Education in Kenya

 

For the past decade the Kenya Ministry of Education has maintained a teacher staffing level of 235,000.  This despite the fact that the past four years have seen increased funding to pay for primary and secondary school fees.   While there were 5.9 million children in primary schools and about 600,000 students in secondary in 2003, the numbers are now up to 8 million in primary and 1 million in secondary.

 

Teachers have attributed the overall recent decreased performance of students in public schools to an acute shortage of teachers.  It is estimated that 60,000 teachers are needed to sort the shortage in public schools.  There are clearly pressures due to large classes resulting from the surges that followed the introduction of free primary education in 2003.  More schools are being built and existing ones are being expanded to accommodate the students coming out of primary schools.  Seven of the 17 secondary schools in the CES Kenya Family have been registered and built within the last decade.  Classes that normally contain 40 students are up to 80 and higher.  Clearly, the quality of education is at risk.

 

Particularly in the rural areas, there are countless children and youth who have been orphaned by the HIV/Aids pandemic and are too poor to even pay for a school uniform.  There are an estimated 1.1 million orphans in Kenya who are of school age.  It is clear that many will not complete the KPSE and only a fraction will continue to secondary school.  School fees are paid by the Kenyan Government for all Primary students; and for secondary students, a flat rate of 10,265 KSh is sent to schools.  Unfortunately the timely arrival of these funds are not always seen.  With rising costs and inflation this amount represents 50% of the actual cost of keeping a student in secondary school.   Orphaned youth are marginalized by a system that cannot accommodate them.  For so many, their chief goal is to find a way to survive each day.  Poverty continues to create challenges for needy youth.  Limited access to education often leads to crime and drug abuse and child labour.

 

Parents who can afford to do so send their children to private school.  Recent exam results have brought to light the imbalances between public and private schools.  Without an adequate supply of teachers and facilities, public schools will continue to fall behind the private school system.  This could result in an unhealthy class divide in the country.

 

It is estimated that there is an outstanding balance of some KSh12 billion owing to Kenyan public schools by former students.  Administrators often provide grace periods and even forgive debts so that students are not disadvantaged.   CES Kenya Principals have adopted students and made provision for other orphaned youth to live with them or on the school compound at no cost.  Unfortunately, students are also asked to interrupt their schooling or leave school permanently if they are unable to pay school fees.

The main pressures on school funding are negotiations to raise teacher salaries, increased number of students attending school, increased costs for food supplies, general inflation and increased costs for basic services such as water and electricity.

 

Despite the issues surrounding public education in Kenya, CES Canada continues to advocate for a strong public school system.  CES Canada is committed to the support of 17 public secondary schools in Kakamega Central District, Western Province.  120 students who have been orphaned or affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic are now attending school as a result of the generosity of Canadian donors.