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The Decline in Primary School Enrolment in Kenya
Abstract
Since independence in 1963, Kenya has invested substantial resources in the education sector. For almost twenty-five years, these investments and other government policies led to impressive gains in educational access at all levels. However, since the mid- to late 1980s there appears to have been an erosion in educational participation and a reversal of the gains achieved in previous decades. Motivated by this trend, this paper uses temporal, cross-section and pseudo-panel data to assess the plausibility of various factors that may be responsible for the decline in primary school educational enrolment. In particular, we consider the role of school fees, school inputs and curriculum, school availability, the expected benefits of education and the spread of HIV/AIDS. We also try to identify the most effective policy interventions that may be used to prevent further declines in primary school enrolment rates. Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.
... These meant that parents had to contribute more towards the education of their children through the cost-sharing programme. Evidence from recent research ( Bedi et al. 2002 andKimalu et al. 2001) shows one of the consequences of cost- sharing has been decline in school attendance and enrolment, since all parents were required to cover full costs of their children's education. These costs include uniforms, textbooks and other instructional material. ...
... • Educational performance is most strongly associated with factors that determine the access to the educational system. That is, while issues of internal efficiency of education are also important, the more critical issue is to make sure children enter the schooling system in the first place (see, Bedi et al. 2002). ...
... A study on the demand for primary schooling in Kenya concludes that there are a number of public policy interventions, which have an important impact on the decision to enroll in school ( Bedi et al. 2002). The type of effective interventions bear a relationship with the policy changes that were introduced in 1984/5 and 1988 and have been important factors behind the observed decline in school enrolment since. ...
... These meant that parents had to contribute more towards the education of their children through the cost-sharing programme. Evidence from recent research (Bedi et al. 2002 and Kimalu et al. 2001) shows one of the consequences of costsharing has been decline in school attendance and enrolment, since all parents were required to cover full costs of their children's education. These costs include uniforms, textbooks and other instructional material. ...
... @BULLET Educational performance is most strongly associated with factors that determine the access to the educational system. That is, while issues of internal efficiency of education are also important, the more critical issue is to make sure children enter the schooling system in the first place (see, Bedi et al. 2002 This policy paper tries to give some practical answers to these questions. In doing so, we will focus on the issue of cost-effective ways to achieve the primary schooling targets. ...
... A study on the demand for primary schooling in Kenya concludes that there are a number of public policy interventions, which have an important impact on the decision to enroll in school (Bedi et al. 2002). The type of effective interventions bear a relationship with the policy changes that were introduced in 1984/5 and 1988 and have been important factors behind the observed decline in school enrolment since. ...
Kenya has experienced a rapid expansion of the education system partly due to high government expenditure on education. Despite the high level of expenditure on edu-cation, primary school enrolment has been declining since early 1990s and until 2003 when gross primary school enrolment increased to 104 percent after the introduction of free primary education. However, with an estimated net primary school enrolment rate of 77 percent, the country is far from achieving universal primary education. The worrying scenario is that the allocations of resources within the education sector seems to be ineffective as the increasing expenditure on education goes to recurrent expendi-ture (to pay teachers salaries). Kenya’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and the Economic Recovery Strategy for wealth and Employment Creation (ERS) outlines education targets of reaching universal primary education by 2015. The Government is faced with budget constrains and therefore the available resources need to be allocated efficiently in order to realize the education targets. The paper uses Budget Negotia-tion Framework (BNF) to analyze the cost effective ways of resource allocation in the primary education sector to achieve universal primary education and other education targets. Budget Negotiation Framework is a tool that aims at achieving equity and ef-ficiency in resource allocation. Results from the analysis shows that universal primary education by the year 2015 is a feasible target for Kenya. The results also show that with a more cost- effective spending of education resources - increased trained teachers, enhanced textbook supplies and subsidies targeting the poor - the country could realize higher enrolment rates than what has been achieved with free primary education.
... Whereas it may be assumed that some factors such as number of children of school going age would compete for resources and hence reduce the likelihood oof participating in schooling, Gebreselassie (1998) observed that demand for both primary and secondary schooling in Ethiopia increases with increase in household size and number of secondary school age children (14-18 years). Location of residence (rural/urban), community characteristics, children's characteristics and marriage systems influence access to schooling differently (Bedi et al., 2004;Holmes, 1999;Brock and Cammish, 1997). Establishment of the influence of such factors in access to secondary education in Kenya is important for policy formulation and identification of areas of focus in interventions. ...
... Hazans and Trapeznikova (2006) Studies done in Kenya, Malawi and Mali (Bedi et al., 2004;Tan, Lee and Mingat, 1998;and Birdsall, 1987) show that parents' education level, cost of schooling (both direct and indirect), the proportion of girls among children in a household, distance to school (both distance to primary and secondary), and location of residence (urban and rural) are the most important determinants of household demand for schooling. In another study by Singh (1992) in Brazil, household size was found to be an additional factor affecting household decisions on schooling. ...
... Thus, for a household h to send a child to secondary school, other factors constant, the direct costs c t associated with school attendance must be lower than the opportunity cost of schooling (Bedi et al., 2004). This decision can be expressed as a utility conditional function, specified as: ...
