Samuel Siringi
7 November 2009
Nairobi — Kenya faces a daunting task in its plan to enrol all children in schools unless the current population growth is controlled, a new report has warned.
The Rapid Model report launched on Friday says the country will have to recruit as many as 143,000 more teachers and build extra classrooms to accommodate the high number of school age children. Currently, there are about 240,000 teachers in primary and secondary schools.
According to the report, it is projected that there will be 14 million children competing for places in primary schools by 2040, based on the current fertility rates. Currently, there are about eight million children enrolled in primary schools.
The report proposes that the country seeks to lower its fertility, which could help ensure the number of pupils in primary schools stands at nine million by 2040.
If the lower fertility levels are maintained, the country will save $772 million in primary education expenditures over the same period.
"These savings could be invested to improve the quality of education through smaller classroom size and improved teacher training," said Ochieng Mbeo when he presented the report before population and government experts at a Nairobi hotel.
The report warns of the country's large youthful population. It said 40 per cent of the estimated 38 million people were aged below 15 years.
"A rapidly growing student population will necessitate building additional schools and training, recruiting and retaining more teachers," said Mr Mbeo, a former MP for East African Legislative Assembly.
It added: "Already lacking resources to meet the needs of its students, Kenya will face an even bigger challenge in achieving universal primary education if rapid population growth persists."
The report said fertility decline will help create a path out of poverty for families since more household resources will be available to invest in each child.
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