Top Challenges Facing the Education System in Kenya

Kenyan education is facing many challenges, which have dropped the performance of pupils enrolled in various primary and secondary schools. Kenya is one of the developing countries in Africa and the rest of the world, there is no adequate motivation and funding that is guaranteed for the education system. We

Corruption 

Embezzlement of public funds allocated to educational institutions is the main challenge that affects the Ministry of Education. There are many brokers and cartels in the education system who pocket large amounts of money allocated to be used in the learning process. This hinders learning by not ensuring there are reading materials present, poor infrastructure, and less teacher employment in the institutions.

Gender stereotyping

This is the favoring of one gender to be educated and leaving the other to do household roles. In Kenya, most of the nomadic communities are facing this problem. In Kenyan communities, the boy child is favored more in education, unlike the girl child.

Poverty 

Most households in Kenya have high levels of poverty, which cannot allow children to attend schools and gain knowledge. Almost 70% of the Kenyan population is poorer. Raising fees, basic needs, and other important education-propelling wants are inadequate, and hence parents are unable to take their children to school. 

Political differences and instability

Recently, Kenya has faced demonstrations against the ruling government. One of the views from the opposition is to support the education system, where the government has looked down on disbursing funds to the institutions to facilitate education programs. Furthermore, the northern part of the country, such as Mandera and Marsabit is facing political instability, and hence massive killings are threatening school teachers and pupils from going to school. 

Inadequate teachers in most the schools

Kenya is facing an economic crisis; hence there are fewer teachers assigned by TSC to teach pupils. Unlike the Central and Rift Valley region of Kenya, the northern part of the country is facing a crisis of teachers, and hence no learning is taking place there. This lowers the dignity of the education system. 

This leads to poor performance of pupils in national exams. 

Poor infrastructure

Most of the schools are poorly built with broken floors, windows, and open rooms with no doors. This hinders education services in Kenya. Most of the classrooms are built of mud and hence easily affected by floods and thunderstorms during heavy rains, making the pupils abscond school or study under trees. 

This mainly affects poor counties such as Mandera, Garrisa, Turkana, etc.