Kenya
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Kenya is a country in East Africa. It has the Indian Ocean to its east. It borders Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The capital city of Kenya is Nairobi.
The first humans may have lived near the lakes of Kenya along the Great Rift Valley, which cuts Kenya from north to south.
Kenya's coast is tropical and gets very hot. Inland, it is drier. The highest mountain in Kenya is Mt. Kenya (5,199 m).
Many different languages are spoken in Kenya. English is the official language and many people speak Kiswahili. Kiswahili is the National Language. All School going Kenyans are required to learn English. English is the language of instruction in the schools and institutions of higher learning.
Kenya was a British colony, but became independent on December 12, 1963. For many years, a single party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), ruled Kenya. Kenya has been a democratic country but from 1968 to 1992 it was a single party democracy. General elections were held every 5 years however all candidates for election to office had to belong to the ruling party KANU. Mwai Kibaki is currently the president of Kenya and is the first President of Kenya to belong to a party other than KANU. Since he became President he has achieved a lot and Kenya has seen economic growth spurts of up 6%. He however has come under heavy criticism as some feel the reforms that were needed are slow to come. Many Kenyans living in Diaspora have began to return to Kenya as the promise of the future has created a plenty of high paying jobs that are appealing to foreign educated Kenyans.
Many people visit Kenya to see the animals such as elephants, zebras, and lions. They also come for the beautiful beaches in the coastal towns of the shore of the Indian Ocean. Tourism is a great foreign exchange earner for Kenya.
[change] Education
All Kenyans of school going age are required to attend Primary School which is provided free by the government. The Kenyan school system consist of 8 years of Primary School, Standard 1 through 8, 4 years of High School (Form 1 to 4) and 4 years of University. At the end of Primary school, all students sit for a standardized exam called Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). The grades attained in this exam determine which High School the student will attend. In Form 4 (this is the last year in High School), students sit for another exam called Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCPE). The highest achieving students are granted admission into the 5 National Universities (Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta University College of Agriculture and Technology, Kenyatta University, Egerton University and Moi University).
| Countries and territories of Africa | |
|---|---|
| Independent | Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Republic of the Congo • Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt • Equatorial Guinea • Eritrea • Ethiopia • Gabon • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger • Nigeria • Rwanda • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • Somalia • Somaliland • South Africa • Sudan • Swaziland • Tanzania • Togo • Tunisia • Uganda • Zambia • Zimbabwe |
| Governed by other countries |
Canary Islands • Ceuta and Melilla • Madeira Islands • Mayotte • Réunion • Saint Helena and dependencies • Western Sahara |
