Children file out of densely packed homes, navigating narrow paths and open drains on their way to class. They walk with purpose, but not toward the government schools that were meant to open doors for them. According to an Oxfam study on education in Nairobi’s slums, the promise of Free Primary Education (FPE) has never been equal across the city. While public schools remain free in principle, the report found that access is deeply uneven. In the study area, nearly half the pupils attended low-cost private schools, not because families preferred them, but because public alternatives were full, far away, and practically inaccessible. The report describes a stark reality: children in informal settlements often reach public school gates only to find the spaces already taken. Overcrowding and long queues have made these schools unattainable for many families living in poverty. The result is a quiet but powerful form of exclusion, one that pushes the poorest children towar...
Beyond the Game