THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN KENYA

BY

CHRIS WOSYANJU

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 EDUCATION SYSTEM IN KENYA
Education has been defined as the process through which knowledge, skills, attitudes and values
are imparted for the purpose of integrating the individual in a given society, or changing the
values and norms of a society. For individuals, this process is life long. It begins at birth and
ends with death. The UNESCO International standard classification of education defines
education as comprising organized and sustained communication designed to bring about
learning (UNESCO, 1975). In Kenya, as in any other country, this sustained communication is
organized and managed through a coherent system put in place by the Government.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF FORMAL EDUCATION

Before the coming of Europeans, Kenyan societies had their own systems of education. There
were no classrooms and no special class of people called teachers. All members of the
community were involved in the education of the children. Children learnt cultural traditions and
customs of their ancestors from the community as well as specific skills from their families and
other specialized individuals through apprenticeship programs. Localized, relevant indigenous
knowledge was, therefore, very important in the organization and transmission of knowledge.

The foundation of modern education was laid by missionaries who introduced reading to spread
Christianity. They also taught practical subjects like carpentry and gardening which were useful
around the missions. The Frazer report of 1909 recommended the establishment of separate
educational systems for Europeans, Asians and Africans. This system was maintained until
independence in 1963.

In 1963, the country gained independence and a commission was set up to make changes in the
formal educational system. The focus of the commission was to build a national identity and to
unify the different ethnicities through subjects in school such as history and civics, and civic
education for the masses. Between 1964 and 1985, the 7-4-2-3 education structure modeled after
the British education system was followed. The system was designed to provide seven years of
primary education, four years of lower secondary education, two years of upper secondary
education, and three years of university (Buchmann, 1999). The country was in dire and
immediate need for skilled workers to hold positions previously held by the British. Hence, the
government set out to quickly expand educational opportunities to its citizens.

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The 8-4-4 System of Education

In 1981, a Presidential Working Party was commissioned to examine curriculum reform of the
entire education system in the country. The committee submitted a recommendation to change
the 7-4-2-3 education system to the current 8-4-4 system of education, whose overall structure
was similar to the U.S. education system. The 8-4-4 system was launched in January 1985, and
was designed to provide eight years of primary education, four years of secondary, and four
years of university education. Emphasis was placed on Mathematics, English, and vocational
subjects. The focus on vocational education was aimed at preparing students who would not
continue on with secondary education, those who would be self-employed, and those who would
be seeking employment in the non-formal sector ("Ministry of Education," n.d.).

STRUCTURE OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION

Prior to joining primary school, children between the ages of three and six are required to attend
pre-primary (pre-unit) for one or two years. The main objective of pre-primary education is to
cater to the total development of a child, including the physical, spiritual, social, and mental
growth, brought about through formal and informal interaction with the parents and the
community taking a leading role. A focus of pre-primary education has been health, nutrition,
care, and basic education. Programs are run through partnership with the government, district-
based agencies, local communities and external agencies. The Pre-School section of the ministry
of Education is responsible for the registration of pre-schools and the coordination of all
partners.

It is estimated that 47% of eligible pre primary school children were enrolled in those schools by
2007.

PRIMARY EDUCATION

Primary school is the first phase of the 8-4-4 education system and serves students between the
ages of 6-14 years. The main purpose of primary education is to prepare students to participate in
the social, political and economic well being of the country, and prepare them to be global
citizens ("Education Info Center," 2006). The new primary school curriculum has therefore been
designed to provide a more functional and practical education to cater to the needs of children
who complete their education at the primary school level and also for those who wish to continue
with secondary education. In addition it caters to students who wish, and have the means, to
continue on with secondary school education. Primary education is universal and free but not
compulsory. A major goal of primary education is to develop self-expression, self-discipline, and
self-reliance, while at the same time providing a rounded educational experience.

At the end of the eighth year, the Kenya Certificate of Primary Examination (K.C.P.E.) is taken
and the results are used to determine placement at secondary school on a merit basis. K.C.P.E.

