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Kenya
Partners situated in Country
No partners are situated in this country, but one of our International Advisory Committee members is located in this country.
Kenya in a nutshell
The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the northeast, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan to the northwest, with the Indian Ocean running along the southeast border. The country is named after Mount Kenya, a very significant landmark and the second among the highest mountain peaks of Africa.
The capital city is Nairobi, Kenya's official language is English while the national language is Swahili.
Kenya is a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both the head of state, of government and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly.
Kenya has an estimated population of 34 million people with approximately six million people living in the urban areas. It has a diverse population comprising of 42 ethnic groups. Kenya is 582,646 sq km2 and it is the world's 47th largest country.
Kenya comprises eight provinces which are headed by a Provincial Commissioner (centrally appointed by the president): Central Province, Coast Province, Eastern Province, Nairobi Province, North Eastern Province, Nyanza Province, Rift Valley Province, Western Province. They are subdivided into districts, then into divisions, then into locations and then into sublocations. The City of Nairobi has the status of a full administrative province. The government supervises administration of districts and provinces. Local governance in Kenya is practised through local authorities.
Sources:
- State House Kenya - official site
- Government of Kenya - official site.
- Kenya Law Reports, Legislation
- Wikipedia's page on Kenya
- CIA - Kenya's Chief of State and Cabinet Members
Country education policy
Although the Kenya Constitution guarantees citizens rights, it is silent on education as a basic right and need. Read the Constitution of Kenya.
In 1963 the Kenyan government promised free primary education to its people. Citizens were expected to contribute to the education fund by paying fees, taxes, and labour services while most parents did not have the money to pay for their children’s education and were subsequently locked out of the school system. This promise did not take effect until 2003. In 2007 the government issued a statement declaring that from 2008, secondary education would be heavily subsidised, with the government footing all tuition fees.
But now that education is free, attendance has increased and there is a shortage of teachers and classrooms with children not getting sufficient attention from teachers due to the overcrowding of classrooms. This is a result of both children attending that could not afford to before, and children being taken out of lower-tier private schools in order to take advantage of free education. This has created demand for low cost private school where parents that could afford to pay the fees can send children to learn in a better environment. Some believe that a solution for the overcrowding in schools is to create more vocational training programs in order to creat alternative routes to employment.
The growth of Kenya's education sector has exceeded expectations, also for higher education: after the first university was established in 1970, five others have been created and the demand for higher education has resulted in the formation of many private universities. But although Kenya has its own universities, some parents choose to send their children to different countries; many believe that the United Kingdom has the best universities, and that it would be a great opportunity for their children to attend a university there. Kenyan universities are also more difficult to get accepted to due to extremely high demand for higher education and there is not nearly enough room in the universities.
The Kenyan government is slowly, but surely working to make education in Kenya better. The first twelve years of school are now free, although this has introduced the issue of overcrowding that now needs to be dealt with. The funding from the UK will help reconstruct some of the schools and hopefully make them a better learning environment. The UK announced in 2006 that:
- The UK would be providing a £55m grant to support implementation of the Ministry of Education’s five year plan, the Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (2005-2010).
- The UK has contributed £35m to the education sector in the past five years through the Strengthening Primary Education Programme. The support has assisted the Ministry of Education to help children get into and stay in school through the development of a simplified and cheaper primary curriculum; the provision of textbooks and learning materials in all schools; training for all primary teachers which has improved lesson planning, classroom practice and enjoyment of lessons by students; implementation of a successful large scale HIV/AIDS prevention programme in primary schools and strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems.
