When Kenyans could not dream of university education

Thousands of parents are agonising how to pay school fees four times a year at a time the cost of living has shot up as the country navigates through yet another election cycle. These pains, however, pale in comparison with the miseries Kenyans went through as the first republic was midwifed 66 years ago.

At the time, the government gave scant regard to the education of African children who were “best suited” for manual and clerical work. A look at government expenditure then illustrates why some desperate teenagers embarked on dangerous journeys to Europe in the hope of securing better education.