Primary School

Kenyan Primary Educational Institution Directory

Education through the perspective of Primary Schools plays a pivotal role in a Kenya's economic progress. Consequently, the Government of Kenya (GOK) implement a new curriculum for their primary education means to provide functional and practical instruction at the prime educational level and guide to those pupils who wish to continue with secondary teaching or furthermore. Universally elementary Schooling is regarded as its foundation pillar.

Primary education is the first stage of a child's learning and is essential for a child. Initial Schooling is a basic right of every kid. A good foundation of Initial learning of children ensures their overall progress and growth and lies to social, cognitive, cultural, emotional, and physical skills according to the best of their abilities. Moreover, paves the way for social, economic, political progress, and development of a society and a country as a whole. The main purpose of providing primal study is to formulate children's strength to play their ability completely in social, political, and economic well-being for the country. The Kenya government announced the Free Primary Education (FPE) in Kenya to boost its educational welfare and move to a 2-6-3-3-3 pattern instead of an 8-4-4 structure. Before independence in Kenya, initial schooling was almost exclusively the responsibility of the communities or nongovernmental agencies such as local church groups, etc. After freedom, the government has taken over the full direction power of primitive learning from local authorities and is responsible for financial support to afford equal educational opportunities to all through the provision of free fundamental literacy. Reading is the process of facilitating learning, or knowledge, art & crafts, values, beliefs, and habits to lead a sustainable life. The Initial preparatory methods need to include teaching, training, storytelling, discussion, etc. to attract and behold kids' attention.

Primary Schools by Province

The list of Primary Schools are categorized under Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley and Western province below.

Central Province

Coast Province

Eastern Province

Nairobi Province

North Eastern Province

Nyanza Province

Rift Valley Province

Western Province

Background of Elementary Education in Kenya

Primitive childhood study in Kenya did not get much attention until the late 1980s and demand for initial childhood education increased during this period. After independence in 1963, the government's main priorities were to create a uniquely Kenyan ideology, politics, and constitution rather than primitive schooldays study. As we all know Primary schooling within Kenya begins the first phase of the formal educational system. It starts at six years of age and school enrolment increased during the end of the 1980s, a starting age for attending institutional reading became compulsory. To improve the primitive schooling system, the government, in collaboration with the Van Leer Foundation, established the National Center for Early Childhood Education, based at the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE). The Center's having the responsibility of train the instructors of preschool teachers, who are then posted to District Centers for Early Childhood Education (DICECE). Each school offering Fundamental schooling in Kenya is bound to maintain some basic facilities or essential amenities. Here, we saw a remarkable expansion in primary teaching between 1970 and 1990, both in terms of the number of educational institution established and in the number of children enrolled. In 1970, there were 6,056 elementary institutes with a total enrolment of 891,600 children. At the same time, trained teachers numbered 92,000. In 1990, this quantity increased to over 14,690 primary schools, with an enrolment of moreover 5 million children and nearly 200,000 trained teachers. Also as enrolment expanded, there was a significant improvement in the number of girls in learning spaces. At the beginning of independence, only about a third of the enrolments in primitive schools were female. By 1990, girls' attendance in schools rose to closely 50 percent.

Previously in Kenya, the subject's curriculum includes the first eight years includes English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, Science, Music, History, Civics, Geography, and Religious Education. The vocational curriculum includes were arts, crafts, agriculture, and home science. Particular subjects in vocational subjects in the arts and crafts involve drawing, collage/mosaic, weaving, ornament-making clay-pottery, painting, graphic design, leatherwork, modeling and carving, fabric designs, puppetry, woodwork, and metalwork. To provide higher quality education in Kenyan education among the kids it structure of the curriculum is designed like this. Thus, if the curriculum were implemented as it is designed on paper it would make an ideal educational system for all and set an example for others. The implementation and management of the structure is the key concern. The imbalance in the implementation process and poor economy contributes to the failure, but not the planning and design expertise. Previously, assessments are conducts in five subjects, Kiswahili, English, mathematics, science and agriculture, and social studies. The Schooling structure, manpower (Teaching and non-teaching staff), the infrastructure, and the grants are not sufficient, which is being able to provide quality education to Kenya.