... Free primary education was later abolished under the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the 1980s, meaning that parents had to contribute more towards the education of their children through a cost-sharing programme. One of the consequences of cost sharing has been decline in school attendance and enrolment, since all parents were required to cover full costs of their children's education (Bedi et al, 2002;) ...
... Educational performance is most strongly associated with factors that determine access to the education system. That is, while issues of internal efficiency of education are also important, the more critical issue is to make sure children enter the schooling system in the first place (Bedi et al, 2002). There has been a mismatch between education expenditure and school enrolment in Kenya. ...
... This variable did not prove to have any significant influence. Other variables that appear to have a significant influence have to do with family characteristics (such as education of parents and wealth status), individual characteristics of the child (age and sex), and geographic location (Bedi et al, 2002) ...
... In contrast, Kimalu et al. (2001) pointed out that in Botswana and Lesotho, females had higher gross enrolment rates in primary education than males, whereas Ethiopia has lower gross enrolment rates in primary education for females. Another study (Bedi et al., 2002) showed that females had higher completion rates in Kenya in 1998 and 1999 than males, unlike in the past. A study of poverty in Lesotho showed that, contrary to the situation in most other African countries, girls in Lesotho have higher school attendance rates than boys (May et al., 2002). ...
... Education inequalitiesAlthough figures from international agencies suggest that rural-urban and gender inequalities in education are on the decline, only a few institutes have focused on inequalities in education. The three available recent studies examining trends in education are for Kenya(Njeru and Orodho, 2003;Bedi et al., 2002;Kimalu et al., 2001).Njeru and Orodho (2003) showed that gross enrolment rates in secondary education had declined and that gender and regional inequalities in access to secondary education persist, with the hardest hit regions being the arid and semi-arid lands and the medium to low agricultural potential areas.Bedi et al. (2002), however, showed that despite variations in the overall GER, the gender gap in primary education has narrowed considerably, and since 1989 has ranged between three and four percentage points. Nevertheless, the analysis also showed that regional differences in enrolment rates are substantial: in 1990, the central and western regions of the country had the highest enrolment rates, at around 104%. ...
... and Orodho, 2003;Bedi et al., 2002;Kimalu et al., 2001).Njeru and Orodho (2003) showed that gross enrolment rates in secondary education had declined and that gender and regional inequalities in access to secondary education persist, with the hardest hit regions being the arid and semi-arid lands and the medium to low agricultural potential areas.Bedi et al. (2002), however, showed that despite variations in the overall GER, the gender gap in primary education has narrowed considerably, and since 1989 has ranged between three and four percentage points. Nevertheless, the analysis also showed that regional differences in enrolment rates are substantial: in 1990, the central and western regions of t ...
The InterRegional Inequality Facility Secretariat: Overseas Development Institute 111 Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7JD UK ii This study was sponsored by the InterRegional Inequality Facility. The Facility exists to promote interregional dialogue and knowledge sharing on the issue of inequality – how it affects development, and how it can be addressed by policy – between Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Facility funds research, exchanges and advocacy activities which strengthen South-South dialogue on this issue, and help build a coalition in favour of a more equal and inclusive development process.
... Early in the post-colonial era African leaders recognized the importance of "education for all" ( Lesoli et al., 2014;SAPRIN, 2004). Some SSA countries did away with school fees at this time ( Bedi et al., 2004;Muyangaet al., 2010;Vos et al., 2004). These policies resulted in growing primary school enrollments, but the quality of education often declined, as did retention and transition rates to the next level of education (Bediet al., 2004;Muyanga et al., 2010). ...
... These policies resulted in growing primary school enrollments, but the quality of education often declined, as did retention and transition rates to the next level of education (Bediet al., 2004;Muyanga et al., 2010). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, responding to the poor quality of education and the pressures of structural adjustment programs, some countries reversed their policies and reinstituted fees ( Bedi et al., 2004;_ Işcan et al., 2015;Muyanga et al., 2010;Stewart, 1994;World Bank and UNICEF, 2009 International Journal of Educational Development 53 (2017) [163][164][165][166][167][168][169][170][171][172][173][174][175] Contents lists available at ScienceDirect ...
Fee abolition is said to play a vital role in achieving Universal Primary Education, and in reducing education differentials by gender and wealth. I use DHS data to examine changes in the Net Attendance Ratio (NAR) and the Primary School Completion Rate (PSCR) in sub-Saharan African countries following fee elimination. In countries that abolish fees NARs generally increase more than do PSCRs. NAR differentials in gender and wealth often shrink, while in the same countries corresponding PSCR differentials remain unchanged, or increase. Changes may not coincide with fee abolition. Conflicting results are widely found. Reasons for differing results are discussed.
... Part of the reasons for limited studies on this link is lack of comprehensive data and measurement of outcome. Some of the studies (Bedi et al., 2004) that have attempted to link inputs to outcome in Kenya focus on determinants of enrolment in primary education and use the results to determine how the government can achieve higher enrolment by influencing the factors. The two studies are based on data from the Kenya Welfare Monitoring Survey III of 1997. ...
