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The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation in Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals
Get PDFSustainable development goals (SDGs) is global plan of action for planet, people, peace and prosperity. The SDGs were built on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) a development plan aimed to eradicating poverty and fostering development. The SDGs were meant to conclude the unfinished business of the MDGs and respond to new challenges. The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development recognizes science, technology and innovation (STI) as key drivers enabling and acceleration towards prosperous inclusive and environmentally sustainable economies in all countries. Some of the SDGs and targets have major focus on environmental and natural resources. Many challenges in these two areas need science, technology and innovation as solutions to the problems. Due to this, the objectives of this paper is to address the role of science, technology and innovation in implementing the sustainable development goals. This has been done with particular reference to the SDGs that have main focus to environmental and natural resources which are SDGs 2, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13 and 14. This have been done by pinpointing the strategies, barriers and remedies that are encountered when applying STI in implementation of these goals nationally and globally. The paper is divided into five sections which include, introduction, methodology used in looking for the references, literature review, implementation of SDGs using STI, conclusion and references. The role of STI in the implementation of the SDGs have been shown by the reviewed studies in terms of strategies, barriers and remedies
Effectiveness of Implemented School Development Plan in Enhancing Quality Education in Public Secondary Schools in Ulanga District, Tanzania
Get PDFThe study examined the effectiveness of implemented School Development Planning (SDP) in enhancing quality education a case of public secondary schools in Ulanga District. Four research questions and one null hypothesis guided the study to elucidate the perception of heads of schools on the SDP. The study was guided by convergent parallel design under mixed research approach. The target population comprised of 17 public secondary schools and 17 heads of schools. Two secondary schools were used for pilot study. While the remaining 15 public secondary schools were all involved in the study. All the 15 heads of public secondary schools were involved in the study by virtue of their position and responsibility. Questionnaires and interview guide were administered to collect relevant data for the study. The study found out that not all the schools in Ulanga District had SDP. Also, the SDPs were not highly effective in enhancing quality education since some of the elements that enhance quality education were not implemented. The study further revealed that majority of the heads of schools had positive perception on the SDP as a tool toward improvement of teaching and learning in the schools; while a few of them had negative perception. The results from the tested null hypothesis reveals a moderate relationship between implementation of SDP and quality education. Thus, implementation of SDP to some extent enhances quality education which in turn improves students’ academic performance. The study concluded that the implemented SDP are moderately effective in enhancing various factors that ensure quality education in secondary schools. Furthermore, the study suggested that high cooperation should be emphasized between educational stakeholders in implementing SDPs for the improvement of quality of education in Ulanga District. The researcher suggested close follow up of the DEO, DQA and WEC on the development and implementation of SDP for effective improvement of teaching and learning
Influence of Principals’ Use of Collaborative Decision Making on Students’ Discipline in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya
Get PDFThe management of discipline has been and continues to be a thorny issue globally for educational managers. Collaborative decision making is one of the alternative disciplinary methods that governments have come up with for management of students’ discipline in schools to replace corporal punishment. This paper sought to investigate the influence of principals’ use of collaborative decision making as an alternative disciplinary on students’ discipline in public secondary schools. The study objective sough to establish the extent to which principals’ use of class meetings for collaborative decision making as an alternative disciplinary method influences students’ discipline in public secondary schools. The study employed Ex post facto research design and targeted 333 public secondary schools in Kitui County, Kenya. Stratified proportionate sampling and purposive sampling were used to select the sample size. Questionnaires and interview guides were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse, tabulate and present data. The Chi-square (x2) test was used to determine the strength of association between holding class meetings for collaborative decision making and students’ discipline and to test whether the observed relationship is significant or not. The study established that collaborative decision making was done within the school set up to enhance discipline. Of the principals contacted, 83.7 per cent indicated that there was use of class meetings as an alternative disciplinary method. Results of chi square had a P-value of 0.373. This indicates that there is no significant difference between class meetings for collaborative decision making and students’ discipline. The study concluded that there is no significant difference between holding class meetings with students for collaborative decision making and students’ discipline. The study recommends an improvement in implementing the resolutions arrived at during class meetings for this could lower tensions regarding areas that could be potentially divisive
