Factors influencing the transition of girls from primary to secondary level in Bungoma East District, Kenya

Abstract

Statistics have continuously indicated that the transition rates of girls from primary to secondary schools in Kenya is normally between 40-44% lower than that of the boys standing now at 47-52%. For instance in Bungoma District (now county), there have been worrisome trends of low transition rates among the girls as compared to the boys. Although the transition rates of the boys over the last five years have been above the national aggregate (between 60-72%), that of the girl child has lagged behind normally between 44-50%.

This transition rates are very low in one of the few districts where performance of students both in the primary and secondary education is still considered high. In Bungoma East district, the disparity is even larger between boys and girls pointing to dire problems among the females. This study determined the factors that influence the transition of girls from primary to secondary level in Bungoma East District. The study was conducted through cross-sectional survey design. The sample size was 99 female students who fail to take Form 1 places. Data were collected through questionnaires administered by the researcher. Collected data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version. 12). All analysis were done through descriptive statistics and chi-square test.

The school based factors causing the girls to drop out included poor academic performance contributed by poor teaching methods and repeating of classes that discouraged the girls from pursuing further learning as well as lack of fees. The home based factors that caused many girls to drop out of school were many girls dropped out of school due to poverty, preference by the parents to education other sibling such as boys, pregnancy among the girls, cultural norms that don't value girls' education, illiteracy among the parents and low parental guidance of the students. The distance to school was long and therefore consumed most of the time for the girls who had no other means to reach school other than through walking resulting in their low transition rates. Finally the attitudes of the female towards was generally negative and the students who had not taken their positions in secondary schools feared Students learning, poor performance while in schools, Mathematics and Sciences, future market prospects, workload and fear from ridicule by other students and many opted for the course because they had confident in it.

This study recommended that schools should evaluate student based on their academic performance and those found to be performing poorly should be given incentives instead of being send home and that the student should be intensively guided and counseled by teachers and parents in order to relate well with hislher parents and teachers for good results. It also suggest that teachers must look for ways of encouraging students through their regular and routing evaluation to improve their performance and government must come up with policies that would encourage the learning of girls from home and parents must be forced to treat all their children as equal.