... Although the focus of our work is on primary school achievement after the year 2000, it is quite illuminating to begin our discussion by examining enrolment patterns over a longer time period. In 1970, the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in Kenya was 62 per cent and there was a gap of 20 percentage points between males and females (Bedi et al., 2004). In the early 1970's, there was a rapid expansion of education due to the introduction of free education for grades I to IV in 1974. ...
... Part of the reasons for limited studies on this link is lack of comprehensive data and measurement of outcome. Some of the studies (Bedi et al., 2004) that have attempted to link inputs to outcome in Kenya focus on determinants of enrolment in primary education and use the results to determine how the government can achieve higher enrolment by influencing the factors. The two studies are based on data from the Kenya Welfare Monitoring Survey III of 1997. ...
... Although the focus of our work is on primary school achievement after the year 2000, it is quite illuminating to begin our discussion by examining enrolment patterns over a longer time period. In 1970, the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in Kenya was 62 per cent and there was a gap of 20 percentage points between males and females (Bedi et al., 2004). In the early 1970's, there was a rapid expansion of education due to the introduction of free education for grades I to IV in 1974. ...
... This initially took the form of Free Primary Education (FPE), which was provided in the second decade after independence. FPE existed for more than 10 years and was later abolished under the Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) (Bedi et al., 2002). The adoption of SAPs was aimed at restoring efficiency in all sectors of the economy and consequently raising the rate of economic growth (Central Bureau of Statistics CBS, 1997). ...
... What this meant for parents was that they had to contribute more towards the education of their children through the cost-sharing programme. Evidence from some research (Bedi et al., 2002;Kimalu et al., 2001) showed that one of the consequences of the cost sharing measure was a decline in school attendance and enrolment, since all parents were required to cover full costs, which included uniforms, textbooks and other instructional material for their children"s education. ...
This paper examines the effect of menstruation on Kenyan girls' education with a particular emphasis on the connection between post-pubescent girls' menstrual management and education. We first look at the current situation as concerns education and gender indicators and then examine the current conditions that girls face in schools in the country. We use the Human Capital Approach to look at how the Kenya Government has tried to bridge the gaps between girls and boys in school over the years and then use a Public Health Approach to critically assess how the Kenya Government has addressed the issue of girls temporarily or permanently dropping out of school thereby affecting their education. Our conclusion is on a few recommendations on the need to address menstruation as a fundamental issue towards empowerment of girls in Kenya.
... Kenya experienced high enrolment levels in primary schools immediately after its independence in 1963. Since then there has been a rise in the number of primary schools and enrolment, although between 1989 and 2002 gross enrolment rates fell, with some regions in the north of Kenya having a gross enrolment rate as low as 24 per cent (Bedi et al. 2002). This could be because of a formal cost-sharing system that was introduced in 1988, whereby parents were required to pay for school uniforms, stationery, textbooks, instructional materials and other school equipment. ...
... In addition, the exponential spread of HIV/AIDS in the country meant that illness and death reduced the ability of a household to pay school fees. Many children stayed at home to become the main caregivers in their homes (Bedi et al. 2002). ...
The book is unique in many ways. First, the research project it describes involved a
multidisciplinary team of specialists in education, sociology, early childhood education
and health education, drawn from four countries with diverse and different contexts.
Second, the research was conducted in three countries that have reasonably different
education systems and child-rearing practices, making it possible to compare and contrast
varying sociocultural contexts and examine how these affect children’s learning processes
and experiences, particularly with regard to sex and AIDS education. Third, the
researchers creatively employed a mixed-research methodological approach to capture
multiple meanings and realities about children’s thinking about sex and AIDS education
from participants whose social and cultural backgrounds were both diverse and complex.
The central idea of the book is that participatory, interactive and creative
methodological approaches are useful strategies for engaging children, as well as
community stakeholders (parents, teachers and community leaders), in speaking out about
sexuality, a taboo subject in many African communities. Influenced by the constructivist
approach to learning, the authors’ emphasis is on how children come to know about
sexuality rather than the traditional approach of what they know about this subject. Thus,
through the creative application of visual methodologies and the use of photo voices,
children are critically engaged in the teaching and learning process, a strategy which also
proved to be useful in breaking adult silences about sexuality. As such, children are seen as
crucial participants and knowledge generators rather than passive recipients of knowledge.
... Some examples are Harbison and Hanushek (1992), who provide a CEA of primary education in Brazil. Glewwe and Jacoby (1994), who provide a CEA of school achievement in Ghana, and Bedi et al. (2004), who examine the relative cost-effectiveness of increasing enrolment in primary education in Kenya. Another example is the study of Coady and Parker (2004), in which the relative cost-effectiveness of demand-side subsidies to improve access to secondary schooling and of supply-side expansions is analyzed for the case of PROGRESA in Mexico. ...
... The case studies on cost-effectiveness analysis and result-oriented budgeting presented in this report build on the methods and framework developed by Gertler and Van Der Gaag (1988), Gertler and Glewwe (1990) and applied, among others by Bedi and Marshall (1999), Bedi et al. (2004) and Vos and Ponce (2004). Based on a theoretical model which emphasises a comparison of the expected benefi ts of education versus the monetary and opportunity costs of attending school, we derive an empirical specifi cation which treats school enrolment as a function of educational costs and of various schooling inputs. ...
