Kenya prides itself ‘higher literacy levels than peers’
By Irene Githinji, December 29, 2019Kenya now prides itself as a country with one of the highest literacy levels among her peers, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.
He said the country had moved from the dark past when education was a preserve of the elite and is now accessible to all Kenyans, enhancing a better future for all.
According to 2018 World Bank Human Capital Index report, Kenya was ranked third in literacy level on the continent.
“We are returning the river to its course through sustained investments in education…we now pride ourselves as a nation with one of the highest levels of literacy among our peers,” the President said in his Jamhuri Day speech yesterday.
In Africa, Uhuru said, Kenya boasts the highest rate of primary-to-secondary school transition rate, which stands 100 per cent, thanks to the government’s 100 per cent transition policy.
The policy is part of a global campaign to give all children access to 12 years of learning, and also show the government’s commitment to the constitutional imperative of the right to education.
The President said the new Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) will transform learning by helping the learners exploit their full potential.
Learning platforms
He said the new curriculum extensively utilises digital learning platforms fit for the learning practices required of in the 21st century.
The government rolled out the CBC nationally for Early Years Education (EYE), covering Pre-Primary One and Two as well as Grades One to Three in January this year, amid heightened opposition from different quarters.
The government has also indicated that the planned roll-out of Grade Four in January is on course, with distribution of material, including curriculum designs and teachers’ handbooks having kicked off in October. The exercise is expected to end ahead of school opening for first term in January.
Rapid expansion
President Kenyatta said the education system has witnessed a rapid expansion of tertiary education in terms of access and scope.
“Our universities,polytechnics and vocational training institutions ensure that every Kenyan has an opportunity to further their knowledge and expertise, fuelling livelihoods and enabling passions and dreams,” he said.
The Head of State made a special recognition of Peter Mwethera, a Kenyan doctor who, after extensive research, has come up with a gel to curb spread of HIV/Aids and other venereal diseases.
“The bounty of Kenya’s superlative human capital, not only drives our economy, but also those of other nations. Our highly-educated citizens are much sought-after all over the globe,” he said.
And to signify the changing fortunes of Kenya, the President said diaspora remittances grew by 10.9 per cent from Sh266.19 billion to Sh295.32 billion in the last one year, overtaking earnings from export of tea and coffee as the country’s largest source of foreign exchange.