The process of collecting data for the 2024 national school census is complete and focus now shifts to analysis, which will ultimately guide planning of the education sector.
The census covered all schools providing basic education namely pre-primary, primary, junior secondary, secondary and special needs education units in public and private institutions as well as international schools.
Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang explained that data collected went beyond the usual statistics of enrollment, retention and completion but include additional information on age, gender, disability, socio-economic background, teacher distribution, learning facilities and school resources.
“The reports generated will assist the education sector to close data gaps while it also assists in boosting the existing data,’’ Kipsang said.
The 2024 School Census is being implemented by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders. Such a census was last carried out in 2007.
Kipsang said the information it will not only inform the design and enhancement of policies aimed at improving the quality of education but also help address challenges related to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) rollout.
“The information generated will contribute to development of a long-term strategic plan for our education sector, identify gaps in basic education, such as disparities in access, retention, and quality and evaluate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all,” the PS explained.
The information will help in identifying key areas of focus on the enrollment trends and adjusting of resource allocation accordingly.
It will assist in teacher deployment information such as qualifications, distribution and student-teacher ratios. The PS said it will also provide school infrastructure data including classrooms, laboratories, sanitation facilities, libraries, digital access and learning materials thus identify gaps.
