Factors influencing transition rate of learners from Primary to secondary schools in Rangwe division of Homa Bay district, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish factors influencing transition rates from public primary schools to secondary schools in Rangwe Division, Homa Bay District. Specifically, the study was set to establish how costs of education affect transition rates from public primary schools to secondary schools; how economic activities of the parents influence the transition rates from public primary schools to secondary schools; how the pupils’ family background influence the transition rate from public primary to secondary schools as well as finding out the influence of social cultural practices in the community on the transition rate from public primary to secondary schools. The study was promoted by the fact that transition in Homa Bay District is low compared to the neighbouring districts. There were also lack of researchers who had carried out a similar study in Rangwe Division, Homa Bay District. The study employed a descriptive survey research design where the target population consisted of all the 100 head teachers of the public primary schools in Rangwe Division, Homa Bay district and 2119 pupils comprising the standard eight classes in the public primary schools in the division and the district education officer Homa Bay District. The stratified random sampling method was used to pick 30% of the public primary schools with 34 head teachers and 639 learners selected. Qualitative data obtained from personal interviews and open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively through content analysis and organized into themes and patterns corresponding to the research questions. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, means and percentages were run on all quantitative data. The study concludes that, transition from primary school to secondary schools is highly determined by the cost of education, economic activities of the parents, learners’ family background as well as the social cultural factors. The cost of education is reflected in the amount incurred to settle the student in school including school fees and levies as well as personal expenses. Given that the Kenyan education system insists on a free and compulsory primary education as we as a subsidized secondary education, this study recommends that the government should instigate effective machineries to ensure that no learner is blocked from transiting to secondary school because of fees and other levies.