to building schools though.

How Harambee Schools started
When Harambee schools, as a movement, first started in 1963. Before this the educational opportunities throughout Africa had been massively limited because of the British colonial regime. The schools were 'independent schools' because the funding did not come from colonial state or missionary, the two groups most responsible for development of education at this time. The schools would have to get sponsored by local communities, mostly a church group in order to get funds to operate, they helped for the initial capital to build the schools and then were able to help with fundraising. This is because the church was eager to put their influence over the schools. They started to spring up as secondary schools in the same year as independence. When the schools first started there were many problems as many teachers were not fully trained or inexperienced. However they were also criticised by the government for often growing from established schools and taking the most qualified teachers. As the number of Harambee schools increased, the places at the secondaries increased, which meant that the number of drop outs in primary went down. The government had mostly negative but mixed responses as the schools were able to teach valuable skills but they were also seen to not comply with what the economy needed at the time.

How they changed the way they worked from the 70s to the early 2000s
Since the late 1960s to the early 2000s the schools have been getting their funding in a different way. The government has taken on greater responsibility of Harambee schools but with other community contributions remaining important. It has also become more political as politicians want to integrate with their constituents. They rely on the local authorities to get funding for them from different sources such as local or international funds. These sponsorships have been the success or failure of Harambee schools. The schools have local committees that play vital roles in their function: fundraising, recruitment of faculty and more. Local fundraising often does not cover all the costs to run the schools, leading to basic and solely academic curriculums. Since the mid 1970s the government pays the majority of teachers salaries at Harambe schools through aid policies. Harambee schools make up over 60% of all Kenyan pupils in secondary education. Harambee schools did up three quarters of all schools in Kenya up to the 1980s.

Problems with Harambee schools:

 * It had problems with the amount of students from Harambee secondary education going to university. In 1985 it was 0.002%.
 * The Harambee school exam results were lower than the average in Kenya
 * Because of the above problems with elevation and results the average Harambee graduates earn a lower wage than those from government schools.
 * In the initial commissions of Harambee schools, there was concern expressed that they would exploit parents as low-quality but high-cost schools.
 * The Schools could turn out 'frustrated and unemployed youth eager to challenge the legitimacy of the existing State.'
 * With local committees taking such prominent roles in the schools, head teachers authority was often challenged
 * It was argued they could take local resources away from better uses in the communities
 * They often had a lack of even basic resources

The end to Harambee Schools
The Harambee moto for Kenya 'let us all pull together' still remained strong going into the 21st century. However Harambee schools in

the 2000s reached their peak. The Kenyan government was leading educational development in the country which weakened the locals presence in secondary schools. Harambee movement still fundraises for local schools and schools are still considered to need to engage with local communities, especially when establishing schools. Most Harambee schools started to be converted into public schools, since 2002 no Harambee schools have existed.

Key dates:

 * 1963- The Harambee school movement began while The Harambee movement was prominent in Kenya
 * 1963- 13 Harambee schools established
 * 1964- this year's percentage enrolment showed Harambee was now a significant factor in the secondary school system


 * 1966- the ministry of education support Harambee school headmasters with advice on curriculum, examination, textbooks, financial, and administration
 * 1967- The Harambee schools outnumber government-aided schools in Kenya
 * 1967- the ministry of education announce aid for 80 Harambee secondary schools
 * 1970- Harambee schools reached 300, 52% of secondary schools
 * 1970- 74 Development plan, outlined plans to help assist Harambee schools in quality and efficiency
 * 1975- The Secondary Schools Harambee Package Programme scheme was introduced. It offered 50 schools per year trained and qualified teachers, courses on preparation for exams, audio and visual equipment
 * 1977- number of Harambee schools reached 1,048. Over 70% of all secondary schools
 * 1984- number of Harambee schools reached 1,466. 61% of all secondary schools
 * 1987- Harambee schools make 75% of all secondary schools in Kenya
 * 1980s- Harambee schools begin to be converted into government run school
 * 2002- no Harambee schools exist anymore

What Harambee Schools meant:

 * To the people around Kenya the schools give new opportunities, a hope that would not have been there without.
 * To be admitted to university or at least participate in the modern economy
 * It promotes social mobility, as it is seen as an agent of socialisation. This was highly demanded by the public when the Harambee movement began but is still prevalent today.
 * Encourages the ideology of meritocracy
 * It means that they may be able to get a better life with the proposer of going to university.
 * It encourages primary education with 17% going on to study to become teachers.

Why I selected them

 * 1) https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=7447613 I selected this source because it it gives me a historical overview of the Harambee school movement.
 * 2) https://www.jstor.org/stable/1187989 This article evaluates the public policy of Harambee schools so gives me a great way to find a middle ground in my article.
 * 3) https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=1HJ9tc7E78wC&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=kenya+harambee+school&ots=4uF7zeM4fb&sig=-qSw2me06ApegvzCC5d9v0u_tfA#v=onepage&q=kenya%20harambee%20school&f=false This source has an overview of Harambee schools with the Kenya's whole education history to give me an idea how Harambee differs.
 * 4) https://www.jstor.org/stable/20403364 This article shows the struggle that Harambee went through.
 * 5) https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003136538/harambee-movement-kenya-martin-hill this is another overview of the Harambee schools but in a lot of detail.
 * 6) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080358581500204 This source gives a background on the education finance situation of the education system of Kenya.
 * 7) HarambeeThis is the page on what Harambee is itself in Kenya.
 * 8) https://ir.library.osaka-u.ac.jp/repo/ouka/all/73805/ This source brings the article to modern day to explain how the schools were changed.