FACTORS AFFECTING THE TRANSITION RATE FROM PRIMARY TO SECONDARY SCHOOL AMONG THE YOUTH IN KENYA:

FACTORS AFFECTING THE TRANSITION RATE FROM PRIMARY TO SECONDARY SCHOOL AMONG THE YOUTH IN KENYA:

A CASE STUDY OF VIWANDANI WARD

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of Study

Kenya employs the 8-4-4 system of education in its schools, meaning that after nine years of primary school study and successfully sitting for the nationally certified Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam and gaining the certification attached to it, the student can then move on to a secondary school of their choice depending on their performance on the exam.  They can then continue through the four years of secondary school study before sitting for another nationally certified examination and continuing to tertiary research if they so choose.

Statement of the Problem

The enrolment of secondary education in Kenya has, however, faced challenges, with the projected gross ratio at 67.6% in 2012 rising from 29.3% in 1981, showing an average growth rate of 4.67% (Knoema World Data Atlas, 2020). According to former cabinet secretary of education, Amina Mohamed, the rate was 83% in 2019. (Capital F.M., 2019). Though encouraging, the rise highlights that there is yet room for improvement in stimulating the transition of young students from primary to secondary and achieving the current President’s, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta’s, directive of a 100% transition rate by February 2020 (The Star Newspaper, 2020) and become a success story like the Republic of Korea which achieved a nearly 100% rate by 1990 (APHRC, 2007).

Like the rest of the country, Viwandani Ward, the area of the following study and its student population, experiences a range of factors that affect the successful transition of primary school students to secondary schools. The study aims to explore this ward and its environs and discover the said factors and hopefully discover means to improve the rate of successful transitions for this community and any other that experiences similar challenges.

Objectives of the Study

• To establish the effects of poverty on the transition rate from primary school to secondary school among Kenya’s youths.
• To identify drug abuse effects on the transition rate from primary school to secondary school among youths in Kenya.
• To examine the effects of peer pressure on the transition rate from primary school to secondary school among Kenya’s youths.
• To investigate the effects of broken families on the transition rate from primary school to secondary school among Kenya’s youths.

Research Questions

The study attempted to answer the following questions:

1. What are the effects of poverty on the transition rate from primary school to secondary school among youths in Kenya?
2. How does drug abuse affect the transition rate from primary school to secondary school among youths in Kenya?
3. Does peer pressure affect the transition rate from primary school to secondary school among youths in Kenya?
4. How do broken families affect the transition rate from primary school to secondary school among youths in Kenya?

Scope of the Study

The study was done in Viwandani Ward, Makadara Constituency, in Nairobi, Kenya. It was targeted towards both primary schools and secondary school teachers of schools located within the area who were currently practicing and those that were retired.

The data was collected in the study using questioners and direct interviews coupled with internet sources of reference and other undertaken studies around similar topics.

Assumptions of the Study

1. Poverty is the inability to afford necessities such as food and clothing rather than merely lacking luxuries such as a household vehicle.
2. Drugs include those illegal like cocaine and marijuana and those that are legal, khat, and alcohol.
3. Households that are considered broken include single-parent households.

Limitations of the Study

1. Access to adequate finances to facilitate the study was a significant hindrance while undertaking the research. Transportation for physical interviews with the study participants and printing costs for the questioners presented a unique challenge to the researcher; however, financial assistance and donations from family members and close friends alleviated a significant portion of this limitation.
2. Convincing study participants to partake in the study honestly and transparently proved difficult due to mistrust from the interviewees of their thoughts and data appearing in public spheres. Therefore, it was prudent for the researcher to assure participants that their participation was strictly anonymous, and their provided data would only be used in the pursuit of knowledge to better the current education system.
3. Time constraints presented an issue for both the study researchers and participants as finding appropriate time for the researcher who had other employment commitments and the teachers who had classes for most of the day. Therefore, the researcher’s discretion was to find times convenient for both parties to undertake the interviews to gain the most accurate data comfortably.

Significance of the Study

Hopefully, the data compiled by the successful undertaking of the study will reflect a clear image of the current situation of the transition rate of pupils from primary to secondary school and the factors that affect it and will hopefully help inform appropriate policymakers and other education stake-holders stimulating practical ideas for the betterment of the education sector in Kenya and beyond.

References

1. Kenya – Gross enrolment ratio in secondary school (2020), knoema.com
2. Uhuru education directive leads efforts to de-congest classrooms in secondary school (2019), capitalfm.co.ke
3. Uhuru extends deadline for 100% transition to secondary school (2020), the-star.co.ke
4. Factors affecting the transition to secondary education in Africa. Nairobi, Kenya. (2007), Africa Population and Health Research Centre