low of 43 per cent, inadequate universal health coverage, inadequate budgetary allocation and
improper resource use. It is expected that the new MTP will set new targets for addressing these
challenges progressively. The Budgeting Guidelines launched in 2010 are aimed at better link between
the national and sub national planning and budgeting with priority of community needs.
Article 17: The Right to Education and Culture
176. The Constitution of Kenya, 2010 now specifically recognises the right to education and provides under
Article 43(f) that ‘Every person has the right to education’. Article 53(1) (b) further provides that ‘Every
child has the right to free and compulsory basic education. Article 55(a) on access to relevant education
and training, provides that ‘The State shall take measures, including affirmative action programmes, to
ensure that the youth access relevant education and training’. Article 54(1) (b) provides that ‘a person
with any disability is entitled to access educational institutions and facilities for persons with
disabilities that are integrated into society to the extent compatible with the interests of the person’.
177. Article 56(b) stipulates that ‘The State shall put in place affirmative action programmes designed to
ensure that minorities and marginalised groups are provided special opportunities in educational and
economic fields. The Children’s Act also acknowledges and protects every child’s right to education.
Section 7 of the Children Act obligates the Government and parents to ensure that every child shall be
provided with education. It goes on to state that every child is entitled to free basic and compulsory
education in accordance with Article 28 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Any person
infringing on the rights of a child whether willfully or as a result of culpable negligence is liable upon
conviction to imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding Kshs. 50,000/- or both.
178. The State is committed to enhancing access to education as the key to empowering the most
marginalised and vulnerable individuals in society. Marginalised individuals like the girl-child,
pastoralists and persons with disabilities also tend to have the least opportunities of acquiring an
education; and the State continues to make conscious and concerted efforts on an affirmative basis to
enable these individuals to best exploit their life-chances alongside their other Kenyan peers through
primary, secondary and tertiary education.
179. Investment in Free primary education (FPE) and Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) has remained
a key flagship programme, coming among the top five recipients of public expenditure in the last five
years. Since the introduction of FPE, enrolment has improved dramatically and a combination of other
measures have also been undertaken to enhance progressive realization of this right.
180. The State has enacted various pieces of legislation to implement the Constitutional provisions on
education. These include the Basic Education Act (No 14 of 2013) which has been passed into law to
regulate the provision of basic education and adult basic education in the country. The law also clarifies
the roles of the National and County Governments in regards to education as provided for in the
Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. Under this Schedule, the National Government shall be
responsible for educational policy, standards, curricula, examinations and the granting of university
charters, tertiary education, institutions of research and higher learning, primary and secondary
schools as well as special education. The County Governments on the other hand are in charge of preprimary education, village polytechnics, home craft centres and child care facilities. The Act also sets
standards and quality assurance. It establishes the Education Quality Assurance Council that ensures
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