ACCESS AND EQUITY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract

The world conference on Education for all EFA of 1980 laid a lot of emphasis on the significance of early

childhood years as the foundation of life for an individual. Access and equity in the provision of education at

this level has remained a challenge in the context of poverty. This paper was based on the theoretical reflections

on how early childhood has been implemented in Kenya and the challenges uncounted with regard to access

and equity. The paper reviewed some studies that had been done in the area of childhood education in Kenya.

This review sought to highlight how early childhood has been interpreted and implemented by the ministry of

education in Kenya. International protocols and conventions as well as national policies and legislations such as

the United Nations Convention on Human Rights (1948), Jomtein Declaration of Education for all (1990),

Dakar

Declaration of Education for All (2000), Millennium Development Goals, Children’s Act (2001), the New

Constitution of Kenya and the Sustainable Development Goals all state that every child is entitled to basic

rights among which education is key.