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Can Kenya’s National Schools Really Build National Unity?

Kenya has long looked to education as more than a pathway to academic achievement. In a country where ethnic identity can shape political and social relationships, bringing young people from different communities into the same classrooms has also been seen as a way of building a stronger sense of nationhood. But does simply putting students from different backgrounds in the same school make them trust one another? New research from Kenya suggests the answer is more complicated. A study published in the British Journal of Political Science , led by Jaimie Bleck, Robert Dowd, Danice Brown Guzmán, and Mizizi Elimu Afrika researchers Dr. John Mugo and Jackline Oluoch-Aridi, examined 984 secondary-school students in 20 schools to assess whether exposure to a more ethnically diverse student population influences friendship, trust, tolerance and national identity. The findings offer both encouragement and a warning for education policymakers: diversity can create an opportunity...
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Can Village Sport Help Keep Teenagers in School and Away From Early Parenthood?

Every week during the August holiday, young people from rural schools and surrounding communities converge on the playing field for football tournaments that are becoming more than sporting events.   Four tournaments have already been held, with another planned each week as learners remain out of school.   For the coaches and community leaders behind the activities, the matches provide an opportunity to reach young people with a message that extends beyond sport: stay in school, make responsible choices and seek guidance when faced with challenges.   Coach Kevin Kirua says the tournaments have received positive feedback from parents, who appreciate the activities and their impact on young people.   “Since we started the tournaments, we have received very positive feedback from parents. They appreciate what we are doing and the impact the activities are having on the young people,” he says.   For the players, the tournaments offer a constructive way t...
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Kenya's University Funding Crisis Demands Lasting Solutions

Kenya's higher education sector finds itself at a critical crossroads. Public universities, once regarded as centres of excellence and engines of national development, are grappling with mounting financial pressures, operational challenges and growing uncertainty over how they should be funded. The debate surrounding university financing has intensified following the introduction of a new student-centred funding model. The model was intended to make higher education more equitable by directing financial support according to students' levels of need rather than applying a uniform funding approach. However, its implementation has generated significant public debate, legal challenges and uncertainty among students, parents, and university administrators. The challenge facing policymakers extends beyond selecting a funding formula. It is about rebuilding confidence in a system that millions of Kenyans rely upon as a pathway to social mobility and economic growth. Univer...
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Kenya's Strong Math Ranking Masks a Persistent Learning Gap

Kenya has committed KSh784.5 billion to education in the 2026/27 financial year, reaffirming the sector's position as the country's largest public investment. The allocation underscores the government's commitment to improving access to quality education and equipping learners with the skills needed to drive the country's economic and social transformation. Yet as the country celebrates record investment in the sector, recent national and international assessments point to a persistent challenge that money alone cannot solve: too many Kenyan children are still struggling with mathematics. The International Common Assessment of Numeracy (ICAN) 2025 found that 62 per cent of Kenyan children aged between five and 16 years met the minimum mathematics proficiency level, placing Kenya second among the 11 participating countries, behind only Mexico. However, the findings also reveal that 38 per cent of children did not attain the minimum proficiency benchmark, mean...
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Why Kenya Must Rethink Education Equity

The release of UNESCO's latest Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report should be welcomed as a milestone for education in Africa. After decades of investment, policy reforms and advocacy, the continent achieved gender parity in primary school enrolment in 2021 and is edging closer to parity in lower secondary education. Yet the report also reminds us that progress is far from complete. In 2024, Africa still had only 93 girls enrolled in upper secondary school for every 100 boys. That is an achievement worth celebrating. But celebration should never become complacency. The danger with the language of "gender parity" is that it can create the illusion that the education challenge has largely been solved. Numbers can tell us how many children enter school, but they cannot tell us whether education systems are fair, whether learners acquire meaningful skills, or whether the most vulnerable children are receiving the support they need. Kenya illustrates this contr...
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How Stigma Is Denying Teenage Girls Right to Education

Every morning, as the school bell cuts through the cool air of Transmara South, hundreds of students file into classrooms carrying books, assignments and dreams of a better future. Yet, for many teenage mothers, the journey back to school ends long before they reach the classroom door. The common assumption is that motherhood itself forces girls out of school permanently. But emerging evidence suggests a more painful reality: what keeps most of them away is not the baby they carry in their arms, but the shame society places on their shoulders. Data presented by Usawa Agenda during the webinar, "Data to Dialogue: Unpacking the Usawa Agenda 2026 Report Confirmation," paints a sobering picture of the struggles teenage mothers face in reclaiming their education. According to the findings, 45.2 per cent of girls who fail to return to school after pregnancy cite stigma as the biggest obstacle. The figure is higher than any other barrier identified. It means that nearly ...
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Why Kenya’s Education Funding Gap Should Alarm Every Kenyan

The revelation that Kenya's Ministry of Education faces a KSh102 billion funding gap ahead of the 2026/27 budget should alarm every Kenyan. Education is not merely another government department competing for resources; it is the foundation upon which the country's future rests. Yet once again, the sector finds itself pleading for funds to sustain basic services that should have been guaranteed and protected. The numbers tell a troubling story. The Ministry requested KSh770 billion but was allocated KSh668.3 billion, leaving a deficit large enough to threaten free primary education, junior secondary education, school feeding programmes, and capitation support for millions of learners. Government officials have warned that more than 1.5 million learners could miss capitation support if the gap is not addressed. What is most disturbing is that this crisis did not emerge overnight. Education funding deficits have been repeatedly reported over the past several years. Ear...
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