The United States through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced nearly $32 million investment in Kenya’s education system.
This announcement was made on Tuesday when the United States signed a historic Framework for Cooperation with the Government of Kenya to support new partnerships between universities and industry to drive innovation, research, and job growth in STEM-related fields in Kenya and globally.
USAID Counselor, Clinton White signed the Enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, economic development Framework for Cooperation alongside Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi as part of Kenyan President William Ruto’s State Visit to the United States.
According to the statement released by the Agency revealed that this investment includes $850,000 in support of the Edtech Africa initiative, a public- private partnership program recommended by the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement (PAC-ADE).
To promote STEM partnerships between Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the Open University of Kenya, Mastercard and Microsoft, and a $6.5 million new project in Kenya which aims to connect STEM graduates with jobs in fast-growing sectors like information.
Also in communication technology and manufacturing of textiles and pharmaceuticals which also includes a new $24.5 million program on early grade literacy, to ensure that more Kenyans are prepared with the foundational skills they need to succeed in higher education.
“As the United States and Kenya celebrate 60 years of bilateral relations, and recalling the positive and enduring impact of Kennedy-era assistance to help East Africans study in the U.S., known as student airlift, the State Department announced at Spelman the Kennedy-Mboya Partnerships to support a new, 21st century scholarship program focused on STEM as the field of the future”.
USAID expected that the Framework for Cooperation signed today to establish linkages, partnerships, exchange programs, and other relationships for sharing and developing the STEM, advanced manufacturing, and ICT capacities of Kenyan higher education institutions.
Which includes a commitment from the Microsoft and the Mastercard Foundation to support STEM education through higher education partnerships, and a commitment from U.S. universities to partner with Kenyan institutions to build mutual capacity in STEM-related courses of study.
The statement concluded that the United States has a longstanding partnership with Kenya, actively supporting the country as a pioneering force and regional engine for innovation, adding that this new partnership in the area of STEM education will prepare a generation of innovative Kenyan leaders to meet evolving market demands and advance the nation’s economic development.
The United States who on Monday welcomed President William Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto of the Republic of Kenya to Atlanta, Georgia, said the visit to Atlanta is the first segment of Kenya’s diplomatic engagement with the United States and will be followed by a State Visit to Washington, D.C. on May 23.
United States added that the President Ruto’s visit to Atlanta reflects the city’s growing global importance and underscores its central role in America’s progress towards a more inclusive democracy.
It also welcomed President Ruto’s engagements with civic leaders on issues of democratic governance while in Atlanta, as well as his focus on people-to-people tie, public health partnerships, educational exchanges, investments in shared prosperity, and his engagements with Atlanta’s African Diaspora.