Education inequality remains a significant challenge that hinders excellence in Kenya’s education sector and its contribution to economic development. While the government has made notable steps toward improving access to education, inequality remains high.
Inequality, in this context, means the gaps and disparities in educational opportunities and outcomes between privileged and disadvantaged groups. This includes differences in access, learning experiences, and academic achievement.
A survey conducted by Usawa Agenda reveals the grim reality of education inequality in the country. According to the 2023 Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (FLANA), 8.5% of school-age children were out of school. The survey revealed that most of these children are from underserved households and communities.
Education outcomes are much lower for low-income populations and in rural areas. For instance, net enrollment rates (NER) in pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools are much higher for children in the top 20 per cent bracket than for those in the bottom 20 per cent.
Key factors driving the educational inequality include limited infrastructure, insufficient educational resources, and scarcity of qualified teachers. Political influence in our education sector, often driven by personal interests and short-term gains, leads to inconsistent policies, unequal resource allocation, and a lack of long-term educational development, all of which exacerbate inequalities in this sector.
The implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), despite its huge promise, has inadvertently exacerbated inequality in basic primary education. The cost of CBC materials, including specialized course books and learning tools, is burdensome to low-income families.
Since its independence, the system seems to favor pupils from high-income families and those in urban settings. National schools are well-equipped, have better infrastructure, and provide a standard of learning, a system purely based on the colonial-era education. In contrast, learners attending sub-county secondary schools receive a lower quality of education compared to their counterparts in other categories. This ultimately creates gaps in academic performance and future opportunities.
Cost of Education Inequality
Education inequality carries substantial economic and social costs, including;
Loss of potential talent
When children from low-income families or disadvantaged backgrounds don’t receive quality education, their full potential is not achieved. Children attending under-resourced public schools lack the opportunity to develop their talents. This result in a loss of talent and innovation that could have transformed the country’s economy.
High poverty
Education inequality is one of the main drivers of the widening income inequality in Kenya. According to a recent report by OxFarm, less than 0.1% of people in Kenya own more wealth than the bottom 99.9%. The same report revealed that 10% of the population earned 23 times more than the poorest 10%. Education inequality is hurting us all. People with less education often face challenges in starting businesses or finding employment. This means the economic benefits of education are disproportionately enjoyed by the upper-income households whose children have access to quality education. Children from low-income households, on the other hand, are trapped in the cycle of poverty.
Lower GDP
Education inequality has a significant adverse effect on the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Unequal access to educational opportunities means a significant proportion of the population lacks the knowledge and skills necessary for a productive workforce. In addition, the income inequality created by education disparities leads to social unrest (like the GENZ demonstrations), which can further hinder economic growth.
Increased public spending
Equality in education can contribute to increased government expenditure on law enforcement, healthcare, and social welfare programs to address associated negative outcomes. For instance, low educational attainment is associated with poor health, including higher rates of chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. Lack of access to quality education also contributes to social issues such as teen pregnancy and risky alcohol use behaviors, which impose a heavy financial burden on the government.
Lessons from South Korea
Kenya can learn valuable lessons from South Korea’s education, particularly in achieving quality education and equal access to education. As it is widely known, Kenya and South Korea had the same GDP per capita and high poverty incidence in the early 1960s. However, the two countries took totally different paths when it comes to economic growth. The East Asian country experienced rapid economic growth while Kenya’s GDP remained relatively stable. In 2024, South Korea’s GDP stood at approximately US$1.75 trillion compared to US$120 billion for Kenya.
The difference in the economic trajectories between the countries is primarily attributed how they prioritized and invested in education. South Korea’s education system is built upon the principle of equal educational opportunity. Their system aims to provide equal access to educational resources and opportunities to all students, regardless of their social background. Unlike our system, where we have some prestigious schools with superior resources and infrastructure, their public schools are well-equipped, especially in terms of infrastructure and technology.
Since its independence, South Korea has made key policy choices to make education not just free, but also equal to all. Their government significantly increased its investment in education, particularly focusing on expanding school facilities and reforming higher education. Furthermore, everyone is entitled to excellent teachers. The government maintains an adequate supply of qualified teachers in primary and secondary schools. Teachers are granted the opportunity to acquire practical knowledge and skills for teaching.