- Source: UNGEI Kenya Press Releases - UK announces major support for Education in Kenya
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) strives to make all Kenyans literate and its vision is Quality Education for Development. The MoEST has set specific targets against key priorities:
- Universal Primary Education (UPE) by 2005 and Education for All (EFA) by the year 2015;
- Achievement of Transition rate of 70% from Primary to Secondary from the current rate of 47% by 2010;
- Enhanced access, equity and quality in Primary and Secondary Education supported through capacity building for 45,000 education managers by 2005, and construction / renovation of physical facilities/equipment; and
- Developing a National Strategy for technical and vocational education and training in 2004, leading to the rehabilitation of physical facilities and equipment and making sure that Vocational and Technical Institutions are appropriately equipped by 2010
Educational Institutions:
- Teachers Service Commission which takes care of registering, recruiting, employing, assigning, remunerating, promoting, transferring, disciplining, delegating teachers and it has the function to Compile, publish, amend the Code of Regulations for Teachers. It's goal is to to keep under review standards of education, training, fitness to teach appropriate to persons entering the service.
- Kenya Institute of Education
- Public Universities Inspection Board which lists all sessional papers, parliament acts such as the Education Act, draft legislation, information on Kenya universities and tertiary institutions, reports, news ...
- Kenya National Examination Council is the national body responsible for overseeing national examination in Kenya for primary and secondary education.
- Commission for Higher Education: assures accreditation of HEIs
Relevant Laws and Acts:
- Constitution of Kenya
- Education Act (PDF)
- The Universities (Establishment of Universities) (Standardization, Accreditation and. Supervision) Rules, 1989 (PDF)
Sources:
- Wikipedia’s page about Kenyan education
- Government's web site - Education
- Wikipedia's page Education in Kenya
Country education system
Estimates of the Kenyan literacy rate range between 75 and 85 percent, with the female rate about 10 points lower than the male. The education system, beset by non-enrollment and low completion rates, offers eight years of compulsory primary education, beginning at age six, four years of secondary school, and four years of university education. The language of instruction from the secondary stage onward is English.
- Source: Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile: Kenya (PDF), June 2007
Kenya's education system is a three to four tier system. In 1985 Kenya introduced the current 8-4-4 system:
- Primary education: 8 years: age 6-13 (free and compulsory)
- Secondary education: 4 years: age 14-18(subsidized for students in Day Schools and the Government provides fees guidelines to all public schools)
- Higher education: 4 years: age 19-21 (subsidized for those selected through the Universities Joint Admission Board)
The 8-4-4 system was created to help those students who do not plan to pursue higher education. It has helped reduce the drop out rates and help those that leave primary school to find employment.
The system is silent on the pre-primary education, which makes four tiers. It lasts 3 years and targets children from age three to five and is an integral component of the education system as it is a key requirement for admission to Standard One (First Grade). It is also called preschooling, kindergarten or early childhood education.
Primary school age is 6/7-13/14 years. At the end of primary education, pupils sit the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), which determines those who proceed to secondary school or vocational training. It is free, but school uniforms and books are not provided by the government.
There are three types of secondary schools:
- Private schools: mostly offer British O-levels, followed by A-levels or the International Baccalaureate with the exception of a few schools that follow the American system. A few private schools offer the KCSE program alongside foreign systems giving students a choice of which to follow, e.g. Saint Mary's School, Nairobi.
- Government-aided public schools (mostly boarding schools): more selective and only one out of four children are accepted and acceptance is based on a child’s score on the Kenya Certification of Primary Education (KCPE). The public secondary schools are funded by the Government or communities and are managed through a Board of Governors and Parent Teacher Associations.
- Harambee schools: make up 75 percent of all secondary schools in the country and are less selective. Students who score lower on the KCPE exam attend harambee schools, trade schools, or drop out. The facilities in these schools are not as good as the government-aided ones and often lack books, qualified teachers, desks, etc.
The Kenya National Examinations Council is responsible for the Kenya Certificates for the schools (primary and secondary), adult education and business education. Its mission is to objectively test and evaluate the curriculum to enhance and safeguard globally acceptable certification standards and its vision is the efficient testing and evaluation for quality education
Lifelong learning
All Kenyan public universities and two of the private universities have introduced distance learning programmes in order to meet the increased need for lifelong learning.
