IFP Kenya Final Report .Pdf
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Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program - Final Report Kenya March 2013. Mount Kenya View 1 Table of Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Target Group ................................................................................................................................................. 9 Recruitment and Selection.......................................................................................................................... 16 Program Orientation ................................................................................................................................... 23 Pre-Academic Training (PAT) ...................................................................................................................... 30 Placement ................................................................................................................................................... 36 Pre-Departure Orientation.......................................................................................................................... 45 The Study/Monitoring Period ..................................................................................................................... 48 End of Fellowship/Repatriation/Re-entry ................................................................................................... 55 Alumni and Related Activities ..................................................................................................................... 57 Relationship with Other Actors in the IFP System ...................................................................................... 61 IFP Policies................................................................................................................................................... 63 Communications/Public Dissemination of the IFP Model .......................................................................... 64 Program Evaluation ..................................................................................................................................... 66 Conclusion/Open Space .............................................................................................................................. 68 Appendix: .................................................................................................................................................... 74 2 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of Kenya .................................................................................................................. 6 Figure 2: Number of Scholarships .................................................................................................. 9 Figure 3: Distribution of Beneficiaries per Province .................................................................... 13 Figure 4 :Year by year selection by Gender ................................................................................. 19 Figure 5: Areas of Study ............................................................................................................... 44 Figure 6: IFP East Africa Pre-Departure Meeting for the 9th Cohort - Nairobi, June 2011. ....... 45 Figure 7: Host Countries ............................................................................................................... 48 Figure 8: Degree Completion Rate ............................................................................................... 53 3 Executive Summary This report looks at the different stages of the implementaion of the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) in Kenya over the last 12 (twelve) years. It was a great opportunity for Kenya to have been chosen as one of the countries to benefit from this program which has created great on the lives of Kenyans at indivual and group levels. As a global program operating in 22 countries, IFP‟s effectiveness is closely tied to its innovative structure: a Secretariat in New York that manages the program and sets policy guidelines, while partner organizations in 22 countries manage key aspects of the program in each local context. This decentralized architecture has enabled IFP to sustain a flexible, country-based operation sensitive to the local context. In Kenya, the program was hosted by Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE). FAWE is a pan-African Non-Governmental Organization working in 32 African countries to empower girls and women through gender-responsive education. Kenya like any other third world country is still challenged in providing not only quality education to its citizenry, but provision of education to all with the most afected level being Higher Education. Majority of Kenyans. 86.4% only manage to complete primary education. Less than 50% of childrent who complete Primary School education after 8 (eight) years transit to Secondary Education and only about 12% finally make it to the public Universities. These figures although represent the national position, are much lower among the marginalized communities and groups i.e female, the poor, those living with dissabilities among others. With the foregoing background, it goes without say that Scholarships are on very high damand in Kenya and the attempt to satisfy this demand from different stakeholders still falls way too low. Therefore, any scholarship like IFP that targets the marginalized is very precious. IFP was very focused on its target group, the marginalized individulas and groups. The program was aware that without an effective outreach plan aimed at reaching people who tended to self exclude themselves from most activities and missed out on information acceess, it was a challenge to meet its objectives. Marginalization in Kenya is characterized by different factors including Social, Political,Geographical and Economic conditions. While no single community can be devoid of any form of marginalization, marginalization as a stand alone factor could not qualify one to receive the IFP fellowship. Overcoming marginalization, leadership qualities and academic potential were all considrered in the selection process. Judging by the caliber of the alumni and the roles they are playing in the community today, we are satisfied in Kenya that the program has been very successful and has met its intended objectives of supporting the marginalized people through higher education in order to strengthen their leadership qualities. The four levels IFP selection process has been lauded as very credible, transparent and objective by different people including some of the unsuccessful candidates. To evaluate the applicants, the Program made use of local experts, who were well versed with the country‟s educational system, development status and marginalization factors. This helped to eliminate any factors that could go unnoticed, ignored or misunderstood. The IFP selection process formed the foundation for its success story. The successive processes were anchored on the thorough 4 selection and if this stage went wrong, all the following processes would falter including the academic performance of the fellows and the overall success of IFP. It was therefore done with utmost precision. As a program whose target group was individuals from marginalized backgrounds, measures were taken to ensure that preparations were made to enable the beneficiaries deal with any challenges which could jeopardize their chances for succeeding. This was one area that IFP was unique in comparison to other scholarship programs. The Pre Academic Training (PAT) was one element of the program that contributed immensely to its success given the background of the beneficiaries. Apart from preparations in the technical areas e.g. Computer and Language trainings, PAT also gave the beneficiaries an opportunity to start building their networks with other beneficiaries, a factor which later provided the much needed support system. They had an opportunity to relate with experts on Higher Education and on various relevant subject areas. A program of IFP magnitude would not have succeeded without a clear and effective monitoring system to enable fellows keep on track. The close monitoring of the fellows coupled with the effectively conducted PAT and careful placement did not erase all challenges fellows experienced, a few still faced some problems but were able to receive support adequately as a result of the open and efficient communication that existed between all the partners. Contrary to expectations as a result of the program beneficiaries, IFP fellows proved to be very competitive in their academic performance and some of them graduated at the top of their classes earning them other opportunities for further studies. Coming back home for the alumni was both a success and a challenging experience. However, the support systems they had build before leaving for their studies, provided some cushion even in terms of getting jobs. The constant contacts they kept with the home office and the opportunity provided by the program to come back home for research helped to reduce the gravity of the effects of being away. With time, alumni settle down into meaningful engagements and positive contribution to the society. Today the Kenya alumni have formed and registered a national