Education in Kenya

The Kenyan education system consists of eight years of primary school, four years of secondary school, and four years of higher education, 8-4-4.  Schooling is required for 8 years. A few years ago, a law was passed making primary education free in Kenya. While technically "free", in order to attend students must meet the cost of uniforms, books, and supplies. For many of families living in the Kayole-Soweto slums, this makes "free"  primary education impossible, so they enroll their children in informal/community schools such as Galilee and Waddington High.

The quality of schools varies a great deal, from the well-funded and equipped private, national and provincial schools to the desperately under equipped and poorly staffed community schools.  The majority of poor Kenyans do not get more than a primary school education. Examinations taken at the end of the 8th and 12th grades determine whether students will be admitted into high school and university.

 

The National Curriculum has been in place for some time and is heavily influenced by the British system. The first national exam is the KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education), which is taken at the end of Standard 8, the last year of primary school. This is an extremely important exam, since the marks gained determine the type of secondary school which a student can go on to.  Secondary education is extremely expensive and only the better off can afford to move into Form 1.

Kenyan textbooks are very good.  But they are comparatively expensive, and therefore nearly all community schools have either none or a very small number. The  majority of children cannot afford to buy their own textbooks. It is not uncommon for 3 to 6 students to share a book.

Galilee Primary School and Waddington High School follow the national curriculum. Subjects taught include Math, Science, Social Studies (Geography, History and Civics), English, Kiswahili, and Bible.

The official languages of Kenya are English and Kiswahili, but the first language for most of our students is their tribal language. This means that, since English is the official language of education, children are being taught in their third language.