The Role of Development Partners in Creating a Knowledge-based Society: The Panacea to the Youth Challenges in Education in Kenya

The education policy in the Kenya Vision 2030 emphasizes on providing globally competitive quality education, training and research to her citizens for national development and enhanced individual wellbeing. There is a mismatch between the skills possessed by the job seekers and those required by industry, which leads to under-utilization of the existing human resources capacity and poor state of infrastructure and equipment for research and higher education and training. The country’s training institutions are also either inadequate or lack the essential facilities and technology to prepare students for the challenging market demands. The stakeholders in the education sector called for the introduction of a curriculum that would provide flexible education pathways for identifying and nurturing the talents and interests of learners early enough to prepare them for the world of work, career progression and sustainable development. It is interesting to note that there are so many programmes being initiated and funded in the country by foreign Governments, but very few are in the education sector. Kenya has however, had various actors who have come forward to help address the education challenges in attempts to build a knowledge society. This paper is about some of the partners that have been instrumental in this front. It addresses the main challenges affecting the youth in the education sector in attempt to build a knowledge society; and it appreciates the role of the international partners in moving in to address the issues critical to the development of the knowledge society.