Nearly half of Kenya’s Grade Six learners are leaving primary school without basic literacy and numeracy skills, raising fresh concerns about learner readiness as the country transitions to junior secondary education under the competency-based curriculum.
Findings from a new report by Usawa Agenda reveal that many learners at the end of primary education are unable to read and comprehend a Grade Three-level English passage or solve basic numeracy problems expected at lower primary level. Education experts warn that the learning gaps threaten to undermine progress at junior secondary school, where Grade Six marks the final year before transition.
The assessment, conducted between June and July 2025 across all 47 counties, tested close to 50,000 learners aged between 10 and 15 years, both in and out of school. Overall, more than four in every 10 Grade Six learners were unable to solve a Grade Three-level numeracy task, with reading outcomes showing a similar pattern.
Public primary schools were found to be the most affected. Over half of Grade Six learners in public institutions could not demonstrate basic reading comprehension, compared to just over four in 10 learners in private schools. The learning gaps were more pronounced in rural areas, where nearly 45 out of every 100 learners struggled with basic numeracy, compared to 38 in urban settings.
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Education stakeholders say the findings are worrying because learners are progressing through the system without mastering foundational skills. Grade Six learners are currently preparing to sit the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), a key milestone under the competency-based education framework.
The report also highlights staffing challenges in public schools, noting that higher learner-teacher ratios are contributing to poor learning outcomes. Public primary schools have an average ratio of 42 learners per teacher, compared to 34 in private schools. In addition, many schools rely on teachers hired by Boards of Management on temporary or internship contracts, often earning below Ksh10,000 a month.
Parents continue to shoulder much of the cost of hiring these teachers, contributing more than 60 per cent of the funds used to pay BoM-employed staff nationally, a figure that rises in rural schools.
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The assessment further found that while school enrolment remains high, averaging above 90 per cent nationally, learning quality remains uneven. Although most primary schools are connected to electricity or solar power, fewer than a quarter have functional computer laboratories.
In response, the Ministry of Education says it has developed new guidelines aimed at strengthening foundational learning in pre-primary and lower primary grades to address gaps early. Officials say the interventions are intended to support struggling learners before they reach upper primary, where deficits become harder to reverse.
Education experts warn that without urgent action, the transition to junior secondary school risks carrying forward learning gaps that could deepen inequality and compromise long-term educational outcomes.
By Mercy Kokwon
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