Education in Kenya
Kenya’s education sector plan for 2018-2022 is a sector-wide plan that outlines the policy priorities along with programs and strategies for the education sector over the next five years. The plan builds on the successes and challenges of the 2013-2018 plan.
Primary school access and completion has greatly improved in both rural and urban areas, with gaps in counties in the north and north east. Overall, girls are more likely to stay in primary, transition to secondary and complete secondary compared to boys, but girls are severely disadvantaged in the arid and semi-arid regions in the north.
The Teacher Service Commission (TSC), an independent constitutional body reporting directly to the President of the Republic, is responsible for recruitment, deployment, training and performance appraisal of teachers.
Kenya’s local education group is called Education Development Partners Coordination Group, a highly representative stakeholder forum set up to support the ministry of Education in the successful implementation of the 2013–2018 education plan. In Kenya, development partners have been highly engaged in coordinating programs while overseeing the development of the new education sector plan.
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Latest grant
The current US$88.4 million GPE grant aims to improve early grade mathematics competency and strengthen management systems at school and national levels. The US$9.7 million additional financing will support the Government of Kenya to consolidate the gains in basic mathematics competency to further strengthen children’s foundational numeracy skills.
The additional financing focuses on four components:
- Improvement of early grade mathematics competency – By providing supervision/pedagogical support to teachers on the application of early grade mathematics methodologies in the classroom
- Strengthening school management and accountability – By integrating good school management practices and accountability mechanisms drawn from the school improvement plan
- Strengthening capacity for evidence-based policy development at national level – By producing and disseminating a statistical booklet on secondary education for 2019-2020; collecting of granular level data on the number of girls re-entering basic education; and providing technical training for the National Assessment Center staff
- Project coordination, communication, and monitoring and evaluation – By financing a survey on grade 2 students’ basic math competency; a study on teacher appraisal and professional development, and a study on equitable allocation of the student’s capitation grants.
The US$9.7 million grant will support the implementation of policies and or actions to reinforce equity, quality and efficiency in learning outcomes.
To improve learning outcomes the government will establish and roll out of a competency-based assessment for early education. With regards to equity, the government will adopt this competency-based assessment for students with special needs and disabilities. For efficiency, the government will increase the share of public schools complying with selected key elements of the new school capitation grant guidelines and operational manual.
The US$3 million results-based portion of the grant is keyed to achieving results in early education, extending educational opportunities to learners with special needs and disabilities, and schools’ compliance with new administrative guidelines to strengthen efficiency.
Grants
All amounts are in US dollars.
| Grant type | Years | Allocations | Disbursements | Grant agent | |
| Program implementation | 2020-2022 | 9,700,000 | - | World Bank | 2015-2020 | 88,400,000 | 83,009,838 | World Bank | Progress report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-2008 | 121,000,000 | 121,000,000 | World Bank | ||
| Sector plan development | 2013 | 250,000 | 248,350 | World Bank | |
| Program development | 2014 | 293,488 | 291,074 | World Bank | |
| TOTAL | 219,643,488 | 204,549,262 |
GPE has also provided the Elimu Yetu Coalition (EYC) with a grant from the Civil Society Education Fund, to support its engagement in education sector policy dialogue and citizens’ voice in education quality, equity, and financing and sector reform.
Education sector progress
The graphs below show overall progress in the education sector in Kenya, and GPE data shows the country progress on 16 indicators monitored in the GPE Results Framework.
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Source: World Bank - Education Data
Data on education are compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics from official responses to surveys and from reports provided by education authorities in each country.