IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 24, Issue 3, Ser. 1 (March. 2019) 40-43 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/0837-2403014043 www.iosrjournals.org 40 |Page Mental Health and Education in Kenya: Addressing Mental Health Problems through Schools. Dr. Christine Muthoni Kahigi Lecturer Department of Educational Foundations School of Education University of Nairobi Corresponding Author: Dr. Christine Muthoni Kahigi ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the status of mental illness in Kenya from an educational perspective with regard to awareness, and attention to school pupils experiencing mental disorders. In most cases such pupils drop out of school through expulsion for misbehaviour, stigmatization if the mental illness is obvious, or inability to cope with curriculum. Yet education is a right for every child born in the Universe. According to World Health Organization, 4 in 10 people are likely to suffer from a mental illness in their life time. Majority of the world population are children and adolescents and consequently, the number of children experiencing mental issues could be higher than that of adults. While attempts have been made to address for mental health for general public, there are few programs tailored for children, especially in Kenya where health budget is wanting. This paper discusses the need to involve the community, teachers and the students as a way of broadening the field to assist the youth in addressing mental health issues. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 21-02-2019 Date of acceptance: 08-03-2019 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. INTRODUCTION Education is a basic human right for all throughout life and access must be matched by quality. According to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) basic education is an evolving program of instruction that is intended to provide students with the opportunity to become responsible and respectful global citizens, to contribute to their economic well-being and that of their families and communities, to explore and understand different perspectives and to enjoy. Consequently, education is supposed to transform lives as it exposes members of the society to answers to many misunderstood and misconceived life experiences. The role of education should be a means to empower children and adults alike to become active participants in the transformation of the societies. Consequently, learning should focus on values, attitudes and behavior which enable individuals to learn to live together in a world characterized by diversity and pluralism. For an individual to be able to learn, they need to be healthy or any existing health concerns that a person may have ought to be addressed. Health is another basic human right that ought to be promoted through education for economic well-being. According to World Health Organization (WHO) (2014), health is ‟State of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity‟. It also defines public health as „the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts of society (Acheson, 1988; WHO). The global burden of disease related to mental disorders is on the increase, with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating that over 450 million people are affected worldwide. The Mental Health Global Action Program (MHGAP) was launched by the WHO in 2002 in order to address the widening gap in access to mental healthcare in low-income countries which currently lies at 85% against developed countries‟ 35%. There are large discrepancies between resources dedicated to mental health services in low-income countries compared with high-income countries.A study byMarangu, Sand, Rolley, Ndetei, and Mansouri (2014) on Mental healthcare in Kenya revealed that with a population of approximately 43 million, Kenya has less than 500 mental health professionals. Furthermore, inadequate funding and underdeveloped policy frameworks add to the challenge of delivering broad population-based mental healthcare. The auditor general‟s report of 2018 faulted the government for not taking mental healthcare seriously, where one in every four Kenyans will suffer from some form of mental illness in their lifetime. The same report revealed that a 2014 Mental Health Bill is yet to be finalized while the Kenya Mental Health Policy, 2015-2030 has been ignored, (The Standard, January 11, 20190). Mental illness is common in Kenya, with prevalence rates of 4%for major mental disorders with poverty, unemployment, internal conflict, displacement and HIVadd to the mental health burden. Kenya is one of the countries that suffers from collective ignorance on the importance and the dire state of mental health in