Perception on factors influencing the rate of primary school girls drop out in the Eastern zone of Nakuru Municipality

Abstract

The UNESCO report of 2013/2014 shows that fifty seven million adolescents were out of school globally of which 55% were girls. Africa is the home of more than a half of the world’s children between six and eleven years who do not go to school. About thirty million children are out of school from this region. The Sub Saharan and Arab countries have the highest percentages where girls are also much more affected. The report observes that twenty two million adolescents are out of school within the Sub Saharan Africa region. According to the same report, Kenya is among the ten countries in the world with the highest number of children out of school, with a total population of one million and ten thousand children of school going age who are out of school. The government of Kenya is keen on attaining gender equality and this commitment is evident in various National and International legal and policy documents. Recent data from the County Education office of Nakuru Municipality, Eastern Zone reveals that the number of girls completing grade eight is much smaller than the number of girls at the entry point. This study sought to find out the factors that lead to the drop out of the girl child from primary school in the Eastern Zone of Nakuru Municipality despite the provision of Free Primary Education. The study used ex post facto research design. The target population of the study was the pupils and teachers of the Eastern Zone of Nakuru Municipality. There are ten thousand and six pupils in the zone of study. This includes five thousand one hundred and three boys and four thousand nine hundred and three girls. There are two hundred and twenty two teachers. The researcher used purposive sampling to select two schools, one within the urban area and the other within the peri-urban area. The sample size was 500 students and 29 teachers. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data on the various factors that influenced the dropout rates of girls. The results of the study are presented using frequencies, percentages, graphs and charts. The study results revealed that household characteristics such as education level of parents and household size were factors perceived to have an influence on primary school girls dropout rates in Eastern Zone of Nakuru Municipality. In addition, community level factors such as, long distance between schools and home, poor sanitation infrastructure in schools had influence on primary school girls’ dropout rates. The study concludes that despite Nakuru municipality Eastern Zone being in an urban setting, factors such as attitudes and education levels of parents, communities’ cultural perceptions and traditions towards the girl child are factors that still influence dropout rates of primary school going girls. Thus the study recommends more awareness and campaign on the importance of girls’ education by the National Government of Kenya and the County Government of Nakuru.