Name: Neil A.

Turno
Subject: ED 702- Sociology of Education
Date: June 26,2021
Time: Sat – 5:00-9:00 pm
Professor: Dr. Carlyn Dela Peña

Education in Kenya
The current education system is organised into five main levels:
Early childhood education (ECE)
Kindergarten year 1 (KG1)
Kindergarten year 2 (KG2)
Kindergarten year 3 (KG3) or nursery school

Basic education (KCPE-KCSE)

Lower primary: 4 years
Upper primary: 4 years
High school: 4 years
Adult education (Gumbaro)

Vocational training
Artisan level: 1 term/semester
Craft level: 2 terms/semesters

Professional training
Technician (certificate) level: 6 terms/semesters
Technologist (diploma or bachelor's degree) level: 9 terms/semesters
Statutory registration and licensing (examinations/internship) level: 1 year
Specialist technologist (higher diploma or master's degree) level: 3 terms/semesters
Sub-specialist level (higher diploma, master's degree or PhD)

University programmes
Certificate: 1 semester
Ordinary diploma: 2 semesters (minimum)
Undergraduate degree: 8 semesters
Postgraduate diploma: 2 semesters
Bachelor of Philosophy or Master's degree: 4 semesters (minimum)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree

Education Quality
Education quality has recently received a lot of attention in Kenya. The government's main document in this effort, the Kenya
Education Sector Support Programme for 2005-2010, established the National Assessment Centre (NAC) to monitor learning
achievement. In 2010, the NAC released the results of its first assessment.

In 2009, in collaboration with the NAC, Uwezo Kenya conducted an assessment of the basic literacy and numeracy skills of
children ages 6-16. The Annual Learning Assessment (ALA) reached villages in 70 out of 158 districts in Kenya and assessed
nearly 70,000 children in their homes. The ALA was set at a Standard 2 level, which is the level where students are supposed
to achieve basic competency in reading English and Kiswahili and complete simple arithmetic problems. The chart below
shows the percent of children who could not read a Standard 2 level paragraph or solve Standard 2 level subtraction
problems:

Level of Children Assessed Cannot Read English Paragraph Cannot Read Swahili Paragraph Cannot Do Subtraction
Key findings about education in Kenya, based on the results of the Uwezo 2009 assessment:
Literacy levels are low, and are substantially lower in certain regions. Girls tend to perform better in reading English and
Kiswahili, while boys tend to perform better in math.
Literacy levels are lower in public schools than private schools.
Most children can solve real world, "ethno-mathematics" problems, while fewer can solve similar math problems in an
abstract, pencil and paper format.
5% of children are not enrolled in school, but the problem is far worse in particular regions.
About half of children are enrolled in pre-school.
Many children are older than expected for their class level, including 40% of children in class 2, and 60% of children in class
7.
North Eastern Province and arid districts in Rift Valley and Eastern Provinces have particularly low performance; and many
older children, especially girls, are not attending school.
Many families pay for extra tuition, which focuses heavily on drilling and exam preparation.
Schools struggle to plan their budgets because they receive funds at unpredictable times.
Children whose mothers are educated, particularly beyond primary school, tend to have much higher rates of literacy and
numeracy.
About 15% of students are absent on a given day, with much higher absenteeism in certain districts as a result of increased
poverty level.
There is a severe shortage of teachers, estimated at 4 teachers per school.
the reluctance of the government to invest in educational institutions in marginalised areas thereby developing schools in
cities only which result in inefficient education process in arid and semi-arid areas
embezzlement of public funds by school administrators and lack of accountability of the use of government grants and high
levels of corruption in educational institutions.

Factors Affecting Education in Kenya

In 2003 the Kenyan government promised free primary education to its citizens. In the early 70s primary school fees were
abolished but in the mid 80s cost-sharing measures between the government and its citizens led to the re-introduction of
minor fee charges by primary schools. As the trend continued with schools requiring parents to pay fees such as PTA,
harambee, textbooks, uniforms, caution fees, exam fees and extracurricular activity fees, most parents became
overburdened and unable to raise such fees. Those who could not afford the money to pay for their children's school fees
often had their children drop out of the school. Many children were also forced to drop out of school when teachers would not
allow them to take exams. To pressurise parents to pay fees, schools often sent children home during the final exams.

The growth of Kenya's education sector has exceeded expectations. After the first university was established in 1970, six
other public universities and 23 private universities have been established. Although Kenya has its own universities, some
parents prefer to send their children to universities outside the country. This is largely because Kenyan public universities are
not as flexible with admission requirements as some foreign universities.

