" River and Lamu would receive free primary school education. This was deemed as an initial steptowards attainment of the universal free primary education goal. By the beginning of 1973, thepresident made another declaration where he waived tuition fees for all standards four and fivepupils in all districts in Kenya. The following year (1974) witnessed another presidential decreeof providing free education to standard 1 to 6 pupils.The abolition of school fees in primary school witnessed overwhelming enrollment in all districtsin Kenya. Many educational planners felt this was untimely as many stakeholders were notinvolved in crafting this plan. Many were pessimistic of its success since the existing resourcescould not cater for the large numbers of children in schools. There was initiation of buildingprojects countrywide to increase the classroom capacity. While the government decreed that nofees would be paid, the governing councils of schools introduced building fees to be paid perpupils to facilitate these projects. Many parents who were already incapable of paying the initialfees that were by far lower than the new building fees were frustrated. Also, supply of equipmentby the government was strained and problems of dispatches to various schools persisted. As aresult, many schools were left deprived of the relevant resources such as books and othermaterials especially in 1974. The shortage of trained school teachers added to the list of manywoes that dogged provision of free primary education. The achievement of the universal free primary education hence remained largely a mirage. During the subsequent regime (Nyayo era 1978 - 2002), there were frantic efforts to reinstate thispolicy but this could not materialize since proper review had not been done on the impedimentsof the initial efforts Vis a Vis population was rising and hence the burden was even bigger. ****In 2003 when the NARC (National Rainbow Coalition) government assumed power, primaryeducation was again declared free and once again history repeated itself. There was massive - 10 - surge in public schools enrollment. Many schools could not cope with the increased populationin classrooms. Teachers who were very few compared to the large classes they had to servecould not effectively deliver to the pupils. Education in public schools was eventually diluted inquality and many financially capable citizens explored alternative in private schools. This sawthe mushrooming of many private schools and academies. The issue of class difference againreared its ugly head among Kenyans and the initial goal of fostering equity was sidelined.Today, public schools belong to the poor citizens who cannot afford the higher school feescharged in private schools. The free primary education is still offered in Kenya but its future isbleak considering the quality and the resources required to cater for the large numbers ofchildren. In addition, it was more of a political gimmick than an economically planned strategy. Manystakeholders and analysts do not bank on its survival especially in these days of economic hardtimes and political realignment.Constraints to Educational Planning in KenyaAccessibilityThe government through its sessional papers and development plans has always spelled its intentin ensuring that every child accesses education from early childhood to the highest levelpossible. The promotion of other sectors like health has seen reduced mortality rate and increasein birth rate. Thus, there is exponential growth in population while expansion in educationalinstitutions has not been as rapid due to economic shortfalls. Access to education, however muchit is desired is not always possible and illiteracy levels remain significant especially in arid andsemi-arid areas as well as in many rural areas in Kenya.- 11 - The prevalent poverty among Kenyan citizenry has also prevailed and despite the governmentoffer to waive tuition fees for both primary and day secondary schools, parents cannot afford toprovide their children with other needs such as school uniforms and other learning materials. Equity in educationProvision of education to all Kenyan children was intended to bring about equity inopportunities. Initially this was possible when public schools were for every Kenyan. Howeverdue to handicaps already mentioned in this write-up, disparities have already arisen withmushrooming of private schools and preference by middle class citizens to educate their childrenin these institutions deemed more effective. In terms of gender, there was disparity between boy and girl child education mainly due to somecultural dictations. The government has however sponsored vibrant campaigns geared towardspromotion of girl child education. Many girls’ schools have been built especially at secondarylevel where this disparity was highly pronouncedQuality and relevance of educationOne of the goals of both primary and secondary education is to help prepare the learners to fitinto and contribute towards the well being of society and fit in the professional world. Thelearner should get adequate knowledge and skills to be able to earn a living as well as be able tolive well with others in society. The quality and relevance of education in Kenya is best explained by the current population ofeducated unemployed. This has been steadily rising especially since the inception of the 8.4.4system. So many students graduate from public universities every year and the employmentopportunities shrink at the same rate. Currently many university graduates languish in - 12 -"