Education Challenges in Kenya

The Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (KESSP) identifies the following as some of the constraints facing education at various levels:

•  Lack of adequate infrastructure and shortage of permanent classrooms in primary schools particularly in poor districts,
• Lack of clear legal guidelines on the implementation of inclusive education and non-formal education programs;
• Lack of reliable data on children with special needs, out-of-school children and illiterate adults and youth;
• Shortfall of adult literacy teachers as well as teaching and learning materials;
• Low transition rates from primary to secondary; secondary to higher education institutions;
• Outdated curricula for technical, vocational education and training.
• Inadequate physical facilities for technical, vocational education and training as well as mechanisms for quality assurance;
• Limited resources for expansion of universities to cope with the number of students leaving secondary schools;
• Mismatch between skills offered by universities and the demands of the labour market.
• High number of HIV/AIDS orphans.
• High pupils: teacher ratios in densely populated areas and low pupil: teacher ratios in less populated regions; and
• Due to the need to contain the wage bull o manageable levels, the government does not employ new teachers, but only replaces those who leave through death, resignation or retirement.  This has led to shortfall of teachers in schools.