Primary Education
Primary education in Kenya begins at the age of 5 to 7 after completion of a year of kindergarten commonly known as
Nursery School or pre-unit. The first class or year of primary school is known as Standard 1, the final year as Standard 8 and
primary school children are known as pupils. The school year at both primary and secondary levels, begins in January and
ends in November. Students get 3 school vacations in April, August and December.

At the end of the school year students advance to the next grade.Since repetition was banned students still progress to the
next grade even though they fail their examinations. Most primary schools are day schools with pupils living at home. Fewer
schools at primary level are boarding schools compared to secondary schools. All public primary school pupils sit for the
Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination at the end of the school year in Standard eight.

In January 2003 President Mwai Kibaki re-introduced free primary education which previously existed before the mid 80s
when the government adopted cost sharing measures that led to a minor level of school fees charged by primary schools for
text books, PTA, and extra curricular activities. Since 2003, education in public schools became free and compulsory ( Kenya
Constitution,Article 53, 2010). On learning that primary education had once again become free in Kenya, Kimani Maruge, an
uneducated farmer and the world's oldest person to enroll in primary school joined Kapkenduiywo primary school in Eldoret
at the age of 84. He was elected head boy at the age of 86 in 2005.

Secondary Education
Secondary schools in Kenya fall into three categories - government funded, harambee and private. Government funded
schools are divided into national, provincial and district levels. Harambee schools do not receive full funding from the
government and private schools are run by private organisations or individuals. After taking the primary school leaving exam
and successfully passing, government funded schools select students in order of scores.

Students with the highest scores gain admission into national schools while those with average scores are selected into
provincial and district schools. Harambee schools accept students with low scores. Students who fail their examinations
pursue technical and vocational education. The latter is divided into technical secondary school (lasting 4 years) and
apprenticeships solutions. Since 2010, technical secondary schools student can have access to university programs. A
number of students also drop out of school by choice due to poor scores.

Under the current system, students attend secondary school for four years before sitting for the school leaving exam at the
end of the fourth year. The first class or year of secondary school is known as form 1 and the final year is form 4. At the end
of the fourth year, from October to November students sit for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination. In
2008, the government introduced plans to offer free Secondary education to all Kenyans.

Historic prestigious national high schools include Mang'u High School, Alliance High School (Kenya) and Starehe Boys' Centre
and School. Private secondary schools in Kenya are generally high cost, offering students an alternative system of education
with better or more luxurious facilities compared to public schools. They are often favoured for prestige. Most private schools
in Kenya offer the British system of education which includes "O-levels" and "A-levels". Very few offer the American system
of education and good number of them offer the Kenya system. Some of the oldest private schools in Kenya include Loreto
Convent Msongari, Nairobi (1921), St. Mary's School, Nairobi, Braeburn School, Consolata School, Strathmore School,
Oshwal Academy, Rift Valley Academy, Aga Khan Academy, Kenton College and Brookhouse School,

Technical and Vocational Education and Training

Institutions
These are two- or three-year post secondary school institutions also termed colleges. They award certificates, diplomas and
higher national diplomas after successful completion of relevant courses. Courses offered by these institutions include
Business Education, Accounting, Secretarial Studies, Nursing, Teacher Training, Computer Studies, Journalism, Media,
Design, Culinary Studies, Foreign Languages, Tourism and Technical Skills. In order of credibility or accreditation, national
polytechnics rank first, followed by government training institutes, teacher training colleges and private institutions. Although
generally termed colleges, these institution do not award degrees. Degrees are only awarded by universities.

From July 2014, all government and private institutions offering Technical and Vocational Education and Training where put
under "TVETA". Retrieved 10 October 2016. this act normalized this sector as it had become tainted by unaccredited
institutions offering substandard education as revealed by "The Standard". and "The Star". 2 December 2015. As of October
10, 2016 there were 540 isntitutions accredited by the Authority

Credit Hours
Some universities in Vietnam notes standardized credit hours, which can translate directly over to the U.S. system. Some
instead notes class hours of 15, 30, 45, 60...etc. which needs to be converted into credit hours by dividing class hours by 15.
Thus a 15-hour class is equivalent to 1 credit hours, a 45-hour class is equivalent to 3 credit hours.

