Towards Free Day Secondary Schooling in Kenya: Exposing the Impediments

Secondary education provides a vital link between basic education and the world of work, on one hand, and further training on the other. It is therefore an important sub-sector of education in the preparation of human capital for development and provision of life opportunities. Secondary education in Kenya takes four years to complete, catering for students aged 14 to 17 years and it leads to the award of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education. The objectives of secondary education are to acquire necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes for the development of the self and the nation and to promote love for and loyalty to the nation among others. There are several impediments that have hindered government efforts to provide free day secondary schooling. These include, the New Constitution that made Teachers Service Commission autonomous, unregulated school levies by education officials, heads associations, remedial teaching, and failure by sponsors to play their oversight role and corruption in ministry of education. It is recommended that the students who are not likely to benefit from formal secondary schooling should be provided with options to access secondary education, through alternative methods such as distance learning and skills training. In addition, Kenya Certificate of Primary Education should be scrapped to reduce the demand for boarding schools except among the nomadic communities. With the necessary legislation in place, the government should hire private auditors to ensure prudent use of public resources.