Schooling is not Learning: A Case Study of Kenya ' s Primary Education

Abstract

The government of Kenya adopted Free Primary Education (FPE) in January 2003 with a main objective of this program is to provide education to all primary school children regardless of their economic backgrounds. Academic performance in Public Primary Schools in Kenya has been declining over time since the introduction of FPE. This research investigates the effective enrollment in the wake of FPE. A case study analysis is used which includes both primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics between the years 2002-2014 and a survey conducted in March 2016. Secondary data sources include written documents such as books, journals, newspapers among others. They form the basis of the discussion and analysis of the research. In this study, factors of school quality are investigated to find out if free primary education program is yielding optimal results, in line with Vision 2030, a government strategy to improve and sustain the economic growth. This research confirms previous findings that the free primary education policy has led to a decline in the educational quality. Hence for pupils to receive high-quality education that will help them, their families and their communities fully and truly to realize the promise of Free Primary Education, teacher pupil ratio needs to be lowered by hiring more teachers and building more classes.