FAQ · Education 6

A comparative study of private supplementary tutoring says Kenya's Ministry of Education issued a 1988 circular telling teachers to stop providing private tuition. A 1999 restatement again prohibited extra classes in the evenings, at weekends and during holidays, but the article says the practice continued. A 2007 national survey cited there found that 46 point 3 percent of Grade 6 pupils were receiving this kind of shadow education. In 2008 the ministry issued a further prohibition aimed at holiday tuition. The Basic Education Act of 2013, at section 37, then outlawed holiday tuition and made a breach an offence. On conviction the stated penalty is a fine not exceeding 100,000 shillings, imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, or both.

A draft Kenya standard notified to the World Trade Organization in 2026 gives food-safety and nutrition guidance for feeding programmes and food vendors in learning institutions. It says meals should include starchy foods, a protein source, vegetables, fruit, dairy and healthy fats, and that they should be healthy and suitable for age and gender. Meals for children with special needs are to follow prescribed dietary requirements that meet medical, nutritional and disability-related needs. The draft says institutions that run feeding programmes, and food vendors, shall document measures for special dietary needs, including food allergies and diseases or other conditions. It also says those institutions and vendors shall put measures in place to avoid cross-contamination of food. Because the text is a draft standard, it sets out a proposed rule rather than proof that every school already serves a separate allergy meal.

A news report of a Ministry of Education circular dated 9 October 2025, and signed by Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, sets the 2026 calendar for pre-primary, primary, junior, senior and secondary schools, and for diploma teacher training colleges. The first term opens on 5 January 2026 and closes on 2 April 2026 after 13 weeks, with a half-term break from 25 February to 1 March. The second term opens on 27 April 2026, runs for 14 weeks and ends on 31 July 2026, with a half-term from 24 June to 28 June. Learners then have a holiday from 3 August to 21 August. The third term opens on 24 August 2026 and closes on 23 October 2026 after nine weeks. The openings the report attributes to that circular therefore fall in January, April and August.

The University of Nairobi says an offer of admission does not guarantee a hostel place, because government policy separates student housing from admission to public universities. A student who wants one of the limited rental spaces must apply online on the student portal, open the room-booking section, choose a room type, fill in every field and submit. The same note says the applicant can later check the status in that booking section. Daily rates printed for the 2025 procedure are 102 shillings for a single room, 96 for a semi-partitioned room, 89 for a non-partitioned room and 72 for a quadruple room. A provisional allocation is confirmed only after the student pays the full rent for the academic year and full tuition, and only then are the keys handed over. The online application itself is free, and the university warns students not to pay anyone who claims they can arrange a room.

The Nairobi King Sejong Institute's Korean Language and Culture Centre announced a January 2026 intake for Korean classes at Kenyatta University. The notice lists beginner Korean levels 1 to 4 and preparation for the TOPIK I and TOPIK II exams. Registration ran from 18 December 2025 to 16 January 2026, with orientation on 9 January 2026 and classes starting on 12 January 2026. The stated venue is room AZ 45 at Kenyatta University. Tuition in that notice is 2,000 shillings for Kenyatta University students and 10,000 shillings for people who are not students there. The same notice gives the telephone number 254 796 743 143 for questions about the intake.

The Research Institute of Swahili Studies of Eastern Africa, a department of the National Museums of Kenya Heritage Training Institute, opened 2025 registration for Swahili language and culture programmes taught face to face at the National Museums of Kenya headquarters in Nairobi. Modules cover Kiswahili at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, together with Swahili literature and performance, Swahili culture history and identity, and the anthropology of the Swahili. A regular course lasts four weeks and forty hours for 350 US dollars, a one-week intensive of twenty hours costs 200 US dollars, and private lessons are 10 US dollars an hour. Bookings are online only, and learners are encouraged to register at least four days before class, with morning groups from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM or 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM and an afternoon group from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Regular 2025 sessions run from 3 March to 28 March, from 14 July to 8 August, and from 11 August to 5 September, while one-week intensives are listed for 20 January, 7 April, 28 April, 2 June, and 16 June.