Early Childhood Education in Kenya.

Early Children Education (ECE) lays foundation for development and future education of children.  Kenya's early childhood education programme caters for children aged between four to five years.  On average, about 35 per cent of the eligible population is enrolled in early childhood education programmes, with the majority being in urban centers.  ECE is largely provided by the private sector, local authorities, NGOs and faith-based groups and the communities.

The government provides policy, develops curriculum and offers training for teachers.  In 2005, there were 1,643,175 pupils enrolled in ECE with 72,182 teachers.  Table 2 shows enrolment and number of teachers in early childhood education in Kenya.

Some of the challenges facing ECE include inadequate funding from government, lack of inspection, low participation of eligible age group, low remuneration for teachers, lack of relevant teaching and learning materials and variations in the curriculum used by the various centers.