Micro Factors Inhibiting Education Access, Retention and Completion by Children From Vulnerable Communities in Kenya

Abstract

Since the setting of Education for All (EFA) targets in Jomtien (1990), global nations ushered in new commitments to expand access to education. In Africa, several countries established free basic education programs, in efforts to resuscitate the deteriorating participation in education. This was along fulfilling other commitments contained in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Kenya re-introduced free primary education in 2003, an initiative that resulted in over 1.5 million children returning to school in the first term of that year. The number of children enrolled in primary school has since then continued to increase to reach over 8.5 million children in the year 2008. Primary to secondary school transition was, according to the Ministry of Education (MOE), over 70% in 2008 and is expected to further increase due to increased government spending on secondary education. The recent commitment by the government to pay secondary school tuition fee has boosted secondary school enrolment and retention. Over these years, there have been significant reforms in the education sector that are guided by the Sessional Paper No 1 of 2005 and the sector wide approach to education delivery as outlined in the Kenya Education Sector Support Program (KESSP) of 2005