Role of Lifeskills Education in the Prevention of Corruption in Kenya

Abstract

Eradication of corruption in the public sector has remained an elusive challenge to most countries in the world especially Kenya. The menace has continued to ravage the economies, compromise service delivery to the citizens and lead to escalating levels of poverty and crime against a background of heavy taxation. Countries have responded with varied legislations and establishment of specialized institutions with the sole mandate of eradicating corruption. Kenya has enacted several anticorruption laws and established independent institutions such as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), but the vice continues to negatively impact on the economy in unprecedented proportions. Despite these noble interventions, corruption scandals have persisted. Worse still, institutions designed to fight the menace have sometimes been accused of abetting the very vice they are supposed to fight. In light of this understanding, this article underscores the critical need of a paradigm shift that advocates for a new philosophy in the fight against corruption. The gist of this article is that if lifeskills education (LSE) is taught effectively and early in life to learners, it is a plausible deterrent to corruption. Studies indicate that when children internalize and integrate such values as integrity, honesty, responsibility, justice and personal discipline, among others, in their personality, the predisposition towards corrupt tendencies can be controlled. Lifeskills education inherently enables adoration of values and attainment of wealth in justifiable and legal ways as opposed to unrestrained voracity that is now prevalent in Kenya. The perverted philosophy that ‘the end justifies the means’ will have no place in a society where citizens are inculcated with moral values. This article adopts the social cognitive theory propounded by Albert Bandura as its theoretical framework. The study relied on library review of secondary data and published reports regarding corruption in Kenya. From the critical and philosophical review of literature and studies on prevention of corruption, strategies and approaches are advanced regarding how to integrate lifeskills education in fighting corruption. The article stresses the need to inculcate functional values in the personality development of children designed to make them inimical to persuasions of corruption.