Kenya managed to contain the health and economic impacts of multiple Coronavirus (COVID-19) waves in 2021, helped by targeted containment measures and progress on vaccination, but is now facing a potentially large economic shock from the war in Ukraine. One sector is critical to achieving Kenya’s development goals, accounts for a large share of government spending, and was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic: education. Accordingly, the special topic of this Kenya Economic Update (KEU) is the performance and financing of the education sector, drawing on a forthcoming World Bank Public Expenditure Review (PER) on education. It examines the impressive improvements which Kenya has achieved in education outcomes, the remaining challenges in the sector including charting a successful recovery from the pandemic, and how the allocation of resources can contribute to resolving these.
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