Private schools in informal settlements in Nairobi are calling on the county government to support access to pre-primary education in the city. The stakeholders have decried overpopulation, challenges of lack of capital, teacher training, and high cost of the competence-based curriculum as major barriers to affecting preschool in the city.
Sifa Education center is a private school at  Gatina area of Kawangware sitting on a half an acre of land  in a ruined state, the structures are temporary, while inside the classrooms are pooly left with old desks and chairs with no lockers, but all in all, learning has to continue.
 “Early years of education forms the basis of how a learner will be able to cope up with the content.“
Said; Moses Okono- National chair of Afpet schools.
The institution is placed under afpet schools, they are mostly established in informal places to substitute public schools which are a handful in the area.
Parents at Sifa education center appreciates the CBC for bringing out and sharpening the children’s abilities , but laments on its costs. they say, apart from school fees they spent an extra amount of about sh. 15, 000 on learning materials.
“ Achild is requested to carry to school 12 crayons for their exercises at school and i am unable to meet them for my children.“ Gertrude Ambani -parent at Sifa Education Center.
“And also a child is requested to be accompanied by their parents to the cyber shop and print animal images which is very expensive.“ Mary Anyango-parent- Sifa Education Center.
Parents are calling upon the government to support the schools in the slum by providing the learning materials. They say public schools are few compared to the slum population.
The national chair of Afpet schools Moses Okono says , the pre-primary education is the learners foundation although it has widely been neglected.
“Initially it began with a certificate in ECDE the  aDiploma in ECDE but since the introduction of the new curriculum now they said they have begun to face out the certificate in ECDE  in Teachers Training College. now a teacher who will be doing early childhood education will start with a diploma.“ Moses Okono- national chair of Afpet schools.
Okono says Nairobi has about 255 pre-primary education centers compared to a population of over  270,000 learners majority of whom live in slum areas of the city.
By Juliet Wekesa