... In 1985, Kenya adopted the 8-4-4 education system 3 . This is a hybrid system modeled after the U.S. and the British systems (Bedi et al., 2004). The school year begins in January and commences in late November, with three long holidays during April, August, and December. ...
... Since primary school attendance is not sufficient for admittance into secondary school, investing in child's education in Kenya is inherently risky. Bedi et al. (2004) illustrate how expectations are incredibly important in the Kenyan education system. The study shows that poor Kenyan parents are willing to invest a sizeable portion of their income in child's education with a strong belief of their child to receive high KCPE score. ...
This paper analyzes how a primary school affiliation with a professional athlete affects pupils’
educational attainment on Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). Taking an advantage of a data
set of 2010 KCPE scores for 80 primary schools in the Eldoret district, the study statistically illustrates a
strong positive correlation between professional athlete sponsorship and educational attainment of
pupils on all subject portions of the KCPE exam, except Kiswahili. The evidence presented in this paper
highlights the impact of the athlete sponsorship on quality of education in Kenya.
... However, even before 1988, informal cost-sharing had existed. The real change for parents was the reintroduction of school levies, which had been abolished in previous years (Bedi et al., 2004). Fee structures differed according to the individual schools and ranged from KES 500 to 10,000. ...
The Republic of Kenya implemented its first Free Primary Education program in 1974 for grades 1–4 but the program was suddenly terminated and changed to a cost-sharing system in 1988. The policy change from free primary education to cost-sharing system led to a 1.3-year reduction in the length of female education. Taking this sudden policy change as a quasi-experiment, our paper attempts to identify the long-term impacts of female education on the quality–quantity trade-off. Using the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, we investigate the impact of female education on total fertility as well as child quality. Our results show that one additional year of female education reduces total fertility by 0.25 and 0.44 by the ages of 26 and 37 years, respectively, and also increases educational investment in their children. As for the mechanism of these changes, we examine three possible pathways: labor participation, knowledge of contraception, and assortative mating. We found that the women affected by the termination of free education were largely vulnerable and seemed to withdraw from education. Furthermore, their total fertility increased, while the educational quality of their children decreased. Our paper infers that the universal primary education policies implemented in many countries today could serve to both contain rapid increases in population and exert long-lasting effects on subsequent generations.
JEL Classification Codes: I25, I28, O12, J13
... Enrollment and graduation milestone are also affected by parental education, presence of siblings, country level income and village level in school rates. Bedi et al. (2004) have assessed the plausibility of various factors that may be responsible for the decline in primary school enrollment and identified the most cost effective policy interventions that may be used to influence enrollment. Welfare Monitoring Survey II (WMS) has been used for collection of information about more than 50000 individuals from all districts of Kenya. ...
Education is always considered as the major determinant for the development of any economy. Enrollment at various levels also shows that how much education is common within the citizens of the country. Considering the importance of enrollment, the current study examines the influence of some macroeconomic variables on various levels i.e. primary, secondary, higher, college, professional and university enrollment in Pakistan. Time series data has been gathered on consumer price index, government revenue, employed labor force, government expenditure, and health expenditure for the period from 1972 to 2010. For long run estimates, Johansen Co integration test is used and short run estimates are taken through error correction model. The results of the study exhibit positive association of employed labor force, government expenditure and health expenditure with primary, secondary, higher, college, professional and university enrollment in Pakistan. On the other side, consumer price index and government revenue have been found to be inversely influencing enrollment at various levels. Short run results are also much favorable for the economy and reveals convergence towards long run equilibrium due to any disturbances in the short run period. At the end study gives some policy implications that government should decrease consumer price index and tax rate and to increase government expenditure in terms of education and health for higher enrollment rates in Pakistan.
... Similarly, Woldehanna and Hagos (2015) argue that primary school dropout in Ethiopia is affected by shocks in the household but without considering father or parent(s) unemployment in the model. Bedi et al. (2004) examine factors such as school fees, curriculum, school availability, and the expected benefits of education on primary school enrolment. Their results show that at the lowest expenditure quantile a 100 percentage points increase in school fees decreases the enrolment rate by about 12 percentage points. ...
Unemployment and school dropout are two major economic problems in developing countries including Sudan. This paper estimates the causal effect of father unemployment on child school dropout using cross-section data from the National Baseline Household Survey in Sudan in 2009. We use a semi-parametric recursive bivariate probit model to control for the impact of the unobserved confounders and the endogeneity bias. Our results show that father unemployment increases child school dropout by 28 percentage points on average in the sample of all children. In rural areas, however, the impact reaches 42 percentage points. Sudan needs to make substantial reforms in the job-market regulations and structure and introduce policies related to job creation and protection. More importantly, Sudan needs to activate laws that make basic education compulsory, and to improve the education system structure.
