BRAIN POWER: AN ANALYSIS INTO COMPETITIVENESS OF KENYA’S SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abstract

Education holds a special place in the Kenyan mind. It’s still seen as the conveyor belt to the
upward mobility. Narrow economic opportunities and history where those who excelled in
education have done well economically drive this belief. Restrictions on access to quality
education during the colonial era could also have made us value education more. The
restriction continued after uhuru, a hangover from colonial era. It is exhibited by competition for
a few top ranked schools. So high is the competition that the coveted schools are more
competitive than top universities in the world. The level of competitiveness is measured using the
admission rate. Data is sourced from publicly available sources like university and school
websites. The paper finds that Kenyan top ranked high school outdo Harvard and other top
universities . That this is never seen as a big issues by policy makers and even academics , is a
surprise. An attempt to promote more schools to national status does not seem to have reduced
competition. The paper suggests that if the economy grows and more economic opportunities
are available, the competition will reduce and schools will cease to a national lottery. This
paper analysis this competition and derives implications not just for individuals but the nation
and the spill over to the next generation.
Key words: competitiveness, admission rate , upward mobility, selectivity