- Source: Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) - Educational Technology Initiative: Report on Kenya (PDF - 14 pages), 2008
Source:
- Wikipedia's page on Kenya - Education
- Wikipedia's page Education in Kenya
- e-Government - e-Education
- Aideducation International - Kenya's education system
Higher education
There is a national examination at the end of Form Four in secondary education: the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), which determines those proceeding to the universities, other professional training or employment.
The Joint Admission Board (JAB) is responsible for selecting students joining the public universities. Other than the public schools, there are many private schools in the country, mainly in urban areas. Similarly, there are a number of international schools catering for various overseas educational systems.
Middle level Colleges are two or three year colleges that offer certificate, Diploma and Higher National Diploma qualifications. These colleges offer Technical hands-on skills in various fields such as Engineering, Medical Sciences, education, computer Science etc. They include Teacher Training colleges (TTCs), Kenya Medical Training colleges (KMTC), Kenya Polytechnic, Mombasa Polytechnic, Eldoret polytechnic, Kenya Institute of mass communication and many others. All these institutions are set up by various acts of parliament,
Sources:
- Wikipedia's page on Kenya - Education
- Wikipedia's page Education in Kenya
- e-Government - e-Education
Universities in Kenya
Colleges in Kenya
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Sources:
Higher education reform
As mentioned before, Kenya's education system is a three to four tier system. In 1985 Kenya introduced the current 8-4-4 system:
- 8 years Primary education: age 6-13 (free and compulsory)
- 4 years Secondary education: age 14-18(subsidized for students in Day Schools and the Government provides fees guidelines to all public schools)
- 4 years Higher education: age 19-21 (subsidized for those selected through the Universities Joint Admission Board)
- Related Document:
- Educational reform in Kenya, 2007, by Springer Netherlands
Administration and finance
The issue of overcrowded classes and high demand of university places is already addressed, but more specifically on higher education:
The facilities in some public universities are so small that when incoming freshman arrive most of the upper classmen have to be sent home for a while to make room. Universities, like primary schools, lack the funds that are needed. There are not nearly enough computers, and labs are small and unequipped. Some students will pay a little more to go to private universities because they do not want involved with the competition for admission. Also, private universities have better facilities and computer labs.
Source: Wikipedia’s page about Kenyan education
Enrolment
Public and Universities Students Enrolment by Gender 2004 /2005
| ENROLMENT | Mode | 2004/2005 | |
| INSTITUTION | |||
| Male | Female | ||
| PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES | |||
| 1. Nairobi | |||
| Full time | 9987 | 5250 | |
| Part time | 11281 | 6456 | |
| 2. Kenyatta | |||
| Full time | 4313 | 2887 | |
| Part time | 6939 | 1916 | |
| 3. Moi | |||
| Full time | 4304 | 3195 | |
| Part time | 2492 | 2019 | |
| 4. Egerton | |||
| Full time | 5540 | 1960 | |
| Part time | 810 | 287 | |
| 5. JKUAT | |||
| Full time | 2201 | 999 | |
| Part time | 2114 | 660 | |
| 6. Maseno | |||
| Full time | 2260 | 1960 | |
| Part time | 753 | 478 | |
| Subtotal | 53394 | 28097 | |
| Total | 81491 | ||
| PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES | |||
| Male | Female | ||
| Accredited | 3796 | 4546 | |
| Unaccredited | 801 | 907 | |
| Subtotal | 4597 | 5453 | |
| Total | 10050 | ||
| Overall Total | 91541 | ||
Funding for HEIs
Related news article: Kenya: Varsities Get Sh1 Billion for Expansion, 2008: "By 2012, the public universities should be able to absorb 5,000 to 10,000 more new students yearly in order to contain the high number of those who miss out," The assistant minister, who was accompanied by the Juja Member of Parliament, Mr George Thuo, praised the role played by private universities and colleges, and said that the Government was encouraging more individual entrepreneurs to invest in higher education.
This means sponsoring to HEIs to cut down on costs but also to award individual students with scholarships.
Sponsorship
Daystar University also mentions sponsorships in their Fee Structure for 2008-2009 (PDF).
