free primary schooling and large-scale literacy reforms with relative stability, while Sudan faces
prolonged conflict, displacement, damaged infrastructure and severe funding gaps. The result: Kenya sustains
broad primary access and structured early-grade learning support, whereas Sudan must prioritize emergency
learning and education-in-crisis responses before normal schooling can resume at scale.
The A.C.C.E.S.S. Framework
Use this six-lens framework to understand the gap:
- A — Authority & Law: Is the right to basic education guaranteed, enforceable, and budgeted?
- C — Conflict & Safety: Are schools safe, open and protected from violence?
- C — Capacity & Financing: Are there trained teachers, learning materials and predictable funds?
- E — Equity & Inclusion: Do girls, displaced learners and children with disabilities get targeted support?
- S — Schools & Geography: Do rural/remote areas have reachable schools, WASH and transport?
- S — System Quality: Do curricula, coaching and assessments build foundational literacy and numeracy?
Kenya vs. Sudan: Scorecard
| Lens | Kenya (2025) | Sudan (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Authority & Law | Right to basic education in the Constitution; Basic Education Act operationalizes it. | De jure rights exist, but enforcement is constrained by conflict conditions. |
| Conflict & Safety | Relative stability allows nationwide schooling and supervision. | Conflict damages/closures; displacement disrupts continuity of learning. |
| Capacity & Financing | Long-running public financing; national teacher deployment and materials. | Severely strained financing; teacher displacement and unpaid periods reported. |
| Equity & Inclusion | Gender gaps narrowed; inclusion policies expanding. | Girls and displaced learners face heightened barriers and protection risks. |
| Schools & Geography | Rural coverage improving; arid counties still lag. | Many facilities damaged or inaccessible; temporary learning spaces used. |
| System Quality | Early-grade reading program (Tusome) scaled nationally. | Emergency modalities (accelerated, radio/digital) where feasible. |
Kenya’s Path: Policy → Programs → Performance
- Free Primary Education (FPE): Removing tuition and levies unlocked enrolment growth and kept the poorest children in school.
- Justiciable right: The Constitution and the Basic Education Act make basic education an enforceable entitlement.
- Quality at scale: Tusome delivers structured lessons, teacher coaching and regular assessments in early grades, improving reading outcomes in English and Kiswahili.
Sudan’s Reality: Conflict → Closure → Catch-up
In Sudan, protracted conflict has closed or damaged schools, displaced families and interrupted learning for
millions of children. Authorities and partners have set up alternative and digital learning hubs and accelerated
education models where possible. However, until safety improves and systems can be rebuilt, a large share of
learners will continue to rely on emergency education.
Equity Lenses: Gender, Disability & Rurality
Barriers stack: distance to school, household poverty, caregiving roles, early marriage risk, disability without
reasonable accommodations, lack of WASH for adolescent girls, and protection risks during displacement. Kenya’s
targeted bursaries and inclusion policies have reduced some gaps, while Sudan requires substantial protection-first,
gender-responsive, community-based approaches before mainstreaming can take hold.
Financing & Governance
Predictable public financing underpins the teacher workforce, textbooks and supervision. Kenya’s multi-year
budget commitments have enabled system-wide programs. In Sudan, fiscal fragility and conflict strain the
workforce and supply chains, and many learning spaces operate as temporary or non-formal alternatives.
A 10-Step Solutions Playbook
- Protect schools & learners: Implement Safe Schools guidelines; prioritize rehabilitation and clearance where needed.
- Bridge to learning: Scale accelerated education, remedial camps and radio/digital hubs to re-engage out-of-school learners.
- Stabilize teachers: Emergency stipends, remote coaching and psychosocial support.
- Cash & cost offsets: Scholarships/conditional transfers for displaced and ultra-poor households.
- Girls’ education first: School safety plans, WASH, dignity kits, and community engagement to reduce dropout and early marriage.
- Foundational literacy: Adapt structured pedagogy, short scripts and coaching in stable zones (a Tusome-style approach).
- Nutrition in schools: School feeding to lift attendance and concentration.
- Light EMIS & assessment: Simple attendance/reading trackers to target support.
- Align the financing: Multi-year compacts (UNICEF, ECW, GPE, WB) around a national recovery plan.
- Community microschools: Low-cost satellite classes with vetted local facilitators where formal schools cannot operate.
Myths vs Facts
- Myth: “School fees are the only barrier.”
Fact: Even where tuition is free, transport, uniforms, safety and teacher supply still determine access and learning. - Myth: “Emergency education is a stopgap we can skip.”
Fact: Without catch-up and alternative pathways, learners risk permanent dropout. - Myth: “Quality can wait until after access.”
Fact: Foundational literacy and teacher coaching are essential from day one to prevent silent exclusion.
FAQs
Is basic education free in Kenya?
Yes—free primary education policy and an enforceable constitutional right underpin access in public schools.
Why is access so limited in parts of Sudan?
Conflict causes school damage/closures and displacement; many areas rely on emergency or alternative learning until safety and infrastructure improve.
What program improved early reading in Kenya?
Tusome—a national early-grade reading program—uses structured lessons, coaching and routine assessment to lift outcomes.
What should donors fund first in Sudan?
Protection of education, accelerated and flexible learning, teacher support, girls’ safety/WASH, and re-opening or rehabilitating safe learning spaces.