Abstract:
Kenya has made good progress in terms of access to education. The gross enrolment rate (GER) in pre-primary increased from 57.6% in 2004 to 76.5% in 2015; in primary the GER has increased from 88.7% in 2000 to 103.6% in 2015, and in secondary from 28.8% in 2005 to 63.3% in 2015 (MOEST, 2016). However, there are still issues in the system, such as late-entry into school, and inefficiencies like repetition and drop-out. In terms of equity, across the country more girls are enrolled than boys with the exception of the north eastern region where the reverse is true. Children from the arid and semi-arid lands are particularly disadvantaged, as are those from poorer households. Meanwhile learning outcomes are far below expectations. According to the 2014 Uwezo assessment, 39% of 7 to 13 year olds could solve class two numeracy and literacy problems. Again the north eastern region is far below the national average, and nationally girls outperformed boys on the tests, with the reverse in the north east (Uwezo, 2016). In recent years, following the publication of Kenya’s Vision 2030 and the 2010 Constitution, momentum has grown behind ambitions to reform the education curriculum. This new curriculum would aim to align with the updated government policies and vision, as well as reflecting on criticisms of the sector and the existing curriculum. The curriculum reform process is led by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST), with the Kenyan Institute for Curriculum Development taking responsibility for technical development and advice to the Ministry.
