The Educational Marginalisation of Coastal Kenya

Although the coastal peoples were the first exposed to western education, their participation and attainment rates are still among the poorest in Kenya. This review examines the historical and political context of educational development on the coast. Particular attention is given to the Muslim community, which resisted western schooling and expansion of the wage economy throughout most of the colonial period. Since independence, participation rates have greatly increased due to many factors, including competition for land and employment with other more educationally and economically advantaged ethnic groups. However, recent gains are threatened by the impoverishment of the coastal population which limits self-help efforts as well as by the persistent low quality of government education. Improving the educational indicators for Coast Province will also require special measures, including more local autonomy in determining the organisation and content of schooling, schemes to reallocate funding from rich to poor communities, and expansion of opportunities at the secondary and tertiary levels.