To help the students, the University of Nairobi (UoN) for instance signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Basco Products (Kenya) Limited Company on 17th April 2007 that guarantees UoN Students scholarships: the company will grant cash awards for excellence in academics to 20 students annually.
Bursaries for Students
The Joint Admission Board (JAB) is responsible for selecting students joining the public universities. Other than the public HEIs, there are many private HEIs in the country, mainly in urban areas. Similarly, there are a number of international schools catering for various overseas educational systems.
There are two types of admissions by students:
- Sponsored by the Kenyan Government students: This is done through the national Joint Admission Board (JAB), the body that does admission of students for all public universities in Kenya.
- Self Sponsored students (for programmes commonly known as the ‘parallel programmes’): because the government sponsorship can cater for very few qualifying candidates, the university gives an option for self sponsorship. In this option, the admission will be done internally at the university.
Loans to students
The Government established the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) to administer the Student Loans Scheme. In addition, the Board is also empowered to recover all outstanding loans given to former university students by the Government of Kenya since 1952 through HELF and to establish a Revolving Fund from which funds can be drawn to lend out to needy Kenyan students pursuing higher education. The establishment of a revolving fund was also expected to ease pressure on the exchequer in financing education, which currently stands at 40% of the annual national budget.
In accordance with the current cost sharing policy, a student is required to pay Kshs.50,000/- per year to train at a public university. Out of this amount, HELB can award a maximum loan and bursary of Kshs.55,000/- and Kshs.8,000 respectively.
We must note however that the site states the following: it (HELB) is currently not in a position to provide loans to students studying outside the country and those on self sponsored programmes. Therefore, at the moment, it gives loans to needy Kenyan students who are admitted to public universities through the Joint Admissions Board and to those attending private chartered universities.
- Source: HELB Frequently Asked Questions
Related documents:
- Kenya Higher Education Profile, by the Boston College Center for International Higher Education (CIHE) and (PDF)
- Financing Higher Education in Kenya: Student perceptions and experiences, 2008, by Mary S. Ngolovoi
- Kenya Higher Education Profile, by the Boston College Center for International Higher Education (CIHE) and (PDF)
Quality assurance
The Commission of Higher Education is responsible for the accredidation of Higher Education in Kenya and was established by the The Universities Act Cap 210B (DOC).
The Commission “developed the “Establishment of Universities - (Standardization, Accreditation and Supervision Rules, 1989” (PDF), which provide for the establishment and accreditation of Universities. Accreditation in Kenya means public acceptance and confirmation evidenced by award of a Charter, which a university meets and continues to meet the standards of academic excellence set by the Commission. For any institutions to be accredited, the Commission must be satisfied that the institution concerned has adequate physical, human, library and financial resources, viable relevant academic programmes and sound structure of governance.”
The Standards and Guidelines that stipulate the establishment, accreditation and governing of university-related matters:
- Guidelines for preparing a Proposal for the Establishment of a Private University (PDF)
- Guidelines for Developing Rules & Regulations Governing the Conduct (PDF)
- Guidelines for Preparing Curriculum of Academic Programmes (PDF)
- Guidelines for Establishment of University Libraries and Facilities (PDF)
- Guidelines for Preparing Charters and Statutes (PDF)
Also, for the establishment of each University an Act is established, such as the Kenyatta University Act, 1985 (PDF).
In addition to the public universities there are also private universities in the country offering a range of degree programmes, which are supervised and controlled by the Commission for Higher Education.
Sources:
- The Commission of Higher Education (EN)
- Establishment of Universities (Standardization, Accreditation and Supervision) Rules, 1989, PDF - EN - 32 pages
- Public Universities Inspection Board
Country's HEIs in the information society
Towards the information society
One of the main priorities of the Government towards the realisation of national development goals and objectives for Wealth and Employment Creation was the e-Government, which the government committed to establish by June 2004. Effective and operational e-Government will facilitate better and efficient delivery of information and services to the citizens, promote productivity among public servants, encourage participation of citizens in Government and empower all Kenyans.
