Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Kenya, the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA), Standard Media Group, and Trends and Insights for Africa (TiFa) awarded 14 private secondary schools in Kenya for their overall culture that contributes to the development of holistic students at the Great Places to go to School 2019 Gala. The Gala awarded schools for their advancements for improving the quality of learning in Kenya.

CEO of GPF Kenya, Daniel Juma speaks live at the Great Schools gala in Kenya.

Nearly 300 entries were considered for this recognition as schools that contribute to holistic learning based on criteria like governance, academics, safety and security, career development, and character and creativity. This aim of the awards recognition was to push schools to create holistic environments for students that would dub them as “great places to go to school.”

Many of the schools presented were awarded in multiple categories. Crawford International School was awarded as the best in Academics and Career Development categories, while Makini Schools was the top choice for Sports & Co-curricular as well as Character & Creativity. Rusinga Schools won third place trophies in Academics, Career Development in schools, Business & Entrepreneurship Projects, and Governance.

“This great thinking has come at the right time and is going to give private schools in this country a platform to move to the next level,” said Kenya Private Schools Association national vice-chairperson Isaiah Mbaabu. Global Peace Foundation Vice President Dr. Tony Devine said the awards ceremony was a great initiative that provided a benchmark in Kenyan education to bring focus to the development of the whole child.

Presentation of awards at the Great Schools gala in Kenya.

Standard Group CEO, Orlando Lyomu was optimistic that the initiative would become the top standard for evaluating the holistic quality of education. “The future our children are going to live in will be less driven by academic excellence and more by the ability to provide solutions,” he said. The CEO noted that in the future, the awards would extend to public schools as well.

Global Peace Foundation, the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA), and Trends and Insights for Africa (TiFa) are planning for the next Great Places to Go to School gala dinner with a tentative date in January 2020.

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