New Report Exposes Deep Inequalities In Kenya’s Education System From Primary To Senior School

A new education report has revealed deep-rooted disparities and persistent challenges across Kenya’s primary, junior, and senior secondary school levels, raising urgent questions about equity, quality, and infrastructure in public education.

Primary School: Low Learning Outcomes and Overcrowding

The report shows that only 4 in 10 Grade 4 learners can read and understand a Grade 3-level English story. Worse still, 3 in 10 Grade 6 learners are unable to do the same.

Children in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) perform significantly below their peers in urban areas; in North Eastern Kenya, only 2 in 10 Grade 4 pupils demonstrate basic literacy.

Preschool attendance has a marked impact: children who attended preschool perform 9% better in math and 18% better in English than those who did not.

Meanwhile, poor sanitation is widespread, with some schools reporting over twice the recommended number of students per toilet.

Junior School: Teacher Shortage and Resource Gaps

Teacher deployment remains inconsistent some schools have as few as one teacher.

A mere 21% of public junior school teachers specialize in STEM, and 35% of schools lack even one STEM teacher. Only 48% of learners have access to laboratories, severely affecting science instruction.

Senior School: Unequal Access and Infrastructure

KCSE performance strongly correlates with school type.

While 92.1% of national schools offer computer lessons, only 17.3% of sub-county schools do. Special schools consistently perform worst in national exams, pointing to chronic underfunding and inadequate support for learners with special needs.

Call for Bold Solutions

The report concludes with a call for innovative reforms, cross-sector collaboration, and increased investment in infrastructure, teacher development, and inclusivity to close the widening education gap.

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