Do poverty dynamics explain the shift to an informal private schooling system in the wake of free public primary education in Nairobi slums?
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Date
2012-03Author
Oketch, Moses
Mutisya, Maurice
Sagwe, Jackline
Language
enMetadata
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With the introduction of free primary education (FPE) in Kenya in 2003, it was expected
that the burden on poor households in financing primary education would be reduced
substantially. This in turn would increase enrolment in public schools and lead to universal
primary education. However, studies have shown that a considerable proportion of
households in urban slums continue to enrol their children in pro-poor fee charging infor-
mal schools. The reasons presented in the available literature to explain this phenomenon
of why poor slum-residing households bypass free public education are varied and some
are simply speculative. In this paper, we hypothesise that poverty dynamics can partly
explain households’ decisions on the type of school in which to enrol their children. The
analysis is based on longitudinal data collected by the African Population and Health
Research Centre (APHRC) using urban demographic surveillance in two slums of Nairobi,
Kenya. The data covers the period between 2005 and 2009 with a sample of 6965 pupils
spread across 3763 households. Logistic regression methods are applied. The findings
reveal that moving in and out of poverty can affect the type of schooling decision a house-
hold makes, with one quarter of those moving out of poverty shifting schools. The find-
ings demonstrate that there is both willingness and ability to pay by the slum residents
that is driving the utilisation of the private schools. The decisions are not random occur-
rences, but seem systematic and rational – parents want quality and affordability and a
good number of those whose economic situation improved do not seem to believe the
public schools, even under FPE, offers quality. The policy implication to be drawn from
these findings is that the private schools for the poor should not simply be dismissed as
‘informal schools’ because it seems they have some features which are attracting parents
to choose them and leave the state system. Free primary education policy is being
‘rejected’ by a good number of parents in the slums and this needs further investigation,
as ‘excess’ demand as suggested in some research papers does not seem to be the only
explanation
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http://www.ingentaconnect.com/search/article?option1=tka&value1=http://hdl.handle.net/11295/90028
Citation
Oketch, Moses ., Mutisya, Maurice ., Sagwe, Jackline (2012). Open access do poverty dynamics explain the shift to an informal private schooling system in the wake of free public primary education in Nairobi slums?. London Review of Education,10(1), PP. 3–1Publisher
University of Nairobi