7.4% of Kenyan children enrol in Grade 1 without ECDE experience, report shows

A new report has revealed that 7.4 percent of children in Kenya are enrolling in Grade 1 without having passed through Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE), highlighting persistent gaps in foundational learning access across the country.

The State of Education in Kenya Research Report, released Thursday by Zizi Afrique Foundation and Usawa Agenda, shows that exclusion from ECDE is more pronounced in rural areas.

The report points out that in the countryside, 8.4 percent of children join primary school without prior early learning experience, compared to 6.2 percent in urban areas.

Counties such as Mandera (51.4%) and Marsabit (33.3%) recorded the highest levels of ECDE exclusion, while Kisumu (1.3%) and Nakuru (1.8%) had the lowest, pointing to stark regional disparities.

The study also notes that among children already in Grade 1 and above, 7.5 percent of boys and 7.4 percent of girls had never attended ECDE.

Children with disabilities showed slightly lower attendance rates at 7.2 percent, compared to 7.4 percent among those without disabilities.

ECDE in Kenya is managed by county governments, while the national government provides policy guidance, curriculum, and support.

The report attributes growth in ECDE enrolment nationally to policy reforms and increased investment in infrastructure.

Enrolment rose by nearly 5 percent between 2018 and 2021, alongside a rise in the number of ECDE centres from 46,623 in the 2022/23 financial year to 47,666 in 2023/24.

Of these, 32,461 are public institutions while 15,205 are private, says the study.

However, the sector faces challenges, notably a significant drop in the number of ECDE teachers, from 92,359 in 2019 to 69,561 in 2022.