Abstract:
Education in any society, whether indigenous or modern, remains an important enterprise and asset by which the
society models and determines its existence. It is formed in the process of propagating desirable survival skills to the
succeeding generations. Through education, society sets and defines its basic survival needs. Thus, besides other
components, such as cognitive, creative, and dialogical, the overriding significance of education can be summed up in
its normative definitions. This was due to the fact that its impact was to be identified in the extent to which it affected
and modified one’s behaviour in society. Based on this understanding, this paper focuses on the place of indigenous
African education in the Keiyo of Kenya. Its aim is to define, justify, and affirm the importance of indigenous African
education as an irreplaceable component in holistic development of learners. Being a library-based study, its data are
mainly obtained from books, educationists, and from discussions with old men and women in the Keiyo community. A
purely qualitative method was adopted so as to gain a deeper understanding of the pertinent issues involved in
indigenous African education. Thus, the principle methods used included critical analysis and speculative and dialectic
methods of investigation. On the overall, the essence of indigenous African education is critically discussed. Similarly,
an exploration of various trends in indigenous African education has been made. Finally, the role of indigenous
African education is examined. The study concludes by making practical recommendations on possible ways and
avenues through which indigenous African education can be enhanced in Kenya.
Keywords: African, indigenous, Keiyo, education, Kenya
