A girl does her homework. A new report shows four out of 10 learners in Grade Four in public schools cannot read and comprehend a Grade Three-level English story.
A new report shows four out of 10 learners in Grade Four in public schools cannot read and comprehend a Grade Three-level English story. It gets worse as only three out of 10 learners in Grade Six can read to understand the same text.
According to the latest “State of Education in Kenya Research Report” by Zizi Afrique Foundation and Usawa Agenda, learners in rural and dry regions are the most affected, with just two in every 10 Grade Four pupils in northeastern Kenya able to read and comprehend a Grade Three-level English story.
“Learning outcomes are low and inequitable. Learners in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (Asals) and rural areas under-perform those in non-Asal and urban areas,” the report says.
This means thousands of pupils are progressing through the education system without acquiring the foundational literacy skills necessary for learning in junior school, senior school and adulthood.
The report links poor reading skills to gaps in early childhood education. It says children who attend pre-school before joining primary school are more likely to perform better in mathematics and English compared to those who do not.
“Children who attended pre-school before joining primary school are nine per cent more likely to perform better in mathematics and 18 per cent more likely to perform better in English than those who didn’t,” reads the report.
Despite this, access to early childhood education remains limited in many regions.
According to the study, some 7.4 per cent of children enrolled in Grade One have no prior Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) experience nationally.
This exclusion rate is higher in rural Kenya at 8.4 per cent, compared to 6.2 per cent in towns.
In Mandera and Marsabit counties, for instance, the figures stand at 51.4 and 33.3 per cent respectively.
The World Bank says the literacy rate among people aged 15 and above in Kenya rose to 83 per cent in 2022, up from 79 in 2014 and 72 per cent in 2007.
Male literacy stands at 86 per cent while female literacy reached 80. Among the youth aged 15 to 24, the rate is higher at 96 per cent in 2022.
A pupil at Kandaria Comprehensive School reads at the institution on August 15, 2024.
The report attributes the learning gaps in part to challenges in teacher qualifications and access. It notes that ECDE teachers often have the lowest qualifications and the shortest training period.
The findings come as Kenya continues to implement the Competency-Based Education (CBE), which focuses on formative assessments and practical skills. The first CBE cohort is in Grade Nine.
“Among children in Grade One and above, some 7.5 per cent of boys and 7.4 per cent of girls never attended ECDE. Access without quality is a hollow victory. It is time to invest in early learning, teacher capacity, infrastructure and equitable distribution of resources to ensure every child thrives in school,” the report adds.
A 2022 study by the Regional Education Learning Initiative found that just 43 per cent of adolescents aged 13 to 17 could read a Grade Four-level text.
The study also indicated that about 15 per cent of adolescents in this age group could not read any English text.
