Education in Kenya
The institutionalised system differs from traditional (or customary) education which had been in existence long before missionarisation and colonisation, and was administered according to the various indigenous groups' cultures and customs.
Institutionalised education in Kenya dates back to as early as the 18th century among the Swahili people, whereby the earliest school was established by missionaries in Rabai.
In 2017, the World Economic Forum rated Kenya's education system as the strongest among forty-three other mainland Africa countries.
To date, there has been steady growth in the advancement of education in the country which boasts of a great number of public and private universities as well as TVET institutions and middle-level colleges.
In October 2021, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the National Treasury to avail KSh.8 billion/= to the Education Ministry for the construction of 10,000 classrooms in secondary schools across the country by 2023.
According to Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha, 700 new CBC junior classrooms had been completed within secondary schools as at February 2021.
[42] Consequently, CBC has been a top priority funding area in the KSh.126.3 billion/= supplementary budget, submitted in parliament mid February by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani.
The Kenyan government's primary document influencing this effort, the Kenya Education Sector Support Program for 2005–2010, established the National Assessment Centre (NAC) to monitor learning achievement.
The chart below shows the percent of children who could not read a Standard 2 level paragraph or solve Standard 2 level subtraction problems:[44] Key findings about education in Kenya, based on the results of the Uwezo 2009 assessment:[45] Due to the mentioned problems in public education, private school are soaring in popularity, even among families that can ill afford school fees.
The government assessed the high need for a change in access due to half of the population being composed of young people.
[47] The accessibility of education is influenced by four main factors: poverty, regional and gender disparities, policy framework, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Unlike uneducated people, person who pass successfully through the education system undergo experiences that often expose them to diverse cultures, worldviews, and ideas that will help foster global awareness, empathy, and vital skills needed to interact with diverse people, collaborate, learn, and pursue successful lives.
However, education as it exists today has its limitations, including following a standardized curriculum that leaves little room for personal interests and individualized learning (Schlegel et al., 2019).
Also, marginalized groups may not access education due to economic disparities that affect their opportunities for personal growth and success.
Although the government has attempted to achieve accessible education for all citizens, many of the people living in the ASAL regions are continuously moving in search of Wetlands for their families and their livestock.
With a variety of factors, some of these centers are not productive learning environments and make it extremely difficult to detect children with special needs.
At the end of the fourth year, from October to November students sit for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination.
Nonetheless, those who miss out but attained the minimum university entry mark of C+ or C with a relevant diploma certificate are admitted through the parallel degree programs (module II) if they can afford the full fees for the course.
This has been the subject of much discussion with people questioning the rationale and morality of locking out qualified students from public institutions yet still admitting those who come from financially able families.
When well-educated, people will cultivate problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills to navigate the complex and competitive job market in the 21st century (Tran, 2023).
Retrieved 10 October 2016..[57] this act normalized this sector as it had become tainted by unaccredited institutions offering substandard education as revealed by "The Standard".
There are many social inequalities present in Kenya which have a direct impact on education such as: disparities in distribution of national income, security, and employment, levels of investment, health care, and public services are also evident across populations, genders, and ethnic groups.
[60] Immediately after independence, Kenya's public higher education was free for all students regardless of their socioeconomic status; it was fully funded by the government.
This has widened the accessibility gap for families of lower socioeconomic status as they will not be able to pay the amount of tuition, so higher education remains unaffordable and inaccessible for those students.
[60] Due to the current policies and financial requirements, educational access is limited to students who perform highly in academics and those who do not.
Early childhood development teacher education, which is available as a certificate or 2-year diploma, requires 300 hours of teaching practice.
The aim of FPE was to remove these barriers to education and ensure that more children with low socioeconomic status are able to access schooling.
The objectives of this framework include early identification and intervention, increasing public awareness, supporting research, and providing adequate facilities.
Only two universities admit visually impaired students, and the majors open to them are limited because of a lack of assistive technology resources.
[71] In a 2020 study on literacy published in Early Education and Development, researchers found that mothers and fathers in Kenya do not spend much time reading and storytelling with their children.
