Efforts and Challenges in Achieving Gender and Cultural Equity and Inclusivity in Public Universities in Kenya

Inclusive education involves the transformation of schools and other centres of learning to cater for all learners regardless of gender, ethnic and linguistic origin, residence settings (rural or urban), HIV status, disability, difficulties in learning and age. Inclusive education aims at eliminating exclusion or favoritism that arise out of negative attitudes on differences in economic status, social class, race, ethnicity, language, gender, sexual orientation, religion and ability. From a policy perspective, inclusive education means taking a holistic approach to education reform and thus changing the way the educational system tackles exclusion. Without such measures, many countries will not achieve the Education for All (EFA) goals by 2015, alongside other Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This paper will explore the efforts and challenges in achieving gender and cultural equity and inclusivity in public universities in Kenya. The research adopted descriptive survey and case study designs in order to enable the researcher to carry out an in-depth study of gender equity interventions in selected universities. The sample consisted of two public universities in Kenya, Moi and Egerton. In each university two (2) faculties/ schools were selected using stratified random sampling. From each of the school two (2) lecturers and 10 students, 5 males and 5 women were selected to take part in the study. The total sample was thus 96 respondents. Findings from related studies illustrate persistent gender discrimination related to educational attainment and learning, and gender-based violence in public universities. Kenya has experienced phenomenal achievements in gender parity in education, although these achievements have not resulted in gender equity in public universities.