Retaining Teachers in Remote Rural Schools

The continued occurrence of teacher shortage for schools in remote rural areas (also called hardship areas) in Kenya is a stinging indictment of the policy framework on teacher management, and raises questions about the seriousness of the government's commitment to the provision of equitable education services. Such shortage exacerbates the educational disadvantage of such areas, already disadvantaged with regard to access to schools, availability of teaching and learning resources, and educational outcomes. The author contends that the top-down, highly exclusivist policy framework for managing teachers is to blame for the failure of the numerous strategies aimed at attracting and retaining teachers in the remote rural schools. Within this framework, the conceptualization and naming of "hardships" has been one-sided and unrealistic, leading to poorly informed policy options. A possible way to stem the perennial shortage of rural schoolteachers is a genuinely inclusive policy process. Within such a process, the experiences and views of grassroots stakeholders - including teachers, school committees, parents, and students - would count as relevant policy knowledge.