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candidates are examined in five subjects including subjects: 1) Kiswahili; 2) English; 3)
Mathematics; 4) Science and Agriculture 5) Social studies. (Education Info Center, 2006;
Ministry of Education, 2008).

When a new government was formed in 2003, one of the priorities was to re-avail educational
opportunities in order to meet UPE, the second of the eight MDGs. Figures for instance show
that massive school dropouts were recorded and that out of about one million students who
enrolled in standard one in 1993 and in 1998, less than half a million got to standard eight
(Oketch and Rolleston, 2007; Onyango, 2003).

Free primary education (FPE) was, therefore, introduced. This resulted in a significant increase
in enrollment from 5.9 to 7.2 million pupils. However, most schools were not equipped to handle
the large numbers of students in terms of the number of teachers, physical classroom space, and
learning resources (Mukudi, 2004). In some schools, some classes now have as many as 80-100
students. Ironically, the introduction of free primary education has led to a dramatic increase in
the number of privately owned and operated schools. These schools target families who can
afford to pay school fees and have their children taught in small groups.

Kenya is home to Kimani Maruge, the world's oldest person to start primary school. An illiterate
farmer, Kimani enrolled in class 1 at the age of 84 when he learned that schooling had become
free. His ambition is to be able to read the bible and other materials for himself.

It is estimated that Kenya’s primary school enrolment rate is 86% for both boys and girls.

SECONDARY EDUCATION

Secondary school education begins around the age of fourteen. However due to delayed primary
school entry and limited educational schools and facilities, many students especially those from
rural areas experience late admission into the education system years. Secondary school
education in Kenya is aimed at meeting the needs of the students who terminate their education
after secondary school and also those who proceed onto tertiary education ("Education Info
Center," 2006). It takes 4 years to go through secondary school. The required secondary School
subjects are categorized into five groups as follows:

Group 1: English, Mathematics, and Kiswahili;

Group 2: Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Physical Sciences, and Biological Sciences;

Group 3: History and Government, Geography, Christian Religious Education, Islamic

Religious Education, Social Studies and Ethics, and Hindu Islamic Education;

Group 4: Home Science, Art and Design, Agriculture, Woodwork, Metalwork, Building
Construction, Power Mechanics, Electricity, Drawing and Design, and Aviation Technology; and

Group 5: French, German, Arabic, Music, Accounting, Commerce, Economics, Typewriting

and Office Practice.

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Students are required to take all three subjects in Group 1 and at least two 1 subjects from Group
2. They are also required to select subjects in the other three remaining area. The selection of
subjects is dependent upon what each of the individual schools offers. This is in turn dependent
upon the resources and teachers available in the individual schools. At the end of the fourth year
in secondary school, the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination (K.C.S.E.) is taken in the
mandatory and elective subjects above in preparation for tertiary and higher education.

KCSE Grading System

Grade A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- E
Points 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The average grade is based on performance in the seven subjects. Where a candidate sits for
more than seven subjects, the average grade is based on the best seven subjects. University
admission is based on the best seven subjects and performance in particular subjects relevant to
degree courses.

At the secondary level, the number of boarding schools is higher than at the primary school level.
Public secondary schools are funded by the government, local communities, or NGOs and are
managed through boards of governors and parent-teacher associations. The private schools on
the other hand are established and managed by private individuals or organizations. Many private
secondary schools still follow the British education system, offering British O-levels, A-levels,
and International Baccalaureate programs. Others schools follow the follow the American
education system. These British and American school systems mainly prepare students who plan
on attending university abroad.

