Three million children enroll in public nursery schools

The number of children in public nursery schools has hit 3.3 million, Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang (pictured) has said.

He said five years ago, the enrollment stood at 2.7 million pupils and attributed the growth to collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Education, County Governments and key stakeholders.

“The Gross Enrollment Ratio has also increased from 69.4 per cent in 2012 to 77.1 per cent in 2017, while the Net Enrollment ratio rose from 64.2 per cent to 76.9 per cent in the same period,” Kipsang said.

He also noted that the number of teachers trained in Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) increased from 80,526 five years ago to 106,938 last year.

The PS added that more than 80 per cent of the pre-primary teachers were now trained.

“It is one of the Government’s critical focuses to ensure teachers in ECDE are properly trained as the quality of education in any country is as good as the quality of the teachers,” Kipsang said.

The PS spoke during Education International and Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) global seminar on Early Childhood Education at a Nairobi Hotel.

The meeting brought together education union leaders, nursery school teachers, academics, experts, policy makers and other key stakeholders, mainly from Africa. Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion was present. 

Kipsang announced that the Ministry has formed a National Pre-Primary Education Policy, which outlines the strategies for enhancing access; ensuring quality, relevance, equity and inclusion in early childhood education.

Education International general secretary David Edwards said the two-day seminar will discuss global and national issues around basic education.

He added that challenges related to the achievement of relevant Sustainable Development Goal on achieving inclusive quality early childhood education will also be discussed among others.