Inequitable Access to Quality Education in Primary and Secondary Schools in Kenya

Education is a basic human right as was declared by the United Nations in 1948. Most governments including Kenya have tried to implement free and compulsory basic education. It also subscribes to various international protocols such as Education for All (EFA) in Jomtien, Thailand 1990 and the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, 2000. Since then, the Kenya Government in her Education Sector Strategic Plan and Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2005 has articulated how to attain goals for education. At primary school level where children stay longest in the schooling years and they develop more motor skill, further cognitive skills along with higher socialization than the early childhood education level, has children failing to access education due to poverty, gender imbalances, regional imbalances among other concerns. Secondary education which creates a human capital base higher than primary education along with training youth for further education and the world of work registers restriction to many children due to concerns of poverty, gender imbalances, and insecurity regional disparity among others. This paper articulates in detail the above concerns discussing their manifestations in Kenya. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations made on how to improve access to basic education in Kenya. Among the recommendations are: To make basic education free and compulsory, improve the provision of health services, intensify fight against demeaning cultures, give special attention to children with disabilities, avail employment opportunities to the youth, assure security to all in conflict-prone regions and tighten bursary disbursement procedures.