DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN KENYA SOCIETY & HOW THEY INFLUENCE DECISION ABOUT: MARKETING, & RECRUITMENT IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.

1. DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN KENYA SOCIETY &
HOW THEY INFLUENCE DECISION ABOUT:
MARKETING, &
RECRUITMENT IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
Kibet Fredrick, Joab Odhiambo, & Odhiambo Beatrice
School of education, Arts & Social Sciences, KCA University
MLM 524 Educational Institutions Enrolment Management
Dr. Mary Mbii

2. What is demographic change?
➢Study of how human populations change over time.
➢It involves the analysis of differences in population size and
population structure.
➢Population size: number of individuals in a population.
➢Population structure: distribution of people in a population
according to designated demographic traits.

3. Kenya’s population
➢Demographic change has been
vast over the past 5 years; rising
from a population of 46.4 million
in 2018 to 50.6 million in 2022.
➢ This has tremendously
influenced decisions about
marketing and recruitment in
Kenya’s educational
institutions.
(KNBS, 2023)

4. Define Marketing & recruitment
➢Marketing - clarifying institutional image, establishing
enrolment targets to meet school composite goals,
understanding the school’s niche in the marketplace, and
integrating marketing and communication efforts.
➢Recruitment - set of marketing and communication actions
carried out by an institution, university, or school, to attract,
engage and convert individuals into new and consistent
enrolments.

5. Enrolment in Kenyan schools (KNBS, 2023)
➢Primary schools - dropped from 10.5 million in 2018 to
10 million in 2019 due to Covid 19, then went up to
10.3 million in 2022.
➢Secondary school - increased from 2.9 million in 2018
to 3.8 million in 2022.
➢University enrolment - also risen from 519 thousand
in 2018 to 563 thousand in 2022.

6. Demographic Changes Influencing the choice of
Marketing & Recruitment in Kenyan Schools:
✓Population size
✓Age Structure
✓Gender Roles
✓Sex ratio
✓Education levels
✓Ethnicity Make
✓Natality rates (birth rates)
✓Mortality (death rates)
✓ Income Rates
✓ Employment Rate
✓ Early Marriages
✓ Migration Rates
✓ Dependency Ratio
✓ Family structure
✓ Occupation

7. Population Size
➢Number of individuals
present in a subjectively
designated geographic range.
➢ Over the past 5 years,
the population size in
Kenya rose from 46.4
million people in 2018 to
50.6 million in 2022.
(KNBS, 2023).

8. Influence of population size on marketing and
recruitment in education institutions
➢Institutions in densely populated regions: record high number
students, use marketing strategies like vehicles with loudspeakers, &
use of banners, and allocate the regions more time in their marketing
plan.
➢Institutions in less populated areas: record low number of students,
use marketing strategies like Radio, Televisions & issuing brochures,
and spend less time in such regions.
➢Institutions situated in urban areas: have high probability of
recruiting many students whereas those in rural areas are likely to
struggle in recruiting students.

9. Age Structure
➢Proportionate numbers of people in different age
categories in each population for a defined time.
➢Institutions that target young people like pre-primary
employ animations, pictures, neon signs & TVs in
marketing.
➢Institutions targeting teenagers and youth like
secondary and higher education institutions employ
social media, events, open day fairs, visits, print
media, radios, and televisions.
➢Institutions targeting the adult population could use
word of mouth, digital platforms, and print media.

10. ➢Institutions must comply with government policy on age requirements
when recruiting students.
➢Institutions must undertake a routine follow-up to students during the
recruitment process to keep them informed on the date and requirements.
➢Age determines whether an individual will or will not proceed with
pursuing education. This mostly affects recruitment in basic education.
➢Government policy on age requirement to provide support inform of
capitation, bursaries affect recruitment of students.
Age Structure Cont:

11. GENDER ROLES
➢Socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions and identities of girls,
women, boys, men, and gender diverse people.
➢Sensitization approach is used to influence the target audience and
help them understand the importance of education.
➢Mentors and role models are used during marketing plan to help
convince the target audience to join an educational institution.
➢Institutions in regions with strong cultural beliefs in the roles of the
boys and girls are likely to record a reduced number of students during
recruitment compared to those situated in more gender diverse regions.

12. SEX RATIO
➢Ratio of males
to females in a
population.
(KNBS 2023)
Primary school enrolment in Kenya from 2015 to
2021, by gender(in 1,000s)

13. Secondary school enrollment in Kenya from 2015 to 2021, by gender(in 1,000s)
(KNBS 2023)

14. ➢Institutions are likely to offer discounts, sponsorship and even
percentage slots on certain courses to specific sex category targets.
➢Institutions are likely to include mentors and role models during their
marketing plan to help convince the target audience to join their institutions.
➢Institutions can employ television advertisements in between programs
like soaps to reach the females and during news to reach their male
counterparts.
SEX RATIO CONT.

