Factors Affecting The Refugee Students Academic Performance At Kenya Certificate Of Secondary Education In Eastleigh North Division, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The refugee students in Nairobi, Kenya, face xenophobia and discriminative urban refugee policies, which preclude their admission into public secondary schools in the city. In turn, these students’ enrolment in private schools in Nairobi is hindered by their parents’ or guardians’ precarious socio-economic status. The study aimed at investigating the factors affecting the performance of refugee students at KCSE. This study employed descriptive survey. In this study, the target population consisted of all public secondary schools in Eastleigh North Division. Eastleigh North Division has 12 public secondary schools that sat for KCSE examination by the year 2012. The sample size consisted of a total of 388 respondents; 12 head teachers, 12 teachers and 366 students. The sample for the students consisted of 10 % of the students’ population of 3660 drawn from an accessible population of students in the public secondary schools. The entire population of head teachers in the twelve public secondary schools in Eastleigh North division took part in the study. From each school, there was one class teacher participating in the study. The class teachers were purposively selected because they are in close contact with students and they are better placed to give information on students’ academic performance and class management in the schools The study’s findings show that the public secondary schools in Eastleigh Division provides many Somali refugee students in Nairobi with an opportunity to access education, and a welcoming and secure learning environment. However, language barrier, psychological trauma, financial constraints, lack of support from fellow students as well as teachers and inadequate school resources were found to affect the academic achievement of the refugee students. Additionally, the students’ deprived livelihoods in the city hamper their achievement to their fullest potential. Collaboration between agencies such as UNHCR, Kenyan government, and the urban Somali refugee community has the potential to improve these students’ learning conditions, and their future lives.