Factors influencing pupils’ transition rates from primary to secondary school in Kiambu sub county,Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to establish factors influencing pupils’ transition rates from primary to secondary school in Kiambu Sub-County, Kenya. The study was guided by three research objectives. Research objective one sought to assess whether parental level of education influence pupils’ transition rates from primary to secondary school, research objective two sought to establish whether cost of education influence pupils’ transition rates from primary to secondary school while research objective three sought to assess whether pupils` home background influence pupils’ transition rates from primary to secondary school in Kiambu Sub-County. Descriptive survey design was used because it enabled the researcher to gather information concerning factors influencing pupils’ transition rates from primary to secondary school in Kiambu Sub-County. The study was based on systems theory (1968) .The questionnaire were issued to a size of 13 head teachers, 28 class teachers ,649 pupils from 13 public primary schools while quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that parental level of education influence pupils’ transition rates from primary to secondary school which shows that parent’s level of education had a lot of impact on schooling of children because the more educated parents were the more they were likely to enroll their children and push them through school. The study also revealed that high academic attainment of parents significantly reduce chances of primary school dropout. The cost of secondary education was very high. This was because parents were required to meet some operational costs such as maintenance and may be required to pay for many other things including food, uniforms, learning materials, boarding fee, medical care and special equipment. Direct cost was too high for parents as indicated by eight(61.5%) of head teachers and inability of the poor to meet education costs for all their children was a barrier to education as indicated by eight(61.5%) of head teachers. The study concluded that parental level of education influenced pupils’ transition rates from primary to secondary school. It was also concluded that high academic attainment of parents significantly reduced chances of primary school dropout. It was also concluded that pupils from lower income background do not make a successful transition to postprimary school, and that parents from good economic background motivates their children to attend educational programs. It was also concluded that the major challenge to access of secondary education was that parents were not able to meet some operational costs for secondary education. The study lastly concluded that direct cost was too high for parents and inability of the poor to meet education costs for all their children was a barrier to education. In the light of the research findings, the researcher recommended that the government should make proper decisions on measures required for maximum pupils’ transition rates in the secondary school. The head teachers should involve all the stakeholders in addressing the issues of non-access to secondary schools and come up with ways of addressing the issue of transition. The researcher suggests that since the study was based on one area, similar studies to be conducted in larger areas to compare the results.