Kaimenyi: Over 2m children not learning

What you need to know:

  • The children are mainly found in remote and marginalised areas, regions affected by conflict as well as those inhabited by nomads, the CS said.
  • According to the report, over 40 per cent of children from the poorest families in slums attend private schools. The number has increased steadily since the introduction of free primary education in 2003.
  • The report indicates that abolishing fees does not seem to have helped children in the nomadic communities to enrol in school.

Over two million children are not attending school, Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has said.

The children are mainly found in remote and marginalised areas, regions affected by conflict as well as those inhabited by nomads, the CS said.
Speaking in Nairobi yesterday during the launch of the Global Monitoring Report — Education for All 2000-2015, Prof Kaimenyi said measures had been put in place to address the problem.

He said low-cost boarding schools and mobile schools have been increased. In addition, lunch and sanitary towels are provided.

“These strategies are aimed at improving gender parity as required in the national education sector plan of 2013 to 2018,” Prof Kaimenyi said.

According to the report, over 40 per cent of children from the poorest families in slums attend private schools. The number has increased steadily since the introduction of free primary education in 2003.

The report indicates that abolishing fees does not seem to have helped children in the nomadic communities to enrol in school.

“In the arid and semi-arid areas, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are more visible than the government in providing goods and services, including education,” the report adds.

It notes that the establishment of NGOs and civil society networks in poor urban settlements has raised awareness on slum dwellers’ difficulty in accessing education

“In the absence of adequate government policy and planning, the NGOs and the private sector have played a significant role in providing education for slum dwellers. Low-fee private schools have increased in urban slums,” the report says.

However, Prof Kaimenyi assured Kenyans that the launch of the National Council of Nomadic Education would ensure more children register in schools.

He said the report would help the government to identify priorities that would form a base for the post-2015 education agenda.