In Kenya, one of President Mwai Kibaki’s first acts as leader in 2002 was to abolish school fees for public education up to grade 8. Overnight, school attendance doubled while no new teachers were hired. Today, the student-teacher ratio in some classrooms is 100 to 1 and the quality of education in Kenya is declining as a result. While primary education remains free, most children will not go on to high school due to prohibitively high fees.
Due to the declining quality of education offered in Kenya’s free primary system, the importance of a secondary education cannot be overstated. Official estimates claim that while 7.6 million Kenyans attend primary schools, only about 810,000 are currently enrolled in high school. Even more alarming are the statistics for Kenyans attending university. In 2005, only 10,211 students went on to join universities and colleges after high school.
Because most secondary education in Kenya takes place in boarding schools, the KEF handpicks each school to ensure our students will be safe, healthy and receive a high-quality education. To achieve these standards we use both government and private schools that are equipped with well-trained teachers, electricity, computers and access to clean water.
