Kenya’s education sector continues to grapple with critical challenges that threaten its progress, a new report has revealed. The State of Education in Kenya 2025 report, jointly released by the Zizi Afrique Foundation and Usawa Agenda, highlights acute shortages in staffing, infrastructure, ICT resources, and funding as major impediments to quality learning outcomes across the country.
The report cites a national shortage of nearly 100,000 teachers across all levels, from primary and junior secondary schools to teacher training colleges. Teacher deployment varies drastically, with some schools having as few as one teacher while others have up to twelve.
Alarmingly, the report shows a wide disparity in learning outcomes. Only four in ten Grade 4 learners can read and comprehend a Grade 3-level English story, while three in ten Grade 6 learners are unable to do the same. The situation is worse in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), particularly in North Eastern Kenya, where only two in ten Grade 4 pupils meet this benchmark.
Sanitation and physical infrastructure also fall short of national standards. On average, 66 boys and 62 girls share a single toilet, more than double the Ministry of Education’s recommended ratio of 30:1 for boys and 25:1 for girls.
“In terms of infrastructure, we are still struggling with basic WASH needs, alongside new demands like laboratories and digital access necessitated by the competency-based curriculum,” said Dr. John Mugo, CEO of Zizi Afrique Foundation, during the report’s launch.
The report also highlights challenges in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). Despite a budget increase to KES 14.2 billion in 2023/24, TVET institutions still face trainer shortages (9,121 vacancies), limited ICT integration, and inadequate training facilities.
Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) has seen a modest 5% enrolment increase since 2018, but the number of teachers dropped from 92,359 in 2019 to 69,561 in 2022. County-level management of ECDE has led to inequalities in access, with counties like Mandera and Marsabit recording school attendance levels of 51.4% and 33.3% respectively, compared to just 1.3% in Kisumu and 1.8% in Nakuru.
While digital literacy and coding have been introduced in junior schools under the Competency-Based Education framework, the report notes that only 21% of teachers are trained in STEM, and 35% of junior schools lack a single STEM teacher. Furthermore, only 48% of learners have access to laboratories.
Dr. Emmanuel Manyasa, Executive Director of Usawa Agenda, stressed the need for equity and standardisation in ECDE and called for stronger partnerships to address systemic gaps. “We need collaborative frameworks involving government, private sector, civil society and communities to bridge the digital and resource divide in our public schools,” he said.
The report concludes with a call for enhanced investment, equitable resource distribution, and policy reforms to ensure a more inclusive, quality, and future-ready education system in Kenya.
Written By Rodney Mbua
