Free Primary Education: Quality And Teachers Dilemma

Abstract

The current government’s overall goal within education remains to achieve Education for All (EFA) by 2015, with the top policy objectives being to ensure equitable access and improvement in quality and efficiency. In January 2003, the Kenya government made a significant step towards this vision by announcing Free Primary Education. While this was a laudable goal, it brought with it other problems. An additional 1.3 million children were enrolled in schools. The rapid increase in numbers has triggered widespread concern about the quality of education. This paper discusses the problems teachers have to grapple with, particularly in the absence of additional targeted resources to the education sector. The paper also makes recommendations.