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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 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 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.
Source: Wikipedia's page on Kenya
Related Documents:
- State House Kenya - official site
- CIA - Kenya's Chief of State and Cabinet Members
- Government of Kenya - official site.
Country education policy
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 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 ...
Relevant Document: Education Act (PDF)
Sources:
- Wikipedia’s page about Kenyan education
- Government's web site - Education
- Wikipedia's page Education in Kenya
Country education system
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.
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
Administration and finance
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.
The UK Government is giving Kenya seven billion shillings (ninety-seven million US) to help support the free education system. The extra money will be used to improve the health programs in all schools. Also, it will be used in purchasing books and learning materials for all of the schools. The money will also go towards expanding secondary education and universities. Reconstruction will occur in classrooms and improvements in water and sanitation facilities.
Source: Wikipedia’s page about Kenyan education
Quality assurance
“The Commission wishes, through this Website, to present an overview of higher education in Kenya and to inform the public of the quality assurance mechanisms which have been put in place in the sector.”
“The Commission of Higher Education 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 Guidelines can be downloaded online in PDF format:
- Guidelines for preparing a Proposal for the Establishment of a Private University
- Guidelines for Developing Rules & Regulations Governing the Conduct
- Guidelines for Preparing Curriculum of Academic Programmes
- Guidelines for Establishment of University Libraries and Facilities
- Guidelines for Preparing Charters and Statutes
Sources:
- The Commission of Higher Education (EN)
- Establishment of Universities (Standardization, Accreditation and Supervision) Rules, 1989 (PDF)
- Public Universities Inspection Board
There is also the Kenya National Examinations Council but at first glance it’s not clear if this is meant for HEIs.
Country's HEIs in the information society
Source: Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) - Educational Technology Initiative: report on Kenya (PDF - 14 pages)
Towards the information society
Information society strategy
Virtual initiatives in HE
African Virtual University (AVU) is located in Kenya. More info to follow
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)