Beyond Access: the Role of Non Formal Schools in Provision of Quality Primary Education in Urban Informal Settlements in Kenya

Abstract

During the past several years, Kenya has implemented policies that focused on expansion of education through improving access. One of such policies that have had great impact is the policy for alternative provision of basic education and training, which introduced an alternative mode of primary education delivery through non-formal schools. As a result the country has made significant progress in improving access to primary education, especially for poor children from urban informal settlements. Since the Dakar framework for action (2000) committed nations to provision of quality primary education and all nations were asked to improve all aspects of education quality. This research study sought to evaluate three aspects of quality of education provided by Non-formal schools in Nairobi’s informal settlements, namely; 1) the quality of learning environments 2) quality of educational processes; and 3) the quality of educational outcomes. Study findings showed that non-formal schools experience considerable shortage of physical facilities and instructional materials and a majority of teachers in the non-formal schools were untrained. The quality of outcome in the non-formal schools was good as demonstrated in fairly good performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education. The paper concludes with recommendations on how provision of education through non-formal schools can be improved.