... In Kenya, like other sub-Saharan African countries, the proportion of students persisting to the last grade has been declining (UNESCO 2014a). Only 58% of the students who enroll in FPE continue on to completion (Bedi et al. 2004;UNESCO 2014aUNESCO , 2014b, and fewer than 30% of those who enroll in secondary school complete (Lewin 2009;Rugh 2000). Having such a significant number of students who fail to persist until completion of primary school, let alone the higher academic levels, is particularly alarming in today's society. ...
Persistence to complete has emerged as a pressing issue facing free primary education (FPE) in Kenya. Only 58% of the students who enroll in FPE complete and this proportion drops as they advance to higher levels. Failure to complete primary school, let alone the higher levels of education is alarming. Besides funding, this study explores the features that contribute to students’ pathways to persistence. Using data from the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), this study found the retention level to be 57%. The logistic analysis showed that parents’ level of education and student's age (i.e. 10–14 years) were over five times more likely to improve student persistent. Family socio-economic status, the level of engagement, positive school experience, parents’ involvement and collaboration with the school, and a high-quality school with supportive learning were also positively associated with academic persistence. The implications for practice and research are discussed below.
... Primary and secondary education examinations changed to the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, respectively. In realigning with the structural adjustment reforms, the government of Kenya re-introduced primary school fees in 1988, which reduced student enrolment in subsequent years (Bedi et al., 2002). ...
This paper examines the relationship between women's education and their empowerment, using six waves of the nationally representative Kenya Demographic Health Surveys (KDHS). We utilize the change in the educational system in 1985 as a source of positive exogenous shock. We particularly focus on women who were exposed to the new regime and how their exposure status affects their perceptions and practices in decision making. The Ordinary Least Squares regression (OLS) results indicate an increase in education for women exposed to this reform, followed by the delay in their age at first birth, a reduction in female genital mutilation practice on their eldest daughters, a decrease in sexual domestic violence, and enhancement in their household decision making. Media exposure, partners' characteristics, and wealth endowment are the possible pathways through which women's empowerment is achieved.
... Descripción de la metodología usada en los estudios de casos de este informe Los estudios de caso sobre análisis costo-efectividad y presupuesto orientado a resultados incluidos en este informe se basan en los métodos y el marco desarrollado por Gertler y Van Der Gaag (1988) y Gertler y Glewwe (1990), y aplicados, entre otros, por Bedi y Marshall (1999), Bedi et al. (2004) y Vos y Ponce (2004). Tomando como base un modelo teórico centrado en la comparación de los benefi cios esperados de la educación versus los costos, monetarios y de oportunidad de asistir a la escuela, derivamos una especifi cación empírica en la que la matrícula escolar es una función de los costos de la educación y de varios insumos escolares. ...
... Our main contribution to this literature lies in the broadness of the time period our study covers. Earlier studies have looked at the impact of introducing a fee-based system at the primary level (Bray and Lillis, 1988;Reddy and Vandemoortele, 1996;Bedi et al., 2004), while later studies have looked at the quality and access implications of fee abolition, either in a single country or in a group of countries (Deininger 2003;World Bank, 2009;Bold et al., 2010). Many of these later studies note that school fees have acted as a significant financial barrier to enrolment based on the observed increases in enrolment rates following the abolition of fees in several countries (Kattan and Burnett, 2004). ...
In this article, we examine the relationship between primary school fees and education quality and access over the past forty
years in seven sub-Saharan African countries. School fees were introduced as a means for revenue-constrained governments to
fund the improvement and expansion of primary education. Recently there has been a move towards their abolition. We find that
the introduction of fees decreased primary school enrolment, without achieving significant quality improvements. We also discuss
the impact on quality of the major increases in enrolment following the abolition of school fees and identify the government
funding shortfall amplified by this policy change.
... However, in 1988, only three years into the 8-4-4 system, Kenya adopted the World Bank-IMF structural adjustment programs (SAPs) that, among other things, sought to reduce the government's role in the provision of social services such as healthcare and education. Accordingly, the government's role in the provision of primary school education was reduced to payment of teachers' salaries while parents were charged with the responsibility of providing school uniforms, desks, stationary, school buildings and other infrastructure, and maintenance costs (Bedi, Kimalu, Mandab, & Nafula, 2004). The heavy education costs imposed on parents by SAPs soon led to high rates of school dropouts and non-enrollment (Rono, 2002;Somerset, 2009). ...
... The poor parent, faced with other survival issues and now the burden of increased cost of education and required also to contribute towards the availability of school facilities could not handle all the pressure. These two factor heavy workload at school and lack of school fees--can be traced as the main reasons for a high school dropout rate (Somerset, 2007;Bedi, Kimalu, Manda & Nafula, 2002). Therefore, school drop outs are left with no life skills and few vocational skills.. ...