Kenya has always placed education as a priority at all levels, promoting it as a key indicator for
social and economic development. At independence there were fewer than 900 000 Kenyan
children attending primary school but by 1992, the number had grown to 5.53 million
(UNESCO, 2008c). At independence there were 6056 primary schools and 891 000 students
enrolled in school. By 1990, there were over 14 690 primary schools, about five million students,
and 200 000 trained teachers. The teacher/student ratio in 1991 and 1992 was reported to be
1:31. Further, proportion of girls in school had grown to about 50% (UNESCO, 2008). Despite a
high attrition rate in secondary school, enrolments at this level have steadily been growing

Due to the large increase in primary school enrollment the number of students seeking secondary
school education has grown significantly. In 1963 there were of 151 secondary schools and the
total number of students enrolled was 30 120. Today there are about 3000 secondary schools and
the enrollment is about 620 000 students. Of these, about 40% are female students (UNESCO,
2008). In 2008, the government introduced a free secondary schooling education program that
targeted raising student enrolment to 1.4 million by the end of the year. The scheme proposed to
pay tuition fees for students while parents would still be required to meet boarding school costs
and school uniforms.

The enrolment rate in secondary school stands at 43% for girls and 47% for boys.

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TERTIARY EDUCATION

For students who go on to higher education in Kenya, there are seven public universities and 17
private universities with either full or interim charter. In addition to adding technical courses at
the primary and secondary school level, vocational education has been a focus of the education
system. The Ministry of Higher Education has developed a national strategy for technical and
vocational education and training aimed at the rehabilitation of physical facilities and equipment
and ensuring that vocational and technical institutions are appropriately equipped by 2010
(UNESCO, 2006) and there many two and three colleges which offer certificate diploma
programs. These public and private colleges offer technical hands-on skills in various fields
including, engineering, medical sciences, nursing, education, computer science, mass
communication, tourism, and business.

Enrollment
Kenya has 7 public and 17 private universities with an enrollment of about 50,000 students.
Roughly 80% are enrolled in public universities, while 20% of the total university student
population attends private universities.

More than 60,000 students enroll in middle-level colleges. The middle-level colleges cater to a
variety of post-secondary career courses leading to certificate, diploma, and higher diploma
awards. By 1990, Kenya had about 160 middle-level colleges; by 2000 it is estimated that the
country had more than 250 of them.

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 Undergraduate Student Enrollment at Kenyan Public and
Private Universities
1996-97 through 1999-2000 (Academic Year)

1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000

M F M F M F M F

Public
Universities

Nairobi
10,102 3,558 9,347 3,232 8,976 3,449 8,489 3,440
University

Kenyatta
5,520 3,054 4,530 2,613 4,738 3,020 4,189 3,007
University

JKUAT
1,818 417 2,556 452 2,471 621 2,512 625
University

Egerton
5,445 2,340 5,705 2,331 5,654 2,519 7,132 2,841
University

Moi
- - 3,588 1,363 3,705 1,418 4,136 1,649
University

Maseno
1,739 859 1,860 949 2,687 1,312 2,044 1,211
University

Subtotal 24,62410,22827,58610,94028,23112,33928,50212,773

Private
Accredited

Daystar
559 691 565 727 720 961 861 1,417
University

Baraton
489 433 470 372 498 454 537 507
University

Catholic
569 638 - - 742 660 807 810
University

U.S.I.U. 852 901 868 940 902 999 928 1,032

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Scott
Theological 65 13 68 14 80 16 84 19
Coll.

Subtotal 2,534 2,676 1,971 2,053 2,942 3,090 3,217 3,785

Other
Private
Univs.

Nazarene
116 82 230 159 200 119 264 154
University

NEGST 45 39 67 28 68 40 44 46

EAST 124 15 112 23 106 25 77 20

PAC 90 12 80 13 73 24 85 26

NIST 39 16 53 18 20 9 43 22

KHBC 52 23 37 21 42 27 47 36

St. Paul’s
92 9 92 13 84 15 83 17
T.C.

Methodist
- - - - 74 33 103 56
University

Subtotal 558 196 671 275 667 292 746 377

Total 27,71613,10030,22813,26831,84015,72132,46516,935

Source: Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, Statistics

Section, 2000

NB: Enrolment for Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, a public university,
is not included.

