…Research conducted within a larger geographical area in Kenya confirms a general rule: the larger the ethnic diversity, the smaller the family’s propensity to pay for education. Parents’ mistrust of other ethnic groups has been identified as the main factor for their unwillingness to contribute economically.
…Mothers’ level of education is directly related to infant mortality. In Kenya, the infant mortality rate for children under five whose mothers have high school education is half that of children whose mothers have not completed their primary schooling1). The infant mortality rate in Kenya is around 54 per 1000 born. In Sweden it is around 2.8 per 1000 born (2009).
1) Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics and ICF Macro, 2010.
…In 2003, a new law was passed in Kenya stating that every Kenyan child has a right to free primary education. Despite this law, every fourth child never starts school, the reasons being poverty, long distances to school and other social factors.
… In 2010, Kenya and Tunisia were the first African countries to pass laws prohibiting corporal punishment.
…Kenyans commonly have three names. The first is a Christian name (often British), the middle name is a Kenyan name in the language of the person’s tribe. According to tradition, the family name should be the father’s middle name, identifying who your father is and to which family you belong.
…Only around eight per cent of Kenyan children in the north-eastern part of the country have their own mathematics book. In Nairobi, the figure is 44 percent. That well-equipped classrooms and access to school books are fundamental for efficient learning is a well known truth.
…To reach the Millennium Development Goal of education for all, i.e. primary schooling for all children, investments of around USD16 billion per year are required from now until 2015. This corresponds to the amount the world’s rich countries spend on military costs during six days.
Source: UNESCO's Global Monitoring Report