Two schools in One: Managing High Enrolment in Refugee Secondary Schools

For a majority of refugee children who qualify for admission to secondary schools, accessing secondary school education in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps is a challenge owing to inadequate school infrastructure to accommodate the numbers. In Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, WIK manages 15 secondary schools serving over 50 primary schools. This situation creates a gap in delivering access to secondary school for all qualifying primary school graduates which means that many refugee children miss out on secondary education. WIK therefore sought to provide a solution by adopting the two schools in one concept that aims at improving access to secondary education for all qualified KCPE graduates.

The Guiding Principle

This creative and an innovative approach incorporates the element of time amidst the diminishing demands of space to physically construct and inadequate infrastructure. Using time as a great resource, it has been possible to run two separate schools within the premises and facilities meant for one.

The Model

The Two Schools in One concept for secondary education is therefore aimed at achieving double enrolment with shared physical infrastructure and teaching-learning materials. Desks, chairs, lockers, classrooms, laboratories, kitchen, latrines, hand-washing facilities, library, reference books, ICT facilities, playgrounds, sports facilities and assembly grounds are the shared physical infrastructure. The concept incorporates 5 hours of curriculum instruction and 2 hours of co-curricular engagement that are implemented alternately during every single school day. The concept differs from the multi-shift system because the administrative and teaching staff changes completely from morning to afternoon. The model is implemented in selected secondary schools in Dadaab and Kakuma (2 schools in each camp) and follows the approved academic curriculum as set by the Ministry of Education. The mechanisms involved in monitoring the approach involve; tracking the enrolment of the Two Schools in One students in an admission book, monitoring daily attendance of students using the class register. Routine checks on the school assets register is done to ensure that information such as number of classrooms, latrines, desks as well as their condition it captured. In addition, membership records of school clubs and a list of activities taking place in school are kept. This is tracked through the Education Management Information System (EMIS).

The impact

The introduction of the “Two Schools In One” has doubled the intake in the schools hence reducing the number of students who are out of school. By using existing secondary schools’ infrastructure in a practical model, more students are accommodated. It Is not just being done by using the existing resources but also equipping the schools better to ensure student success at the secondary level. It is having a catalytic effect in increasing enrolment in primary schools-more incentives for students if they know they can have opportunities to progress.