In postcolonial Kenya, education became a primary vehicle for mobility. Education was the path to good jobs, to status, to escape from poverty. This created intense competition for access to good schools.
Kenya developed a tiered system of schools. National schools (formerly colonial elite schools) were most prestigious. Provincial schools were next. District schools were less prestigious. Primary schools varied in quality. Private schools emerged as an alternative for those who could afford them.
The existence of this hierarchy created an arms race. Families who could afford it sent children to private schools or national schools because these schools had better results, better teachers, more resources. Families who could not afford it were left with lower-quality district schools and primary schools.
The education arms race has intensified with time. Kenya's economy has not created jobs for everyone who completes secondary school. Unemployment among the educated is significant. So the pressure intensifies to attend the best schools, to do well on exams, to access university.
The education arms race creates intense pressure on children. They must perform well in school to access university. University admission is competitive. Even graduation from university does not guarantee employment. The pressure continues after school.
The education arms race also reproduces inequality. The wealthy can afford private schools with better teachers and facilities. The poor must rely on under-resourced public schools. The differences in school quality translate into differences in outcomes. Education, which was supposed to be a path to equality, becomes a mechanism that reproduces inequality.
What Kenya inherited from colonialism was the belief that education is the path to progress. What postcolonial Kenya created was an education system that sorts people into hierarchies and reproduces inequality through the mechanism of school choice and exam performance.
See Also
- Education Paradox
- Colonial Education Legacy
- Free Primary Education Impact
- The Postcolonial Body
- Urbanisation and Identity