A new education report has found that 7.4 percent of children in Kenya are starting Grade 1 without having gone through Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE), underscoring persistent inequalities in access to foundational learning, especially in rural areas.

The State of Education in Kenya Research Report, released on Thursday by Zizi Afrique Foundation in partnership with Usawa Agenda, highlights that the problem is more prevalent in rural communities, where 8.4 percent of children join primary school without prior early learning, compared to 6.2 percent in urban areas.

Mandera and Marsabit counties recorded the highest levels of exclusion at 51.4 percent and 33.3 percent, respectively, while Kisumu (1.3%) and Nakuru (1.8%) posted the lowest rates, revealing sharp regional disparities in access to early education.

The study also revealed that 7.5 percent of boys and 7.4 percent of girls in Grade 1 and above had not attended ECDE, while among children with disabilities, the non-attendance rate stood at 7.2 percent, only slightly lower than their non-disabled peers at 7.4 percent.

While ECDE remains a devolved function under county governments, the national government plays a key role in setting policies and developing the curriculum.

The report attributes recent gains in ECDE enrolment to policy shifts and improved infrastructure.

National enrolment grew by nearly 5 percent between 2018 and 2021, with the number of ECDE centers increasing from 46,623 in the 2022/23 financial year to 47,666 in 2023/24. Of these, 32,461 are publicly owned, while 15,205 are privately run.

Despite this progress, the sector is grappling with a shortage of qualified teachers.

The number of ECDE educators dropped sharply from 92,359 in 2019 to 69,561 in 2022a decline that threatens to stall further progress in early learning access.