The Kenyan school system: a guide for expats

In an unflinching mimicry of the rest of the world, Kenya offers a startling contrast between the schooling available to local citizens and that which is offered to wealthy expats. The disparity affects the facilities, training of teaching staff and funding and is nowhere more obvious than in the scaling of school fees. Kenya is one of the most expensive places in Africa for schools fees, because of this the expat in Kenya can’t always afford ‘Mzungu’ schools. If you decide to go local, what’s the deal and how to choose?

Primary school in Kenya
Free schooling at primary level is compulsory for citizens from the age of 5. Whilst funds are made available to schools in all areas there is a clear bias against schools in built-up areas and cities. Schools in rural areas inevitably suffer for a number of reasons. The government funding is often unreliable and local communities fall victim to fund embezzlement. On top of financial constraints, outlying areas find it difficult to attract teachers.

Private primary schools for expats are more numerous than secondary schools. Within Nairobi private schools such as The Banda, Hillcrest, ISK and Braeburn are among the top schools in the continent with most of them being awarded ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ at Ofsted. Don’t’ be fooled into thinking these primary schools are cheap though.

Secondary schools
Kenya has operated an 8,4,4, school system since 1984. 8 years of primary education followed but 4 of high school and 4 of university. From secondary school onward the system is divided into three. Government funded, Harambee – partly funded by the government, and private. The Harambee schools were built in response to overburdening in the government-run schools. The government schools select children in response to the grades acquired at their final primary exams. Students with the lowest grades are often unable to obtain a place at school. In response, local communities built Harambee schools, which the government committed to supporting financially. However, as with the rural primary schools actually receiving monies is unreliable at best.

Furthermore, Government schools are divided into National, Provincial and District. Students who obtain top scores are admitted to National schools where access to funds, facilities and the top tier of teachers makes for a high-quality education The lower scoring children are left to scramble for places in rural areas, where their chances of succeeding at a higher education are further limited by lack of resources. Parents often push children out of school into paid work to support their families and communities, thus resulting in a high level of absenteeism.

Whilst the situation may appear dire, nearly four-fifths of Kenya’s population is literate which is high for Subsaharan Africa. Education is highly valued in Kenya with parents who can afford it often paying for extra tuition to supplement substandard education.

Choosing a school in Kenya
Despite the bleakness of the situation, education in Kenya can rival that of some of the top countries in the world. Children that attend private schools in Kenya often receive scholarships to top academic schools globally. Some of the National schools are increasingly highly regarded. Among them Mang'u High School, Alliance High School (Kenya) and Starehe Boys' Centre and School.

Curriculum and Examinations
The main area for consideration for expats in Kenya may be the curriculum and examinations offered by the schools.

Government run schools work towards the Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education, which may be less recognized in an expats home country. At private schools, you can choose a school will may work towards exams recognized in your own country.

British Curriculum
Thanks to colonialism schools tend to veer towards the British system. Notable British schools include Peponi, Braeburn, St Andrews, Pembroke, Nairobi Academy and Hillcrest. These schools all work on the British curriculum and grade using GCSE and A level.


American and International Schools
A few American schools such as The International School of Kenya and the Aga Khan work to the International Baccalaureate You will also find schools of various nationalities. Nairobi is home to German, Swedish and Japanese schools amongst others.

Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education
Many schools such as Moi, Kianda, Likii Hills School and Strathmore School run to the Kenyan curriculum. For a list of private Kenyan syllabus schools in ranking order check out this link https://informationcradle.com/kenya/education/private-schools-in-kenya-top-100/

Adapted syllabus schools
Some schools such as the impressive Brookhouse school works to an adapted British Curriculum, which integrates part of the Kenyan syllabus. St Marys, Nairobi offers the IGCSE and KCSE exams at secondary school and the International


Cost
The costs between even the private schools can vary enormously. At the top end sits ISK where fees for year 12 are 2,900,000 (29,000 USD) annually for day school. In comparison, the Nairobi Academy seems reasonable at 428,000 (4,200 USD) annually

If you and your wallet are starting to weep then have a look at this link on the cheapest British Curriculum schools in Kenya.

https://www.tuko.co.ke/277622-cheapest-igcse-schools-kenya.html#277622 Bear in mind that Kenyan curriculum schools will tend toward the cheaper side too.

Location
You can’t dismiss location in Kenya. Particularly if you are living in the cities. Nairobi traffic is world famous; a couple of kilometres can take hours on a bad day. If you don’t want to spend half your life in a traffic jam then try and position yourself so that school, home and work are all close together. A lot of expats find that their choice of school boils down to location once they’ve had a taste of rush hour traffic.

If you are blessed with an expat contract which pays school fees or simply a burgeoning wallet then the choice is yours. The best way to decide is to make an appointment to visit your top schools and figure out which one works for your child.

By Nadine Murphy

Website: http://www.theexpatmummy.com

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