Global education week highlights persisting classroom gaps

A persistent shortage of basic learning materials continues to hinder classroom participation across Kenya, with teachers in some schools reporting that pupils still share a single pen during lessons.

Despite the country’s transition to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), which emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and learner-driven exploration, many students remain unable to fully participate because they lack essential writing tools.

In some schools, children resort to watching their classmates work, unable to write, draw, or complete assignments.

As Global Education Week shines a spotlight on learner empowerment, the situation in Kenyan classrooms reveals a more fundamental barrier: access.

Teachers often dig into their own pockets to bridge the gap, while parents in underfunded areas struggle to provide basic stationery that the system does not supply.

To ease the strain, global stationery manufacturer BIC has rolled out school-based interventions aimed at improving learning conditions.

Through its ‘Express Myself with My BIC Pen’ initiative, the company has distributed more than 67,000 pens to students over the past year and provided learning materials to nearly 3,000 teachers.

More than 200 schools have participated in activities blending writing, environmental awareness, and creative expression, including sustainability lessons tied to tree-planting sessions.

According to the company, the program is designed to enhance learner confidence in writing and self-expression — key requirements under CBC but difficult to achieve without basic tools.

Educators say such targeted support, though modest, helps close everyday gaps that larger policy reforms may overlook.

While a pen is not a comprehensive solution to Kenya’s education challenges, teachers argue it remains the most immediate step toward ensuring full learner participation.

The interventions come at a time when concerns persist about inequality in access to classroom resources, especially in rural and hard-to-reach regions where schools contend with large class sizes and limited funding.