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, meaning more than one in every three learners assessed lacked the foundational numeracy skills expected at Grade Two level.

The concern is echoed by Kenya's own assessment system. Results from the 2025 Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) show that only 32.44 per cent of learners met or exceeded expectations in mathematics, making it one of the weakest-performing learning areas. Although the ICAN and KJSEA assessments measure different groups of learners using different methodologies, both point to the same reality: mathematics remains a significant learning challenge for many Kenyan children.

The ICAN assessment provides another important insight. It found that children's mathematics proficiency is more strongly associated with progression through school than with age alone, suggesting that what happens inside classrooms has a greater influence on learning than simply growing older.  This finding shifts attention from enrolment and attendance to the quality of teaching, classroom support and learners' mastery of foundational concepts before advancing to higher grades.

The newly enacted education budget provides an opportunity to address these challenges. The largest share of the allocation will go to the Teachers Service Commission, followed by funding for basic education, higher education and technical and vocational training. While these investments are essential for sustaining the education system, the latest assessment results suggest that policymakers must also ensure resources strengthen learning where it matters most, inside classrooms.

Education experts argue that improving mathematics outcomes requires more than increased funding. It demands stronger teacher preparation, continuous professional development, timely provision of learning materials and better use of assessment data to identify learners who need additional support. In an analysis published by Mizizi Elimu Afrika, mathematics educator Ibrahim Ngunga argues that Kenya should rethink how it prepares mathematics teachers by creating stronger links between teacher training institutions and classrooms, continuously reviewing training programmes using classroom evidence and supporting teachers throughout their careers. Such reforms, he argues, are essential if teacher preparation is to respond to the realities learners face in mathematics lessons.

The latest assessments should not be viewed as a verdict on Kenya's education system but as an opportunity to improve it. Kenya's strong regional performance demonstrates that progress is possible, yet the data also show there is considerable room for improvement. As the country embarks on another year of record education investment, the true measure of success will not be the size of the budget but whether more children leave school with the mathematics skills they need to thrive in higher education, the workplace and everyday life. The challenge for policymakers is no longer simply getting children into classrooms. It is ensuring that every child learns.