Method of Calculating GPAs

Most universities convert GPAs class by class. Each class is evaluated for credit hours equivalent. Each class grade point is
evaluated in its native grade point, then converted to A, B, C, D, F. Then convert the individual class grade to the 4.0
system. Next, multiply each class grade point by the number of credit hours for the respective class. Finally, total up the
points, and divide by the total number credit hours to arrive at the final GPA.
Higher Education
University entrance is based on the scores achieved in the entrance examination. High school graduates need high scores to
be admitted to universities. Securing a place in a public university is considered a major step towards a successful career,
especially for those from rural areas or disadvantaged families. The pressure on the candidates therefore remains very high,
despite the measures taken to reduce the importance of these exams. In 2004, it was estimated that nearly one million
students took the exam, but on average, only 20% passed.

Normally, candidates take three exams for the fixed group of subjects they choose. There are many fixed groups of subjects:
Group A : Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry
Group A1: Mathematics, Physics, English
Group B : Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry
Group C : Literature, History, Geography
Group D : Literature, Foreign Language, Mathematics

Group D consists of 6 subgroups based on the languages they provide in universities:

Group D1: entrance exam subject is English; major language in university is English, but there are also French, Russian,
Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin and Korean.
Group D2: entrance exam subject is Russian; major language in university is Russian
Group D3: entrance exam subject is French; major language in university is French, students can choose Italian instead
Group D4: entrance exam subject is Chinese; major language in university is Mandarin
Group D5: entrance exam subject is German; major language in university is German
Group D6: entrance exam subject is Japanese; major language in university is Japanese

Besides these, there are also other groups for artistic and cultural education:
Group H: Literature,Colored Painting, Pencil Drawing
Group M: Literature, Mathematics, Singing and Expressive Reading, Instrument Performance (optional)
Group N: Literature, Tone and Melody, Vocal
Group R: Literature, History, Journalism
Group S: Literature, Theatrical Talents
Group T: Mathematics, Biology, Sports
Group V: Mathematics, Physics, Drawing

In 2007, Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training started to use multiple choice exam format for several subjects during
the university entrance examination. These subjects include: Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Foreign Language. Each
multiple choice exam lasts 90 minutes. The foreign language exam consists of 80 multiple choice questions; meanwhile, the
Physics, Chemistry, Biology exam has 50 questions. Math, Literature, History and Geography exams still use composition
format.

Starting from the entrance exam of 2013, 10 artistic and cultural universities will remove Literature from the exam of the
group H, N and S. Instead, the results of three years in high school and the scores of the HGE will be used to evaluate the
candidates.

Starting from 2015, high school graduation and university entrance merged to one exam. each student will take at least 4
subjects for exam include 3 compulsory: mathematic,literature and foreign language (mostly English) and 1 sub-subject such
as : physics, chemistry, geography, biology, history. After the result has been given, the student can use their score to pass
high school graduation exam and to go to their desired college with 3 chosen points from the 4 given.

Types of Higher Education Institutions

Vietnamese Government decree (decree 43/2000/ND-CP, dated August 30, 2000) identified three types of higher education
institutions:

"Đại học" (University), which is a multidisciplinary institution offering various fields of study and which has research
capacities. Five major multidisciplinary universities in Vietnam are Vietnam National University, Hanoi; Vietnam National
University, Ho Chi Minh City; Huế University; University of Da Nang; and Thai Nguyen University.
"trường Đại học" (Senior college), which is more narrowly focused in its curriculum, sometimes on a single study area.

"Học viện" (Institute), which is also narrowly focused in terms of study area, but which may also have a specialized research
capacity.

In addition, there are junior college or community colleges, professional secondary schools, and vocational schools which
offer degrees or certificates, such as PSB College, which offers Business Management Diplomas, courses lasting from a few
months to two years long.

In the school year 2010-2011,Vietnam had a total of 163 universities (including senior colleges and institutes) and 223 junior
colleges, in which 50 senior colleges and 30 junior colleges are non-public.
The presence of foreign universities is increasing. Universities such as PSB International College, RMIT and University of
Hawaii offer degrees in fields such as business, English as a Second Language and Information Technology. Running a
foreign education system in Vietnam is challenging. Quality control and affordability are key issues, as well as red tape.

Higher education qualifications

Associate Degree (Vietnamese: Cao đẳng): a three-year program delivered by junior colleges (including teachers colleges
and others) and also by some universities as additional training programs in Vietnam.

Bachelor's degree (Vietnamese: Cử nhân): a four- to six-year program in which six years for students studying medical and
dental sciences; five years for students of industrial engineering and four years for the majority of other undergraduate
degree in Vietnam such as Social Sciences. Graduates received degree with a title corresponding to their field of study such
as bachelor (cử nhân), engineer (kỹ sư), medical doctor (bác sĩ) or lawyer (luật sư) etc.…

Most of Vietnam's universities also offer master's (2 years) and Doctor of Philosophy (4 years) degrees.