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Administrative Structure
University councils are charged with the responsibility of policy formulation, creation of
faculties and departments, and approval of the appointment of university staff. The university
senate is responsible to the council for academic affairs, financial, and administrative
management of the university. Senates are presided over by vice-chancellors and are dominated
by heads of departments who are potential vice-chancellors. Under the senate, faculty boards and
departments, oversee instruction and also administer examinations. Except for the faculty deans,
staff, and student representatives on university councils, all the other officers are appointed.

Funding and Resources

Until the early 1970s, university education in Kenya was free and the full cost was borne by the
government. During the 1991-92 academic year, the government introduced a cost-sharing
scheme that required students to pay direct fees of US$80 to US$107 annually per student and
total charges were raised to US$667.

The funding of public universities in Kenya is currently based on unit cost. The current unit cost
of US$1,600 is comprised of tuition of US$1,147 and catering, accommodation, and other costs
that amount to US$453. The method does not take into account differential costs of the various
degree programs.

Research and Publishing

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the volume of research carried out at the University of Nairobi, the
oldest and biggest public university in the country, was one of the highest in Africa. One of the
key factors that has stunted the growth of research in the Kenyan university system is lack of
adequate research funds.

The large portion of support (although inadequate) for postgraduate and staff training and
research work comes from donors and international organizations. Lack of adequate qualified
researchers constitutes the second major constraint to research expansion.

Gender Issues
In spite of this massive expansion, gender and regional imbalances have shaped and continue to
shape the development of higher education in Kenya as in other African countries. The
proportion of girls’ enrollment declines as they move up the educational ladder. As a result,
female students make up about 30 percent of total enrollments in the public universities. Female
students' under-representation is higher in engineering and technical-based professional
programs.

Gender parity is evident in all the accredited private universities, with women comprising 54.5%
of the 1999-2000 total student enrollment. Most women enroll in private universities because
they fail to secure admission into the public universities, and also due to the fact that the course
offerings in these institutions are in the social sciences, education, arts, business administration,
accounting, and computer science.

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MANAGEMENT OF EDUCATION

The Ministry of Education is responsible for providing education to its citizens (Ministry of
Education, 2008). The ministry’s tasks include employment of teachers for government schools,
distribution of learning resources, and implementation of education policies. It is responsible for
several sectors in education including: 1) Early Childhood Development and Pre-Primary
Education; 2) Primary Education; 3) Special Needs Education; 4) Secondary Education; 5)
Teacher Education (Primary Teacher Education, Diploma Teacher Education, and In-Service
Training Program).

The education sector takes up about 30% of the government’s annual expenditure accounting for
the largest share of the annual budget. The expenditure is distributed as follows:

Pre-Primary Education 0%

Primary Education 55%

Secondary Education 27%

Tertiary Education 16%

Other 2%

(UNESCO 2008b)

University education falls under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology.
The ministry’s mandates are: 1) Science Technology Innovation (STI) Policy; 2) Research
development, research authorization; and 3) Coordinating Technical Education (TE). Among
other roles, the higher education ministry is responsible for improving the quality, relevance,
equity and access to higher education and technical training and to enhance the capacity of the
national STI system towards demand driven STI, quality higher education and technical
education services (Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, 2009).

The vision of the Ministry is to provide “quality education for development," while its mission is
“to provide, promote and co-ordinate lifelong education, training and research for Kenya's
sustainable development.” MoE focuses on certain priority areas, notably attaining Universal
Primary Education (UPE) by 2105 within the context of the wider objective of the
UNESCO/World Bank initiative Education for All (EFA) (Ministry of Education, 2008;
UNESCO, 2006). The Ministry has several objectives:

1. Achieve EFA by 2015;

2. Achieve transition rate of 70% from 57% for primary to secondary school;
3. Enhance access, equity and quality in primary and secondary education; and
4. Develop a national strategy for technical and vocational education and training leading to
the rehabilitation of the physical facilities and equipment and making sure that vocational
and technical institutions are appropriately equipped by 2010;

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 5. Expand public universities and increase the number and proportion of all students
studying science subjects to 50%, with at least one third being women by 2010; and
6. Achieve 50% improvement of adult literacy by 2015 (Ministry of Education, 2008).