15. ➢Institutions offering technical courses are likely to have reduced
number of female students compared to male students.
➢Institutions offering business courses are likely to record many
female students compared to male.
➢Institutions situated in regions where females are not given
priority in acquiring education are likely to record a low number
of female students’ recruitment.
SEX RATIO CONT.

16. ➢Level of formal education
that an individual has
completed.
➢There 10 levels of
education in Kenya which
include primary,
secondary, and tertiary.
EDUCATION
LEVELS
Distribution of population in Kenya as of 2019, by
highest level of education completed

17. ➢A university will focus marketing its product to secondary going students
and not primary.
➢For institutions targeting the illiterate, radio, television, and cinema ads are
more effective while print media (billboards, posters, burners), social
media, newspapers and magazines may be appropriate for educated people.
➢Institutions offering advanced levels in education structure like masters
and PhD are likely to record a minimum number during recruitment
compared to degree, diploma, basic education because only a small
percentage of people advance in their education.
EDUCATION LEVELS CONT.

18. ETHNICITY MAKE
➢While marketing, the school will ensure that the methods of advertising being
used is geared towards sensitising the target groups.
➢For example, when advertising an international school with high school fees, the
school will target the whites because they usually show much preference to
international curriculum as compared to the blacks who in most cases have
shown preference to the local education.
➢This will help the school to achieve the maximum recruitment level of desire as
well as to maximize profit levels because their target group is able to help attain
the institution's goals, objectives and aims.

19. NATALITY (OR BIRTH RATES)
➢Ratio of the number of births to the size of that population.
➢It results in the addition of number of individuals to a population
thus the number of potential number of students to join schools increases.
➢A community with a higher number of births provide a conducive market
for education products.
➢Schools will thrive well in such environments as Kiambu county, Nairobi
county etc., as compared to areas with low birth rates.

20. ➢Measure of the frequency of occurrence of death in a defined population during
a specified interval.
➢Areas with high death rates aren't conducive for marketing of a school
program.
➢High death rates makes it very difficult to start and run a school in such areas.
➢The deaths may be very aggressive that even the school won't be having
enough learners to help it run ,as a result, the school may fail to achieve its
mission because of low recruitment rate.
MORTALITY (OR DEATH RATES)

21. INCOME RATES
➢The level of income vary from one household to the other, from one region to the other and
from one country to another.
➢The people who earn less income tend to get attracted to schools who market cheaper
courses as compared to those who earn higher income who will tend to go for expensive
courses and let their children study.
➢Marketing and recruitment of learners in areas where individuals earn higher is easier for
schools because the individuals can afford whatever the cost for a course thus having higher
enrolment rates.
➢Environments with low-income individuals may be living from hand to mouth and can't afford
education, the schools in this area will experience low school turnover because of poverty.

22. EMPLOYMENT RATE
Marketing a school where most individuals are employed
is easier because they can achieve the requirements of the
schools and send their children to school and afford their
fees, therefore, the level of recruitment in schools will be
higher thus maximum profit by the schools and more
manpower to run the school.

23. ➢Educational institutions have resorted to mobilization and sensitization of
girls in regions where early marriage is common to convince parent and
girls to embrace education and to ensure that girls are enrolled, retained,
and graduated.
➢These include holding community workshops, door-to-door outreaches,
using banners dubbed ‘education not marriage’, and facilitating
education of girls through provision of sanitary towels in schools.
➢Girls who have also given birth because of child marriages are allowed to
go back to school without victimization.
EARLY MARRIAGES

24. MIGRATION RATES
➢Migration rates are high in ASAL regions since the inhabitants normally pastoralists who move
from one area to another in search of water and pasture.
➢This destabilizes students who are forced to accompany their parents and thus dropping out
of school.
➢Migration is one factor that has led to low enrolment in ASAL regions.
➢For schools is these regions to recruit and retain students until they graduate, they must
involve themselves in charitable activities like giving free food, water, and boarding facilities.
➢Schools also look for donors for schools to help them offer these charity services that are
aimed at increasing enrolment in these regions.

25. DEPENDENCY RATIO
➢Most families in rural areas have many children who depend on their parents to support
them in their education.
➢Most of these homes cannot raise school fees to all these children and this has reduced
the chances of a child completing studies.
➢When a children dropout of school because their parents are not able to handle the high
decency, the schools continuously register low number of students.
➢Some of the educational institutions have come up with ways of reducing these dropouts.
➢These ways include identifying these families and providing scholarships to their children.

26. FAMILY STRUCTURE
➢Children who grow up in single-parent or stepparent families have lower
educational attainment than those who grow up with both biological
parents.
➢The advantage of growing up with both parents is reinforced by the inter
generational transfer of human capital.
➢Educational institutions give sponsorship priorities to orphans and
children living with single-parent or stepparents.
➢These increases enrollments and retention in schools.

27. OCCUPATION
➢Parental occupation is the most determining factor of
generating income which affects the overall enrolment of
children in educational institutions.
➢When parents have a better occupation, they make adequate
provision for their children’s education and hence increase
enrolment.