Arid and semi-arid regions in Kenya host the largest number of children not attending school, revealing significant regional inequalities in accessing basic education, according to a recent nationwide assessment.
The 2025 Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (FLANA) report indicates that nationally, 6 out of every 100 children aged 4 to 17 years which equates to 5.8 per cent remain outside the education system.
Although this national percentage appears relatively low, the survey uncovers substantial variations across age groups, genders, and counties, with arid regions experiencing the most severe challenges.
Data from the report, released by education advocacy organization Usawa Agenda, reveals that pre-primary age children constitute the highest proportion of out-of-school individuals.
The survey indicates that 33.2 per cent of children aged 4–5 years, or 16 out of every 100, are not enrolled in educational institutions.
Among primary school-aged children between 6 and 12 years, 36.2 per cent, or 4 in every 100, are not attending school.
Adolescents aged 13–17 years represent 30.6 per cent of the out-of-school population.
Across all three age categories, the survey finds that boys are more likely to be out of school than girls at the national level.
On average, 6.2 per cent of boys are not in school compared to 5.4 per cent of girls.
However, this nationwide pattern conceals a different situation in the most affected regions, where girls face greater exclusion from educational opportunities.
The report further demonstrates that children aged 4–5 years comprise the largest group of those who have never been enrolled in school, at 14.5 per cent.
Conversely, the highest dropout rates are observed among children aged 13–17 years, indicating difficulties in maintaining student retention as they advance through the education system.
Geographically, the concentration of out-of-school children is heavily focused in 10 counties, most of which are classified as arid and semi-arid lands.
Garissa county leads with 27.3 per cent of children aged 4–17 years not attending school, meaning 27 out of every 100 children are unenrolled.
“A school-aged child in Garissa county has a 73 per cent probability of being in school compared to their counterpart in Murang’a county, who has a 99 per cent chance of attending,” the report emphasizes, underscoring the magnitude of inequality between different regions.
Mandera follows Garissa closely with 20.9 per cent of children across the three age groups 4–5, 6–12 and 13–17 years not in school, equivalent to 21 out of every 100 children.
Turkana reports 18.2 per cent, while Marsabit records 17.1 per cent. Wajir has 13.9 per cent of children out of school, followed by Samburu at 11.9 per cent, Isiolo at 11.2 per cent, West Pokot at 10.4 per cent, Tana River at 7.6 per cent and Kajiado at 5.9 per cent.
The disparities are most significant among pre-primary age children. According to the survey, a child aged 4–5 years in Garissa county is more than four times as likely to be out of school compared to children in other areas.
Within this age bracket alone, 62.4 per cent of children in Garissa are not attending school. When compared with counties that have near-universal enrollment, the difference is even more dramatic.
The report reveals that a child aged 4–5 years in Garissa county is 64 times more likely to be out of school than a child of the same age in Murang’a county.
While boys generally have higher out-of-school rates nationally, the report observes a reversal of this pattern in the most affected regions.
The same 10 counties with the highest number of out-of-school children also have more out-of-school girls than boys.
“In most arid and semi-arid counties and refugee communities, there are more school-aged girls out of school than boys. Garissa county has the highest overall percentage of school-aged children not attending school and the highest percentage of school-aged girls not attending school,” the report states.
The FLANA survey was based on a comprehensive national sample. The sample size was calculated at 2,000 enumeration areas distributed across all 47 counties, using the 2019 national census as the sampling framework.
Enumeration areas were distributed proportionally and determined based on size, with between 50 and 100 households in rural areas and up to 150 households in urban areas.
Data collection involved over 2,200 volunteers and village coordinators who conducted door-to-door household visits and surveyed more than 1,500 primary schools throughout the country.
This marks the third report by Usawa Agenda and the first released since the adoption of the African Union’s Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2026–2035.
The 10-year framework aims to transform education systems across the continent by focusing on six strategic areas: strengthening resources, supporting teachers, improving basic education, fostering higher education and technical and vocational education and training (TVET), promoting equity, and driving innovation.