The Korean government’s commitment to education equality is exemplified by the adoption of the equalization policy. Implemented in 1970s, the equalization policy aimed to reduce educational disparities and unhealthy competition between secondary schools. Also, the Korean government is currently supporting students with disabilities and students from socioeconomically disadvantaged classes under the principle of “Education for Everyone”.
Evidently, Korea’s emphasis on educational equality contributes to the Han River Miracle. The high standard of education enabled her to provide the necessary skilled workforce to power its creative economy. Currently, Korea is an IT, shipbuilding, and automobile manufacturing powerhouse. Hyundai is a global leader in the automobile industry and shipbuilding, while LG and Samsung dominate the global TV and smartphone markets.
Way forward
Cultivating educational equality is an effective approach to fuel rapid economic development. For many decades, Kenya has relied upon a colonial education system that restricted quality education to a few who would later serve as local administrators and skilled workers for their colonial projects. The era has passed when, every year, only around 50,000 students have access to well-equipped national schools while over 1 million students are left at the mercy of under-resourced and, most often, substandard schools.
To be clear, I am not against rewarding the best-performing students. However, the fact remains that without education equality, it is impossible to achieve rapid economic expansion comparable to Korea’s Han River Miracle, regardless of the government’s theory of development.
Apparently, we have been slow in implementing key education reforms, primarily because of poor governance, corruption, and infiltration of politics in our education system. Yes, we have made some progress, including the increase in transition to secondary school. However, we need serious policy reforms to promote equity and quality. These are just a few recommendations on what we should do to achieve equality. And I share these recommendations while being cognizant of the government’s initiative to promote equity and inclusion under the National Education Sector Strategic Plan 2023-2027.
First, the government should increase resource allocation for the construction of new public schools, especially in the remote and marginalized regions. No single Kenyan child should be learning under trees. Of course this is not an easy task. It requires massive investment. Our aim is to have a long-term plan to upgrade all schools, including building new schools. For instance, the government can aim to upgrade or build one or two thousand schools every year.
Second, we should establish equal standards of school infrastructure. No public school have more superior resources and infrastructure than the other. All schools should have the same basic facilities and resources to support a safe and effective environment. This includes adequate classrooms, libraries, computer labs, electricity, sanitation facilities, and appropriate facilities. We should have minimum design standards for classrooms. This means if we choose to install tiled floors in public schools, it should be done in all schools. We can’t have some students learning under trees or in poorly constructed classrooms, while others enjoy schools equipped with libraries, well-equipped labs, and high-end sports facilities. Then, we give the students the same examinations and expect them to perform the same way. Our aim is to not only provide access to schools and a learning environment, but also ensure that the education is effective and meets high standards.
Third, the government should guarantee free education for school and expand it to secondary education in the medium term. Every Kenyan child should be guaranteed access to high-quality free education. Our ultimate goal is to ensure most Kenyans get the highest level of education, which is university education.
Fourth, national schools should be abolished, and the secondary system should be categorised. This categorization oftentimes creates stigma, where people who attend the lower-ranked public schools are considered to be less qualified to hold higher offices in the country, including political leadership
Eliminating the categorization would be an effective way to achieve equalization and uproot the colonial legacies from our education system.
Fifth, we should align the education system with the national development goals. The system should provide the necessary skilled workforce at the right time.
Another one, the government should increase its support for students in need of special consideration, including orphans, students with disabilities, and students from socioeconomically disadvantaged classes. Such support includes free uniforms and meals.
And lastly, we should depoliticize our education system. The undue influence of politicians on our education is harmful. It’s the main reason why we have slow development and implementation of education reforms. A good example of the negative impact of politicized decision-making is the delayed disbursement of capitation. In my view, politicians should no longer interfere with our education system, which includes the disbursement of bursaries and the construction of schools through the NGCDF.. The management of our education system, including the construction of schools, should be reserved for the Ministry of Education and other relevant agencies.
Conclusion
These changes will apparently lead to a system that is fair to all and free from partisan agendas. And in this way, we can discover more talents and create a skilled labor force to power our economy. With the discovery of more talents, we can increase innovation and transform our manufacturing sector and other key sectors like agriculture and mining. And more foreign investors will stream to our country because we have an adequate supply of skilled workforce. This will create more jobs for our young people, and improve the livelihood of all Kenyans. I believe that’s one of the pathways to achieve a trillion-dollar economy, which will be the first one in Africa.
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