Role of Information Communication Technology in Literacy Education in Kenya
Get PDFThe use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in literacy education is critical to ensuring that Kenya is able to create individuals with raised self-esteem, equipped with skills that will enable them to derive socio-economic benefits of greater workforce productivity as well as those associated with lifelong learning. Consequently, incorporating ICT in literacy education may help to develop the kind of citizenry required in the information society; improve learning outcomes in education; and enhance the quality of life in general. However, despite the enthusiasm exhibited in exploiting ICTs potential in education use in Kenya, the acquisition of learning outcomes in literacy are still low. Key impediments include access, funding, inadequate ICT facilities, high cost of development of interactive e-learning content, high Internet costs in the region, as well as unaffordable infrastructural maintenance costs occasioned by the dynamic natures of ICTs. In addition, the inadequate capacity of teachers has been an obstacle to making ICT a medium of instruction or a tool to support management processes. As well, the absence of ICT Curriculum at Early Childhood Development (ECD) and primary levels does not help cultivate a computing culture early in life. Thus, in order for meaningful impact on literacy education to be realized, the ICT investment programmes in education in the country should be refocused and redirected to the ECD and primary levels of education as the starting point, and henceforth be concentrated on some five variables identified widely as likely to create the desired results, namely: enhancement of teaching and learning; raising access to literacy education; training of teachers; localizing content; and creating a literacy-conducive environment. This paper explores how ICT can contribute to making literacy education more effective and the challenges that require to be overcome in order to achieve this
Alternative Income Generating Activities for Financial Sustainability of Higher Education Institutions
Get PDFThe huge increase in the cost of universities are starting to seriously ward off potential customers and alienate the public, whose support of colleges is waning. For the last five years, aggregate universities' enrollments in Kenya have fallen, and alternative Income Generation Activities (IGAs) to supplement the tuition income have become a necessity for institutions to grow economically and be sustainable in their business. This paper aims to examine better ways Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) approach financial management, including HEIs choice in allocating institutional resources. In today’s world, competition is a driving force for innovation and entrepreneurship with higher education not spared to unfair practices. For example, Africa, including Kenya, loses approximately 23,000 qualified professionals to the west every year. This is a theoretical paper; based on financial management theory, that explains the gap between the educational knowledge and business practices in the education industry. An expenditurebased budget allocation model for HEIs' resource allocation is developed as a new financial management framework. It is based on the premise that HEIs exists not only to educate students, but also to contribute to the development and furtherance of knowledge, and contribution to the nation's economic growth in terms of expertise and commercialization of intellectual property; this paper contributes to conversations and policies on financial management practices and alternative IGAs for HEIs
Harnessing Social Capital for School Development: Community Participation in School Construction Projects
Get PDFThe study examined how communities participate in school construction projects in primary schools in Somaliland and how community participation in school construction projects influences the performance of those projects. The study used a correlational design and was undertaken as a cross-sectional survey. The target population was 920 primary school headteachers in all the 13 regions of Somaliland and 82 District Education Officers. A sample of 257 headteachers was drawn using multistage sampling where purposive sampling and stratified random sampling with replacement were used to sample headteachers while 22 DEOs were sampled using simple random sampling. Data was collected from headteachers using questionnaires and from DEOs using semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire was pilot tested on 28 headteachers. The response was received from 247 headteachers and 20 DEOs. Variables relationships were analyzed using path analysis and tested using t-tests at α = 5%. The main methods used to involve the community in primary schools’ construction projects were: involving them in decision-making processes, volunteering labour and fundraising. The study found that community participation had no significant influence on the performance of construction projects. Community participation in public primary schools in postwar Somaliland is a policy-driven initiative and a fill-gap measure of deficiencies left by the government’s low and inadequate capitation to schools. Low social capital in the communities participated in projects coupled with the costs and the downsides of the community participation process can result in a negative impact on the performance of those projects. Urban schools tend to benefit more from community participation than rural schools due to higher social capital stocks in urban communities as compared to rural communities
