Regions with few teachers on Permanent and Pensionable terms have more learners staying out of school than those with more permanent teachers.
This was revealed during the launch of a report titled, “The Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (FLANA) Report 2023" on Thursday at KICD in Nairobi.
USAWA Agenda Executive Director Emmanuel Manyasa said regions like Wajir with few teachers on permanent and pensionable terms have the highest number of learners out of school.
The report showed Wajir County has the lowest percentage of P and P teachers constituting 63 in 100 of their teachers.
Kirinyaga County has the highest percentage of P and P teachers constituting 93 in 100 of their teachers.
Additionally, the report showed the percentage of school-aged children, aged six to 15 years in Kenya who are out of school has increased from 7.5 per cent in 2021 to 8.5 per cent in 2023.
"Though the government has been working to ensure all learners are in school, the report shows those out of school are increasing in number," Manyasa said.
He also noted that the seven counties with the largest percentage of out-of-school children are all in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) region with Mandera County leading.
"The same 7 counties have the highest percentages of children who have never enrolled in school," Manyasa said.
Worryingly, too, the majority of the children out of school are from households whose heads have no formal education.
The report also showed that 77 in 100 teachers in public schools are employed by the Teachers Service Commission(TSC) on Permanent and Pensionable terms.
9 in 100 teachers in public schools are employed by the TSC on internship terms.
14 in 100 teachers in public schools are employed by the Boards of management on temporary terms.
Kirinyaga County has the highest percentage of P&P teachers constituting 93 in 100 of their teachers.
Wajir County has the lowest percentage of P&P teachers constituting 63 in 100 of their teachers.
West Pokot County has the highest percentage of temporary teachers constituting 29 in 100 of their teachers.
Kirinyaga County has the lowest percentage of temporary teachers constituting 1 in 100 of their teachers.