The Kenya Institute of Education (KIE), a semi-autonomous governmental agency, is

responsible for educational research and development of the curriculum. KIE is focused on
providing quality, relevant and affordable educational and training programs in response to a
changing social, economic and technological environment. The initiatives are met through
continual research, evaluation, assessment and the monitoring processes (Kenya Institute of
Education, 2009). KIE works closely with the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC),
the examining body responsible for developing and assessing national exams at various levels of
learning including the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of
Secondary Education (KCSE) (Kenya National Examination Council, 2008). The Teachers
Service Commission (TSC) is responsible for teacher recruitment, human resources services, and
place of government employed teachers (Ministry of Education, 2008).

KIE is responsible for: 1) Conducting research and evaluation in education and training; 2)
Designing and developing curriculum for all levels of education and training below the
university level; 3) Developing learning resources, including books, manuals, and multimedia
resources; 4) Conducting in-service training of teachers and trainers on new curriculum and
trends in education and training; 5) Conducting dissemination programs for education
administrators, evaluators, book publishers and other stakeholders; 6) Carrying out evaluation of
books to access their suitability; and 7) Developing on consultancy basis, programs for schools,
colleges, organizations and technical training institutions.

Kenya Vision 2030

Kenya Vision 2030 is the nation’s new development blueprint for 2008 to 2030 which aims at
making Kenya a newly industrializing, “middle income country providing high quality life for all
its citizens by the year 2030” (NESC, 2007). The plan is to be implemented in successive five-
year terms with the first plan covering 2008-2012. The education goals of the 2030 Vision are to
provide globally competitive quality education and training and research for development. This
is to be achieved through reducing literacy by increasing access to education, improving the
transition rate from primary to secondary schools, and raising the quality and relevance of
education. Other goals are the integration special needs education into learning and training
institutions, and increasing the adult literacy rate to 80%. The government also aims to increase
the enrollment in schools to 95% as well as the transition rates to technical colleges and higher
education to 8%. In addition, the rate of students joining universities should expand from 4.6% to
20% within this period, while simultaneously boosting emphasis on science and technology
courses.

The government has specified the implementation strategies which include integrating early
childhood into primary education, reforming secondary curricula, updating teacher education,
and strengthening partnerships with the private sector. In addition, the government has goals to
improve special needs programs and adult training program, and to revise the higher education
curriculum. Specific educational development projects for 2012 are to increase the number of

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secondary schools by building 560 new secondary schools, to establish a teachers’ recruitment
program to employ 28,000 more teachers, to establish a computer supply program that will equip
students with modern ICT skills, to build at least one boarding primary school in each
constituency in the pastoral districts for nomadic populations, and to roll out the education
voucher system program in five districts.

Vision 2030 also aims to capitalize on knowledge in science, technology and innovation (STI) in
order to function more efficiently, improve social welfare, and promote democratic governance.
STI is to be applied in all the sectors, and the education and training curricula in the country will
thus be modified to ensure that the creation, adoption, adaptation and usage of knowledge
becomes part of formal instruction. A new incentive structure will also be developed to support
the use of STI in specialized research centers, and universities.

Conclusion:

Kenya has a very dynamic education system which has been undergoing reforms to respond to
social and economic factors.

Currently, the pre-primary school education is not funded by the government, but pressure has
been mounting for the government to take over and fund these schools.

The primary school enrolment has is approaching 100%, but there are serious questions of
quality due to overcrowding and lack of teachers.

Secondary school enrolment is still very low (less than 50%), and it is even lower for girls. This
is an issue that requires to be addressed urgently.

At University level, enrolment is estimated at only 3%, despite the phenomenal increase in the
number of universities over the last few years. Universities also lack funding for research and
innovation. One way out of this is to foster links with other universities where in order to carry
out reaserach in a collaborative manner. In these way, researchers can also learn from each other,
and with time, Kenya can have a pool of trained and experienced researchers to tackle the
country’s problems, especially in relation to vision 2030 and the millennium Goals.

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