Kenya has seen a reduction in the number of juvenile prisoners in the past two years.
This decline has partly been contributed to by the effort of the government to improve education.
According to the Economic Survey published by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the number of convicted child (under 18 years) prisoners was 406 in 2021; this was only 0.6 per cent of the total convicted criminals in the country.
This is an improvement from the previous year when 1.2 per cent of the total convicted criminals were under 18 years.
The 100 per cent primary to secondary school transition, free day secondary education, and several education reforms implemented by the current and the past government are some of the factors that have contributed to this drop.
Article 43.1.f of the new constitution 2010 states that every child has the right to free and compulsory basic education.
It is per this article that the government launched a 100 per cent transition policy in 2018 to ensure that every child who sits the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education gets a chance to join a secondary school to complete their basic education.
Since the launch of this programme, the transition rate has shot high with the rate hitting 91 per cent in 2020 which is a record high in the country.
This year, the country recorded a transition rate of 91 per cent across the country and 100 per cent transition in Tana River, Nyandarua, Lamu, Nyeri, Kakamega, Nyandarua, Homabay, Nyamira, Migori, Isiolo, Mandera and Kisumu.
This programme has seen more children attending their secondary school after completing their primary school and this plays a role in keeping children out of criminal activities which can land them in jail before they celebrate their 18th birthday.
Free Day Secondary Education was launched in 2008 by the former President late Mwai Kibaki to offer affordable education to all children in Kenya.
The project however stalled until it was reviewed by the Jubilee government in 2017.
Although the project is yet to record a significant success rate, it is already having a positive impact on the number of juvenile prisoners in the country.
This programme coupled with a 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school programme has seen an increase in the number of children who complete their basic education.
Free Day Secondary Education programme has played a role in reducing the number of juvenile prisoners because children have access to education as compared to back when the program was not in place.
Since the current government ascended to power, they have made several reforms in the education sector the latest being introduction of the Competency-Based Curriculum.
The other reforms are textbook programmes implemented by the Jubilee government in 2018 to ensure that every Kenyan child has access to textbooks to facilitate the learning process.
These reforms have lifted Kenya to be one of the top performers in education in Eastern and Southern Africa regions.
These reforms have contributed to the decline in the number of juvenile prisoners because of the improved education.
The government still has a lot to do regarding drug abuse among children below the age of 18.
To eradicate the abuse of drugs among the youth, the government should work hand in hand with the local authority to ensure that drugs are not sold to children under 18 years.
Student at Multimedia University
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
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