Policies on Free Primary and Secondary Education in East Africa: Retrospect and Prospect

Abstract

This chapter reviews the evolution of education policies in the East African region in a historical context. The focus is on the formulation of policies for access to primary and secondary education in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania since their independence in the 1960s. We ask the following questions: What led to those policies and how were they funded? What was the role, if any, of the international community? What were the politics and underpinning philosophy surrounding the formulation of those policies and have the policies changed over time, and if so why? The chapter is organized as follows: First, we discuss policies and action taken by governments of the three countries in the immediate postindependence era in relation to expanding access to those who had been excluded by the colonial education policies. Second, we present the formulation of those policies again in relation to how and whom they benefited. Third, we discuss implementation strategies and processes of those policies. Fourth, we discuss their institutionalization, replicability, and financial sustainability. Fifth, we outline the implications of these policies for the poorest groups. Sixth, we provide an overview of recent policies on access to secondary education and ask whom they have benefited and how the excluded groups can be reached. The conclusion follows