Related Documents:
Connectivity
The main users of the Internet in Kenya are multinational corporations, international organisations and NGOs.
A government policy to lift duties on imported computers and related equipment has resulted in an increase in the number of Internet cafes in rural areas: about 2 per cent of Kenyans in rural areas have access to the Internet and they use it to get information on current affairs, to communicate and for commercial and agricultural purposes.
However, there are still significant barriers:
- cost: given that 50 per cent of Kenya’s population live below the poverty line, the cost of Internet access is relatively high due to the local telephone call rates in areas outside the major cities.
- lack of electricity or shortages in supply: most Internet cafes use generators or solar power.
- language: The use of ICT in urban areas has been may have been influenced positively by the wide use of English, one of Kenya’s official languages, in which most IT services are conducted. However, there are at least 40 indigenous languages in the country, and sometimes this has been seen as a barrier to the spread of ICT. If rural communities are to reap the benefits of the Internet, then the service must be presented in their own languages.
- low literacy levels
- poor telephone infrastructure, travelling distance to reach Internet cafe
In Kenya, ICT integration in education is more recent, of a smaller scale and experimental in nature. However, the use of computers in education has progressed slowly from the acquisition of basic computer skills to computer-aided teaching, communications and research.
Source: Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) - Educational Technology Initiative: Report on Kenya (PDF - 14 pages), 2008
The Kenyan government has initiated several ICT programmes targeting the youth and the Kenya Vision 2030 identifies the potential of ICT in accelerating GDP growth rate to more than 10% by 2012 through Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). The full implementation of BPO will generate employment of more than 7,500 direct jobs by 2012.
The government is also supporting the establishment of digital villages at the constituency level in order to provide avenues for full utilization of Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) and facilitate online delivery of services.
Recent survey on Kenya connectivity levels showed that 2.5 million people had access to the internet, less than 8% of the population. With the completion of two twin projects, the cost of accessing Internet will drastically reduce to 70% implying that more Kenyans will have access.
These twin projects are:
- The East African Marine System (TEAMS) will connect the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa to Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates and will provide broadband connectivity.
- Fibre Optic National Network (FONN) will ensure maximum utilization of capacity and add connectivity in all districts within the country.
Source: Ministry of Information & Communication > News article > Fibre optic cable to significantly improve Kenya’s connectivity , 2008
To show the progress, the 2006 Kenya ICT Strategy lists Mobile Connectivity: 4,295,000 in 2004 and 1,500,000 Internet users.
Related Organisations:
- The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) is responsible for developing and co-ordinating the policies and strategies with respect to development and operation of telecommunications services in Kenya. In this regard, the Commission licences telecommunications operators and service providers, and monitors their performance on a continuous basis to ensure that they discharge the obligations as stipulated in their licences, and in keeping with the provisions of the Kenya Communications Act 1998 and the Kenya Communications Regulations 2001 (PDF).
- Related Documents:
Pilot project - handhelds
In the Kenyan school, Mbita Point primary school, a pilot project is being run by EduVision, which is looking at ways to use low cost computer systems to get up-to-date information to students who are currently stuck with ancient textbooks. The students can do exercises in their school textbooks which have been digitised. The non-governmental organisation uses a combination of satellite radio and handheld computers called E-slates. They connect via a wireless connection to a base station in the school. The system is cheaper than installing and maintaining an internet connection and conventional computer network.
Source: Ministry of Information & Communication > News article Kenyan school turns to handhelds, 2008
Related Sources:
Information society strategy
The national ICT policy of Kenya is a product of the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (2003–2007) and was developed by the Ministry of Information & Communication in 2006 (see MIC, 2006). Its mission is to improve the livelihoods of Kenyans by ensuring the availability of accessible, efficient, reliable and affordable ICT services. This policy is based on the model adopted by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in 2003 (see Kenya ICT4D National Policy, 2006).
- Sources:
There is also the 2006 Kenya ICT Strategy, that mainly focuses on the economic implications rather than the impact on education.
