{"id":72739,"date":"2024-07-16T19:10:11","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T19:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/?p=72739"},"modified":"2025-12-14T04:42:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:42:49","slug":"how-free-is-public-education-the-hidden-costs-of-free-education-in-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/how-free-is-public-education-the-hidden-costs-of-free-education-in-kenya\/","title":{"rendered":"How \u2018free\u2019 is public education? The hidden costs of free education in Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kenya<\/strong><\/a>, along with all other African jurisdictions, has committed to guaranteeing 12 years of primary and secondary education for all children in line with the African Union\u2019s (AU) Continental Education Strategy (Human Rights Watch, 2024). Despite this, and visible domestic policy efforts to ensure and provide \u2018free\u2019 <\/strong>education<\/strong><\/a>, hidden costs continue to prevent large numbers of children from accessing education. If not addressed, these expenses threaten to undermine the legitimacy of the country\u2019s educational framework, and risk alienating the most vulnerable children from future opportunities. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenya’s education policies and international commitments<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Africa<\/a> possesses the highest regional proportion of out-of-school children; nearly 100 million children of primary and secondary school age were outside of permanent education in 2021 (Human Rights Watch, 2024). Against this backdrop, the 2024 Day of the African Child identified \u201cEducation for All Children in Africa\u201d as its central theme (Human Rights Watch, 2024). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenya\u2019s legislative and policy framework provides a series of guarantees and privileges for all children seeking to access education. At an international level, Kenya is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child<\/a> (UNCRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child<\/a> (ACWRC), from which it derives fundamental human rights for children. Kenya is also committed to working towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which encourages countries to ensure access to inclusive, equitable and quality education for all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenya\u2019s 2010 Constitution, Children\u2019s Act (2001) and National Children Policy (2010) make up the core domestic legal framework. These are supplemented by legislative policies on basic education, teachers\u2019 services, special needs in education, alternative provisions and nomadic education (National Council for Children\u2019s Services, 2015). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article 53 of Kenya\u2019s Constitution guarantees basic education – a phrase often synonymous with primary education – for every child. This is reflected in the Education Act, which provides for the holistic maintenance of educational systems, resources and governance structures to ensure the provision of free education (Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Implementation and impact of free education policies in Kenya<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Collectively, these policies support the government\u2019s attempt to ensure free education<\/a> for all and, crucially, deliver a 100% transition rate from primary to secondary level education (Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform, 2020). This forms part of Kenya\u2019s flagship Vision 2030 Strategy, a development framework presenting the country\u2019s roadmap for development and prosperity. Kenya\u2019s efforts to provide free basic education are evident in the implementation of the policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the 1970s the country has subsidised education at all levels, evolving to a full cost-sharing education policy in 1986 (Areba, 2011). In 2003, Kenya<\/a> introduced free primary education, leading to an immediate increase in enrolment to 84% (UKAID, 2024). This was followed by the introduction of free secondary education in 2007 (Areba, 2015). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robust policy combined with consistent effort has continued to yield observable fruit in recent years. As of 2022, roughly 93% of the country\u2019s children were enrolled in primary school education (UNICEF, 2022). This reflects an identified upward trend in net primary school enrolment throughout the 2010s (Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform, 2020). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children have also been completing primary education at an impressive rate: over 85% of children completed primary education in 2019 (Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform, 2020). Between 2018 and 2020, the percentage of students transitioning from primary to secondary school also increased from 83% to 95% (Kibaara, 2021). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The myth of accessibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Though encouraging, these positive statistics overshadow a significant portion of children who remain unable to access primary or secondary education<\/a>. A research from 2022 indicates secondary school enrolment nationwide sits at just over 50% (UNICEF, 2022). More broadly, 2.5 million children aged 4-17 have never been to school (UNICEF, 2022). The inconsistency between Kenya\u2019s improving primary to secondary school transition rate and persisting large numbers of children failing to access education can be attributed, at least in part, to hidden costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Kenyan<\/a> government remains the chief financial provider of free primary and secondary education, economic challenges and faults in the education infrastructure have enabled schools to find ways to push costs onto children and their families (Areba, 2011). Overarchingly, the government maintains primary responsibility for school staff salaries and infrastructural maintenance, however, this leaves wiggle room for an array of crucial, essential costs, including (Areba, 2011):<\/p>\n\n\n\n