The dynamics of regulating low-fee private schools in Kenya

Abstract

This chapter examines Kenya's current approach to the regulation of low-fee private schools amid the tension between conceiving of education as a commodity provided for profit — where rules of the market determine growth and development — and conceiving of education as a fundamental right that the state must fulfil for every person in its jurisdiction. In Kenya, the contextual term for ‘low-fee’ private schools is ‘APBET’ schools (Alternative Provision of Basic Education and Training), after the 2009 APBET Policy. The Kenyan government still does not know exactly how many APBET schools operate in the country and therefore cannot adequately regulate them. As demonstrated by the fragmentation in the regulation of these schools, it reveals that there is a need to consolidate the incorporation, registration, licensing, and taxation regimes to ensure a uniform approach to law and policy on low-fee private schools. As such, a comprehensive overhaul of the regulation of APBET schools is required.