Abstract
Achieving universal primary education (UPE) is one of international development goals. In the light of this goal, the Kenyan Government introduced a policy of free primary education (FPE) effective in 2003, when the new government came to power. Although some other countries have introduced FPE, its introduction has not been based on careful planning and preparation. It is often introduced as a political decision. This has marginalized the role of research and professionals. The article is a report on a case study of critical analysis of implementing FPE policy in Kenya, and implications for the achievement of UPE are explored.
Many sub-Saharan African countries gained independence from colonial rule in the early 1960s. School enrolment ratios have since then steadily increased. However, African economies stagnated, particularly in the late1970s and 1980s. Enrolment ratios did not improve, and at the same time there was a decline in the quality of education. One third of out-of-school children are in sub-Saharan African countries; hence achieving UPE is always a priority in their national plans. Malawi and Uganda attempted to attain UPE by implementing an FPE policy, but this resulted in further lowering education quality. Class-sizes became larger, particularly in the lower grades. There was a shortage of classrooms and teachers to accommodate the dramatic increase in the number of pupils.
The Kenyan Government spends almost40per cent of its current national expenditure on education.Education indices such as primary school enrolment ratios of the country are good in comparison to those of other developing countries.However, the Kenyan education system is characterized by inefficiency in terms of the utilization of teachers and high grade repetition and dropout rates.The Kenya National Union of Teachers (NUT) has strong power in the political arena, and teachers in Kenya are relatively well paid in comparison with those in neighboring countries. However, the enrolment and completion rates in primary education have been declining in spite of an increase in educational budgets.Drastic measures need to be taken to reform the education system as a whole.
