Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja (ABEK)

ABEK, the Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja programme, was launched in 1998 to hold classes where children graze their family’s livestock and perform other tasks such as cooking and tending to younger siblings.  In 2015 a new initiative was implemented in which girls received goats as an incentive to attend school. Goats are considered a form of wealth in the Karamoja region. The Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja (ABEK) programme seeks to address the primary educational needs of the children from the Karimojong communities. It is a non-formal learning programme implemented by the district local government of Kotido and Moroto. The programme seeks to close the gap between the formal system and the semi-nomadic lifestyle where households’ economies rely substantially on the contribution by children. The program reported to have given out 2,000 goats to girls. More recently, renewed violence in Karamoja region has left children out of school. The program has also been revised to address anti-Karimojong bias entrenched in the formal education system and integrate new understanding on drylands pastoralism in the face of climate change.