Education
Providing inclusive and equitable quality education for every child
Situation
The Government of Kenya has allocated significant budget to education, to implement reforms such as the Competency Based Curriculum and 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school. However, issues such as poor-quality teaching and large class sizes still affect the quality of children's learning. The pupil-to-teacher ratio remains very high in some counties, such as 77 to 1 in Turkana.
Kenya has made gains in reaching remote areas and disadvantaged communities at primary and pre-primary level. In pastoral communities, high dropout rates reflect a perceived lack of value of schooling, long distances to schools and high rates of child marriage. Through advocacy and monitoring spending, UNICEF helped increase public funding for pre-primary education by four per cent across 12 ASAL counties in the fiscal year 2024/25, fostering sustainable early learning.
UNICEF's response
UNICEF works closely with the Government, donors and civil society to help increase enrolment, retention and learning outcomes for girls and boys in pre-primary, primary and secondary education, particularly in arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) counties and informal settlements. We focus on involving all girls and boys in education, including those with disabilities. We also concentrate on innovation, refugee education and alternative ways to provide basic education.
UNICEF supports 3.2 million children across the country to access quality pre-primary education and we are strengthening integrated plans to improve early childhood development in target counties.
UNICEF also supports the Government to develop, review and implement education policies, including on disaster management, water, hygiene and sanitation, and education management information systems. Alongside this, UNICEF provides support to increase access to safe water, gender sensitive sanitation facilities and hygiene education, including menstrual hygiene management in schools.
Education in numbers
423,811 learning in 659 schools gained access to digital learning.
UNICEF helped enhance disability support through teacher training and assessments.
In 2025, over 24,990 children benefitted from early childhood education.
130,458 children accessed formal and non-formal education in refugee-hosting and climate affected counties.