Present Stage of Primary Education in Kenya

According to The Conversation (Published on Feb 25th, 2020), after the introduction of Free Primary Education (FPE) in 2003, overcrowding is the main issue overcomes in Initial and secondary government academics in Kenya. The enrolments take a huge leap to almost 1.3 million students in 2003, from 6 million in 2002 to 7.3 million in the year 2003. The government too, looking forward to a 100% transition rate from primitive schools to secondary studies. To addresses the issues, the number of public primary academic institutions grew by just 13% to 22,945. By comparison, private schools grew by 64.5% during 2002-2016 Public schools aren't growing fast enough as comparing private schools. The Kenyan government needs to work more closely with school administrators and communities to explore potential solutions to tackle the dilemma and essential to understand the indigenous contexts and requirements. In 2005, the Ministry of Education of Kenya, make a corporation with The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) which has approved a grant of USD 88.4 million to the Ministry of Education Science and Technology for the Kenya Primary Education Development project with the help of the World Bank. Within a short time and with GPE support, and has made impressive progress, including a 70% reduction in the cost of textbooks, the equal enrolment of girls and boys, and the training of 102,000 teachers in advanced teaching methods. After getting support from GPE, the government of Kenya is systematically eliminating the barriers to quality teaching. To uplift the teaching criteria, to providing easy access to textbooks and clean and safe sanitation, the emphasis is placed on reaching the most marginalized, including girls and refugee children, to ensure learning is accessible to all. Kenya's Primary Education Development program addresses numerous obstacles to learning, with measures such as better sanitation, improved teaching standards, and easy access to textbooks. Significant steps are taken in gender equality specifically, and draw enrolment for girls and boys more or less equivalent.

According to the published report of World Education News & Reviews (WENR), on June 2, 2015, By Nick Clark, Kenya's national schooling system is designed on an 8-4-4 model by President Daniel Arap Moi, with eight years of basic learning, four years of secondary education, and a 4years University teaching. This model replaced the 7-4-2-3 system in 1985. Kenya's National Education Sector Strategic Plan 2018-2022 includes lessons from earlier teaching initiatives and is regarded as a hard, government-owned strategy. Later it moves to the plan with a positive direction which has been widely praised by development partners and civil society for proactively addressing challenges such as governance and accountability. In 2017, Kenya for the second time introduced a new system of learning pattern, the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), which runs on a 2-6-3-3-3 System of Education. The Competency-based Curriculum was planned by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). Students will now spend 2 years for Pre-primary, 6 years for primary (Grade 1-6), 3 years in junior secondary (Grade 7,8,9) 3 years for senior secondary (grade 10,11,12), and 3 years for the university under the CBC scheme. In lower primary are Kiswahili, English, literacy, and mother tongue as well as science, social studies, and agricultural activities are included as Topics. The 2-6-3-3 structure is the learning favor at each stage of a child. The emphasis is given on developing individualized Continuous Assessment Tests (CATs).

The existing educational system in Schools of Kenya is systematized into the subsequent patterns:

In the pre-primary stage, pupil starts their learning habits and this run for 2 years where all learners have to study Subjects are Kiswahili, English, literacy, and mother tongue as well as science, social studies, and agricultural activities in schools. In the Upper primary Kiswahili, English, Mathematics, Home Science, Agriculture, Science and Technology, Creative Arts (art, craft, and music), Moral and Life Skills and Physical and Health Education are there. Others are social studies (citizenship, geography, and history) with the option of a foreign language (French, German, Mandarin Chinese, and Arabic). According to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be a learning tool in all areas (The Standard, 2019). At the end of primary school, pupils take a national examination and receive a Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). And can proceed further to a secondary school to get upper-level education. Rather than a final exam, the 2-6-3-3 System of Education in Kenya focused on Continuous Assessment Tests (CATs) examination. As per the Kenya government, this particular system will be competency-based and provide importance on the identification of talents and nurture them. Students did not require a proper sitting shape in the schools; however, they will be perfectly evaluated through CAT to eradicate the trauma that occurs due to exams upon students. The teacher has their own space to sort and adaptive choices and how and when their learners will be evaluated and this became their comprehensive responsibilities.

Teacher's perception and understanding are too important to get sustainability in the process of quality and equality of education in every single Kenya school. After the introduction of FPE, it provides a promising betterment to the schooling structure and helps in achieving its ultimate aim. In Kenya, teacher absenteeism, poor working conditions, inadequate funding, and lack of infrastructure, financial dependencies are few challenges and make negatively affect the learning outcomes as well as the Schooling arrangements. However, FPE plans by Kenya Government to provide teachers a healthy and skilled professional support by headteachers in pedagogical activities and in managing large and heterogeneous classes. During emerge of COVID-19, GPE has also granted US$11 million towards training 150,000 teachers in distance learning and expanding online educational content, so that even in times of uncertainty, children can access the quality education they deserve.

Despite all shortages, free Primary education has significantly improved Kenya's universal primary education system as specified in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Benta et al, (2015) concluded that the speedy implementation of FPE, became a failure of exercise the ability of the teachers, so it's a concern to possess importance upon their ability and experiences. The Free Primary Education (FPE) introduce 2-6-3-3 System of Education, CATs assessment methodology could focus individually and administrate by the teacher. Kenya has multilingual surroundings to achieve competency level government keep focusing on an indigenous language rather than varieties and English became the medium of instruction. The Government of Kenya (GOK), with the Education Ministry and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), analyzed properly to achieve qualitative primary education and upbringing to every Kenyan kid.