This article is more of a political statement, though the author has no particular interest in politics. It is borne out of the realisation that politics play a major role in national education systems and successes, or, put the other way round, national education is positively or adversely affected by national politics. National policy formulation and budgetary allocations are political processes. The article therefore looks at a cross-section of issues affecting the Kenyan system with a particular interest in the accusations of weakness and failure in order to find a hope and a probable solution. It dwells mostly on local media reports on educational issues, analysing them and seeks to challenge stakeholders to invest more in education, look at the curriculum and to focus education on the kind of society it is expected to produce. In this modern day there is need to equip graduates with life-skills, over and above passing examinations. Information literacy skills enable an individual to conduct independent information research, efficiently retrieve the information using modern technologies, critically evaluate their findings and effectively apply relevant information into their day-to-day situations. This way, individuals would be less prone to making less informed decisions and being swayed by social currents. They would also become more successful in performance of their job tasks, become evidence-based practitioners and achieve life-long learning. This would be an information competent generation marching on to the achievement of Vision 2030 and beyond.
... To solve the problems besetting the education sector, the Kenyan government devoted a substantial fraction of its resources to the education sector in the 1990s. However, during this period, declines in secondary school enrollment rates overturned the gains in education participation achieved in the 1980s (Bedi et al., 2004). In 2003, with the swearing in of the NARC government, Kenya declared free primary education with the aim of encouraging enrollment by children from poor households. ...
This paper investigate regional and gender differences in the determinants of demand for schooling (enrollment and grade attainment) in Kenya. Probit and ordered probit regression methods are used to model enrollment and attainment respectively. The paper investigates the impact of child and household characteristics, household welfare indicators and community variables. We find that household characteristics, quality and cost of schooling are important determinants of demand for education services in Kenya. Our results further suggest that there are regional and gender differences in responsiveness of demand for schooling. Specifically, demand in rural areas is more responsive to policy changes than in urban areas, while girls would be more affected by policy changes than boys. The findings call for regional targeting in efforts to boost and sustain demand for schooling in Kenya. In rural areas, the immediate policy action should focus on improving quality of education, while in urban areas; poverty and cost of schooling are critical concerns. For the country as a whole, poverty alleviation would go along way in boosting education demand as the poorest groups are found to be more responsive to changes in the cost of education.
Despite the consensus on the vital role of human capital investment towards a country’s socio-economic development, school enrolment levels in South Sudan remain dismal with no empirical study conducted to unravel the same. Using the 2016 South Sudan Frequency Survey data, this study sought to unravel the determinants of primary school enrolment in South Sudan with a central focus on the role of the community characteristics. The study also aimed at exploring the disparities in primary school enrolment along the gender and employment perspective lens. The probit model findings revealed that the more time is taken in accessing a primary school, hospital, or food outlet facilities, the lower the probability of a child enrolling in school. School enrolment levels were found to be highest in the Central Equatoria state but lowest in the Lakes state. Furthermore, wide employment and gender differentials in school enrolment rates exist with boys being accorded more preferences than girls. Gender sensitization at the household, community, and state levels as well as the subsidization of primary education are vital in incentivizing parents to enroll their children in school. Similarly, high investment in better infrastructural facilities would ensure schools, hospitals, and water sources are within the reach of school-going children.
Bu çalışmada hanehalkının eğitim harcamalarını etkileyen etkenlerin ortaya konulması amaçlanmıştır. Hanehalkının eğitime harcama yapmasını etkileyen etkenler kişisel ve kültürel algılardan kurumsal etkenlere, ekonomik etkenlerden sosyo-demografik etkenlere değin geniş bir alana yayılmaktadır. Hanehalkının eğitime harcama yapması, parasız eğitim hakkıyla çelişmenin yanı sıra herkese eşit ve aynı nitelikte eğitim hizmetinin
sunulmasının önüne geçmektedir. Daha ötesi, bu harcamalar ailelerin varsıl olup olamama durumlarına göre değişmektedir. Hanehalkının eğitime harcama yapması eğitimin piyasalaşmasına yol açmaktadır. Varsıl olan aileler, çocuklarını gönderdikleri okulun niteliğini seçme hakkını elde ederken, varsıl olmayanlar için ise böyle bir şey söz konusu bile değildir. Ailelerin, eğitimin özel maliyetine katılımın gittikçe artan bir eğilim göstermesi, eğitimi toplumun alt kesimlerinden gelen aileler için bir toplumsal hareketlilik aracı olmaktan çıkarmaktadır
Countries the world over have drawn e-Government interventions placing much emphasis on erecting affluent ICT infrastructures, institutional, legal, and regulatory frameworks. However, most of these interventions lack carefully-drawn e-Government awareness strategies, which translates into most of these interventions being typically unknown by the general public and causing low e-Participation. This chapter presents the novel interventions that are being authored towards robust e-Government development for Botswana where e-Government development is at the very intial stages. Using exploratory and empirical study of Francistown and surrounding rural areas, the chapter presents a critical analysis of the state of e-Government preparedness and further presents the current status of e-Government adoption in Botswana. This study establishes that whilst many e-Government strategies are being authored in Botswana, the e-Participation component has not been adequately considered in drawing the different e-Government interventions. This is negatively impacting on the overall anticipated value prepositions for e-Government implementation.