The Ministry of Information and Communications also published its Strategic Plan for the period 2006-2010, 2008 which adopts various approaches that aim at improving productivity in the Ministry and facilitate the growth of the ICT sector in the country as well as the region.
Related documents::
- ICT Policy in Kenya and Ways of Improving the Existing ICT Policy (PDF), 2007, by John M. Kandiri, ICT Lecturer Strathmore University
- Stakeholders meet to discuss an all-inclusive information society in Kenya, 2004, By ALIN-EA
Information society organisations:
- Kenya ICT Federation (KIF) is an independent association, also acting as the ICT Board of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance. Its goal is to achieve a high quality of life for Kenyans, and national competitiveness, by stimulating effective ICT policy, strategy and usage. Its mission is to partner with other stakeholders in advising and influencing the Government to develop and implement a national ICT Strategy.
- Women's Voices is part of the international Women's Information and Communications Technology (WICT) project which works with poor urban women in Kenya, Peru and Zimbabwe by supporting their existing communication skills. The women in each country received brief training in video use before taking control in using it to reach, inform and influence those who have the power to affect their lives.
Source: UNESCO Communication/Information Portals - Observatory Portal: Regions: Africa: Kenya
Virtual initiatives in Kenyan Higher Education
Interesting Virtual Campus Initiatives
The African Virtual University (AVU) is located in Kenya. It has a separate Re.ViCa wiki page: African Virtual University.
The AVU is an independent, intergovernmental organisation that was started in 1997 and has its headquarters in Nairobi. Its main objective is to promote and support initiatives in open, distance and electronic learning (ODEL) in Africa (Dzvimbo, n.d.).
The AVU is a network of African tertiary education and training institutions that are involved in the use of various ODEL methodologies to increase access to their own demand-driven programmes in an affordable, cost-effective, flexible and sustainable manner. The AVU has made this possible by developing a learning platform that allows institutions from different countries with different levels of technological and educational development to network through the use of ODEL. In such a networked environment, e-learning should thrive because it allows for the rapid updating and sharing of information, and instruction. This environment promotes group interaction, institutional collaboration and self-learning.
Source: Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) - Educational Technology Initiative: Report on Kenya (PDF - 14 pages), 2008
Interesting Programmes
Several African universities are using virtual learning environments (VLEs) to collaborate in content development and delivery practices; the African Virtual University (AVU) is an example of this.
- e-Learning portal at the University of Nairobi
- e-Learning portal at Kenyatta University (Moodle). KU represents, according to UNESCO's case studies, the model of an existing institution that added a 'virtual' unit to extend its educational offer through participation in an international project. It was one of the initial six institutions that joined the African Virtual University (AVU). Kenyatta University launched e-Learning as a mode of delivery on 14th June 2005, with a aim of reaching out to the wide clientele of students enrolled in both regular and distance Learning programmes within the Main Campus, Constituent Campuses and Regional Centres both within Kenya and other countries across continents. It also established an e-Learning Coordinating Center (eLCC) in December 2006 to coordinate all e-Learning programmes in the University.
- e-Learning portal at the JKUAT
- e-Learning portal at the United States International University (USIU) with a subdivision into WebCT, Moodle and a Forum.
- e-learning portal (moodle) at the Catholic University Of Eastern Africa (CUEA)
Re.ViCa Case Study
At the moment, there is no case study for Kenya
References
- Government of Kenya – official web site
- Government’s web page on Education
- Ministry of Education
- Wikipedia's page on Kenya
- Wikipedia’s page about Kenyan education
- Kenya Higher Education Profile, by the Boston College Center for International Higher Education (CIHE)
- Wikipedia’s page on Kenyan Schools and Universities
- Wikipedia’s page about Kenyan education
- The Commission of Higher Education (EN)
- Guidelines for Commission of Higher Education Accredidation
- Establishment of Universities)(Standardization, Accreditation and Supervision) Rules, 1989 (PDF)
- Kenya National Examinations Council
- Public Universities Inspection Board
- Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) - Educational Technology Initiative: report on Kenya (PDF - 14 pages)