education for all (UNICEF 2018). To this end, interventions have not only been financial but included capacitation of school administrators for appropriate governance and financial management, as well as training School Development Committees for their role in school management.
Other NGO initiatives include distribution of:
• bicycles to school children to address the obstacle of distances to school;
• textbooks for core subjects as well as exercise books by UNICEF to disadvantaged primary and secondary school children in all districts of the country, resulting in an improved pupil to textbook ratio;
• ECD and Science kits at primary school and science kits at secondary school by UNICEF.
These interventions have made some inroads in trying to level the playing field for the rural child, for instance, improved attendance rates in areas where bicycles were distributed. However, issues have been raised for example about the lack of variety in the titles provided by UNICEF and that some subjects still lack relevant books and also that once the donated exercise books are exhausted learners go back to becoming pas- sive during the time for written work. In addition, Drury (2013, p. 4) notes some limitations with the interventions by NGOs which include geographical and funding priorities, availability or duration, and that the interventions are also affected by the changes in the political and eco- nomic climate.
Conclusion
Considerable efforts have been made to make education accessible to rural children. But as noted by Grifts (2010), expanded access to public schooling does not imply equitable outcomes. Several equity gaps that have undermined the prospects of social justice in rural education have been highlighted in the chapter. The gaps seem to emanate from a lack of acknowledgement of the role that place plays in determining opportunity gaps (Cuervo 2018) and consequently inadequate attention causing rural disadvantage, as well as educational policy not making special provision
for rural education. This has seen a regression into some of the patterns of exclusion that border on those that existed during the colonial era, thus rural students are marginalised and ill-equipped by the education system to participate in the society and economy. Reducing educational inequalities might require revisiting the issue of funding of rural educa- tion and use of funding formulae that considers the proportion of disad- vantaged of learners in schools (Tikly 2011). Conclusion Attempts have been made to promote social justice in education in the country. However, several configurations and practices that have undermined the prospects of social justice in rural education have emerged in this chapter. These could be attributed to failure by educational policies to take cognizance of broader traits of social equality and to address structurally entrenched inequality, as well as a general lack of attention to social justice obliga- tions in micro-practice in rural education. Such norms and practices sug- gest a regression into some patterns of exclusion reminiscent of those that existed during the colonial era with most rural students being margin- alised and being ill-equipped by the education system to participate in the society and economy and to move up the social ladder. Reduction of such educational inequalities might require paying particular attention to the role that place plays in determining opportunity (Cuervo 2018) and considering the unequal needs of rural students who begin from a posi- tion of disadvantage (Nussbaum 2004) in the various ways that have been highlighted.
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A. Masinire, A. P. Ndofirepi (eds.), Rurality, Social Justice and Education in Sub-Saharan Africa Volume I, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57277-8_5