Pseudo-panels allow estimation of panel models when only repeated cross-sections are available. This involves grouping individuals into cohorts and using the cohort means as if they are observations in a genuine panel. Their practical use is constrained by a lack of consensus on how the pseudo-panels should be formed, particularly to address potential sampling error bias. We show that grouping can also create substantial aggregation bias, calling into question how well pseudo-panels can mimic panel estimates. We create two metrics for assessing the grouping process, one for each potential source of bias. If both metrics are above certain recommended values, the biases from aggregation and sampling error are minimised, meaning results can be interpreted as if they were from genuine panels.
JEL Classification: C13 C23 C81 D10 O12
This chapter documents MAMS (Maquette for MDG Simulation), the underlying methodological framework of this multi-country study for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which is used to address the three development strategy questions posed in Chapter 1. MAMS is a dynamic Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model designed to analyse strategies for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and, more broadly, policies for medium- and long-run growth and poverty reduction in developing countries.1 The model is sufficiently flexible to address the key processes for MDG achievement and other development strategies in a wide range of countries, linking to country databases that capture country characteristics and may vary widely in terms of disaggregation. This chapter emphasizes model features relevant to the LAC context.
Countries the world over have drawn e-Government interventions placing much emphasis on erecting affluent ICT infrastructures, institutional, legal, and regulatory frameworks. However, most of these interventions lack carefully-drawn e-Government awareness strategies, which translates into most of these interventions being typically unknown by the general public and causing low e-Participation. This chapter presents the novel interventions that are being authored towards robust e-Government development for Botswana where e-Government development is at the very intial stages. Using exploratory and empirical study of Francistown and surrounding rural areas, the chapter presents a critical analysis of the state of e-Government preparedness and further presents the current status of e-Government adoption in Botswana. This study establishes that whilst many e-Government strategies are being authored in Botswana, the e-Participation component has not been adequately considered in drawing the different e-Government interventions. This is negatively impacting on the overall anticipated value prepositions for e-Government implementation.
This paper confronts two issues; reforms (repairs) and ideology in education. Machines can be repaired any time they breakdown or develop defects. Educational reforms have been carried out any time an emerging need has to be confronted. Can these education reforms be seen as repairing an education system? Ideology on the other is a coherent system of ideas; relying upon a few basic assumptions about reality that may or may not have any factual basis, but are subjective choices that serve as the seed around which further thought grows. When traditional societies began to undergo changes, the ritualistic legitimization of education gave way to a new type of legitimization - the ideological legitimization of education. The latter has two attributes: one involves the appearance of people’s recognition of their right to choose the type of education that suits their tastes, values, aims and understanding. In view of this new realization, they no longer feel obliged to the accepted education only because it is the accepted type. The second attribute requires the simultaneous existence of several conceptions of education, from which one may choose the type of education suitable to one's needs. This paper searches into the possibility that there are no longer ideologies necessary to guide educational practice in Kenya, thereby raising concerns over education relevance.
DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n2p213
Late school entry is driven by several factors, one of the key ones being the cost barrier to schooling. Policies such as free primary education (FPE) that advocate for universal coverage are therefore partly aimed at removing the cost barrier. The Kenyan Government, like many in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), introduced FPE in 2003 with the aim of universalising access to schooling, which is one of the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) it signed up to achieve. Based on a case study of four sites in Nairobi, the aim of this paper is to assess whether the FPE policy has affected late enrolment. The data used were collected by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) and comprise a sub-sample of 4,325 first-graders during 2000–2005. The paper applies a probit model to assess the impact of the policy on the basis of marginal effects on the predicted probability of late enrolment. The results show that the FPE policy reduces the probability of late enrolment by 14 per cent. The reduction in probability of late enrolment was greater among children residing in slums (16 per cent) than those in non-slums (9 per cent). The main implication of the findings for policy makers is that cost barriers are a likely cause of over-age enrolment.
The overall goal of the Government of Kenya is to promote and improve the
health status of all Kenyans by making health services more effective, accessible,
and affordable. To address problems in the health sector, and to make healthcare
accessible and affordable, the government, in the early year after independence,
instituted and implemented various healthcare reforms, among them setting
up of health insurance through the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
However, the focus of NHIF has been mainly on formal sector employees. This
has left out those in the informal sector, those in agriculture, and pastoralists.
The government plans to transform the current NHIF to a National Social
Health Insurance Fund (NSHIF) as a way of ensuring equity and access to
health services by the poor and those in the informal sector, who have been left
out for the forty years that the NHIF has been in existence. In view of the
proposed transformation, this paper aims to lead policy makers and programme
planners through the process of evaluating the usefulness and feasibility of a
social health insurance system. The paper offers insight into the process of a
successful implementation of such as scheme by addressing the foreseen obstacles
and issues of desirability and feasibility in assessing the appropriateness of social
health insurance. It also addresses the likely impact on the economy, the health
sector and the various stakeholders, after introduction of the insurance scheme.
The paper reviews the experiences of other countries and draws lessons from
those experiences. The paper finds that most of the conditions for setting up a
social health insurance in Kenya are not yet in place and a lot needs to be done
to meet these conditions. In addition, there are likely to be both positive and
negative impacts on various stakeholders. The paper recommends that the
decision to introduce universal health insurance be premised on a careful and
thorough assessment of all the issues being raised, and implementation based
on clearly outlined stages.
