NewzNAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 26-A total of 169 Kenyan language assistants are set to travel to France for the 2026–2027 academic year, as the two countries deepen educational and people-to-people ties through a programme that Kenya has participated in since 2019. The cohort comprises 90 new Kenyan language assistants and 79 returning participants who will teach English in French primary and secondary schools from October 2026 to April 2027. Kenya ranks first in Africa in participation in the programme, sixth worldwide and fourth among countries whose assistants teach English, according to information provided by the French Embassy.
The programme has attracted about 650 Kenyan participants since the country joined it in 2019. Around 4,500 students from across the world participate annually, travelling to France to teach languages including English, German, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin and Arabic. Speaking during a reception at the French Embassy in Nairobi, French Ambassador to Kenya Wadid Benaabou described the programme as a practical example of people-to-people diplomacy and a symbol of friendship between Kenya and France.
“The language assistant programme is very dear to us,” Benaabou said, noting that Kenya had become the leading African participant. He urged the Kenyan assistants to use their experience in France to strengthen links between the two countries. “You’re going to be ambassadors of Kenya to France, and when you come back you’re going to be ambassadors of France to Kenya,” the ambassador told the departing assistants.
Benaabou said interest was growing both among French higher education institutions in Kenya and among Kenyan students seeking to study in France. “The number of Kenyan students studying in France has increased, but we want it to increase even more,” he said, urging the assistants to encourage other Kenyans to consider higher education opportunities in France. The programme is also being positioned by Kenya as a pathway to international employment, with the government highlighting the importance of second-language skills in accessing jobs abroad.
Speaking at the event, Secretary for Diaspora, Investment, Skills and Expertise Isaiya Kabira said the government had seen cases where Kenyans were unable to take up overseas opportunities because they lacked additional language skills. “We know there are job opportunities in Germany, job opportun…
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