ከውሃው በላኝ ወደ ውሃ አበላኝ /Kä Wuhaw Bälañ Wädä Wuha Abälañ (from water logged me to water nourished me*): a historical analysis of rice production on enhancing livelihood in Fogera Woreda, 1970s to 2017
Get PDFThis article explores the introduction of rice production in Fogera woreda mainly associated with the government initiative of ensuring food security for households at the beginning of the 1970s. The woreda has well-suited agro-ecology for the production of rice. Hence, this study attempts to investigate examine and assess the contribution of rice production to the income and food security of rural households in Fogera Woreda, South Gondar Zone. To achieve the objective, the researcher used a qualitative research method. The data was collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary sources were collected through key informant interviews and archival sources while secondary sources were obtained from relevant literature such as books, journals, articles, study reports, and theses. The study result shows that farmers in Fogera plain have benefited from rice production. The implication of rice production on the socio-economic life of society was seen since its introduction. Hence, rice production in Fogera is one of the most essential achievements of the society which changes the life of peasants incredibly well
Nutrition knowledge, cooking practices, and consumption of indigenous leafy vegetables among households in Sagnarigu Municipality, Ghana
Get PDFThis study assessed nutrition knowledge, cooking practices, and consumption of indigenous leafy vegetables (IGLVs) among households in the Sagnarigu Municipality, Ghana. A structured questionnaire was employed to collect data on socio-demographics, nutrition knowledge scores, cooking practices, and consumption of IGLVs in the Sagnarigu Municipality. The study was cross-sectional, with a multi-stage sampling to select 399 respondents responsible for preparing family meals. More than half of the respondents had a low nutrition knowledge of IGLVs. Respondents with basic education were 67% (OR = 0.410, 95% CI: 0.170–0.986, p = 0.047) less likely to have high nutrition knowledge of IGLVs than those with tertiary education. Most respondents (65.7%) chopped their IGLVs before washing, and almost all (90.2%) discarded stock after cooking. Concerning the consumption of IGLVs, almost all respondents’ households consumed kenaf and jute leaves representing 90.2% and 99.5% respectively. A few of the respondents indicated that availability, low cost and high nutrient content were significant drivers in the consumption of IGLVs (27.1%, 13.3% and 8.8%, respectively). Therefore, interventions by both the government and non-governmental organisations to increase nutrition knowledge and consumption of IGLVs should include strategies to promote the production, utilisation, and commercialisation of IGLVs, especially in the Northern Region
Kinetics and thermodynamics of bleaching process in aqueous solution using sodium hypochlorite
Get PDFThe kinetics of bleaching process of oxidation of typical dye with a bleaching agent - sodium hypochlorite in aqueous medium was studied. The kinetic runs were executed using spectrophotometer to changes in concentration under pseudo first order whereby concentration of NaOCl was in large excess compared with the concentration of dye. The factors affecting the reaction rate that were studied include the concentration of dye and oxidant, temperature, ionic strength and pH of the bleaching reaction medium and the presence of a variable valence metal ion The result shows that the rate of oxidation increases with increasing in temperature, ionic strength and pH. Increasing in substrate and oxidant concentrations also increase the rate of oxidation. Higher observed rate constant k1 was obtained in the presence of Fe(III)ion. The Arrhenius activation energy for the oxidation in the absence and presence of Fe(III)ion are 56.21 kJmol-1 and 51.21 kJmol-1 respectively. The result of thermodynamic parameters such as the lowering of activation energy (Ea) and the higher value of second rate constants k2 in the presence of Fe (III) ion provide further support for Fe (III) ion enhancement of rate of oxidation
Performances of metal oxides supported in monolith for combined SO2/NOx removal from flue gas
Get PDFThe emission of acid gases such SO2 and NOx have detrimental effects on human beings and the environment hence, removing them from flue gas in a dry adsorption process is desirable. In this work, carbon monolith was synthesized with various metals consisting of CeO2, Co3O4, V2O5, and CuO by deposition precipitation, hydrothermal and wet pore volume impregnation synthesis techniques. The fixed bed adsorption activity test was carried out with flue gas production by coal burning. Furthermore, the breakthrough curves of the adsorbents were investigated where the adsorbent developed via hydrothermal technique with Co3O4 metal oxide termed as HM-Co3O4 /CM displayed higher adsorption capacity for both SO2 (103.9 mg/g) and NOx and (106.6 mg/g). The Langmuir model can best describe the experimental data based on the correlation coefficient and separation factor results. These results implied that the developed adsorbent can be potentially used in the industry for flue gas cleaning