Education in Nairobi: Ruto’s Blueprint for City Kids

NAIROBI, KENYA, NOVEMBER 27 – President William Ruto has regretted the high number of children who are not getting in education in Nairobi county. He said it’s a big shame to find children in the capital, Nairobi not studying because their parents can’t afford school fees.

He was speaking in  church service in Nairobi where he pointed out that there are only 200 public primary schools in Nairobi yet it has 17 constituencies. He said that they are going to build 3,500 classrooms in Nairobi.

“In Nairobi we have many children who are out of school especially in our informal settlements and it’s a great mistake that in the capital city of Kenya we have children suffering because their parents are poor,” president Ruto said.

Building classrooms

“We have only 200 schools (public primary schools) in Nairobi. When I was MP (Eldoret North Constituency) there was 150 schools in and only in one constituency and that was in the rural areas. So how can we have 200 schools in 17 constituencies, that is a great mistake. That is why I said we will build 3,500 more classes as the government. That’s why on Thursday I signed supplementary budget that we have set aside Ksh1 billion for Nairobi county to build schools for our children,” he said adding that Nairobi county has to build additional 1,500 classes.

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According to the ministry of education, there are 225 Public ECD and primary schools in Nairobi despite huge number of children in Nairobi who need education more that 15 years since the government implemented free primary education program.

A 2018 study showed that there were no enough public primary schools in densely populated informal settlements like Kibera or Mathare. A spot check by JEDCA MEDIA in one of the public primary schools in Nairobi shows that there is congestion with one school having more than 3,000 pupils compared to rural schools that have fraction of that number.

Private schools

This has given rise to private schools to try to fill the gap. According to Kenya Private Schools Association, there are 10,400 registered private school. Most of these schools are concentrated in urban centers to meet the demand for schools in urban centers. Even though some low-cost private schools, many poor parents still can’t afford them. Other private schools are too expensive even middle-class parents can’t afford.

Teachers recruitment

President Ruto said they have employed 156,000 teachers this year to improve education in the country adding that education is the greatest equalizer.

“This year we have employed 156,000 new teachers because education is the foundation. Mandela said education is the greatest equalizer. We will get equality if our children go to school,” the head of state stated.