This study examined the effect of two family factors (financial, social capital) and school factors on students’ achievement. One hundred eighty two, seventh-grade female students from nine schools in Muranga district, Kenya, were studied. The statistical procedures included logit regression, cross-tabulations, frequency counting and chi-square analyses. These procedures were used to look at the effects of variables on each other and their effects on students’ study habits and achievement. The researcher found that each of the two family factors (financial and social capital), and the school factors had an independent and significant effect on student achievement and study habits. The results indicated that a student's academic achievement is positively influenced by the education level of both parents. The researcher also found that the father's education had more positive influence to the study habits of the females.
paper was prepared with support from UNAIDS and is based on results from a research project on the “Economic Impact of Fatal Adult Illness due to AIDS and Other Causes in Sub-Saharan Africa”, financed by the World Bank, USAID, and Danida. We wish to acknowledge our co-investigators in that project: Mead Over (World Bank, principal investigator), and Phare Mujinja, Innocent Semali, and George Lwihula (Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania). We are grateful for the contribution of Deon Filmer in providing the statistics on enrollment rates in DHS countries and to Anita Alban, Paurvi Bhatt, David Bishai, Rest Lasway, Mattias Lundberg, and Mead Over for comments on an earlier draft. The findings and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and should not be attributed to their respective institutions. 1 The impact of adult mortality on primary school enrollment in Northwestern Tanzania
In this paper, the schooling attainment and labor characteristics of those aged 12-19 years is assessed using data from the 1990 household survey from Paraguay. Although schooling is compulsory to age 13, it was found that 28% of those 12 years of age are already out of school. Among those out of school, 19% work formally in the labor market and contribute about a quarter of total family income. Among the 12-year-olds still in school, one-quarter have repeated a grade or more. The analysis suggests that language strongly influences school attainment and performance. Those who speak only Guarani at home may receive equal access to schooling, but their performance in school (in terms of years of attainment and grade repetition), is considerably inferior to that of Spanish-only and bilingual pupils. The number of siblings was found not to have had much of an effect on school enrollment, although it did have a significant impact on the probability of child labor. These findings may be evidence of 'specialization' in the household, whereby some children work, while their siblings are permitted to attend school and concentrate on studying. The results indicate that subsidies to poor households may be necessary to enable them to maintain their children in school for at least the duration of the primary cycle.
The expansion of education has been widely adopted as a key element in the development strategies of low-income countries. While there is substantial evidence on the benefits of greater educational attainment for subsequent labor market earnings, empirical evidence on the role played by school quality is scarce. This paper combines household survey data with unique data on school quality, from Honduras, to study the importance of school quality as a determinant of earnings. Our objective measures of school quality capture teacher training, school infrastructure and school crowding. The results display strong positive effects of school quality on earnings and on educational returns. These effects persist across a variety of model specifications.
Reviews both the scholarly literature on the subject and donors' experience. The book provides an overview of primary education systems and argues that developing countries must do more to serve the needs of all children. Those who have traditionally been underrepresented in primary school - girls and children from poor and rural families - must have greater access to education and more encouragement to enroll. At the same time, the curriculum must be strengthened, teaching made more effective, and other measures taken to ensure that when students complete the primary cycle, they have mastered what is taught. The authors discuss strategies for improving five aspects of primary education systems. The book concludes by outlining the challenges countries face at different stages of educational development and then suggesting priorities for reform. Appendix tables provide data on 129 countries, individually and by income group. -from Publisher
Increasing school participation and academic achievements in crucial in combating poverty and raising income in developing countries. In this article we examined two interrelated problems, low school attendance and low academic achievement, in the context of rural Honduras. We specified and estimated a model of school attendance that depended on the costs as well as on the expected achievement gains associated with school attendance. This approach also allowed us to examine the determinants to educational achievement. The structural school attendance model supported the hypothesis that expected achievement gains influence the demand for primary schooling. The strongest factor associated with academic achievement was teacher quality, which, in this study, measured the use of an active and participative cooperative-learning pedagogy. Increasing school attendance in order to reduce repetition and drop-out rates is a challenge in developing countries, especially in rural areas. The results of this article demonstrate that increasing the expected achievement gains from schooling through appropriate investments in school quality is a potential channel through which this objective might be fulfilled. Although the rural nature of the sample limits a generalization, the results clearly displayed the direct and indirect effects of investing in school quality.
Efficiency of primary education in Kenya: situational analysis and implications for educational reforms IPAR Discussion Paper No. 4. Nairobi: Institute of Policy Analysis and Research.-. 1997b. 'Status of education in Kenya: indicators for planning and policy formulation
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[UNDP] United Nations Development Programme. 1999. Human
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Status of education in Kenya: indicators for planning and policy formulation
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forecasting, by Alemayehu Geda, Njuguna Ndung'u, Stephen
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[MOE] Kenya Ministry of Education, Science and Technology,
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World Bank Table 2. Gross primary school enrolment rates 1990-99 (%) a Year
Source: World Bank Africa Database 2001, World Bank
Table 2. Gross primary school enrolment rates 1990-99 (%)
a
Year
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997