Getting to the Cause of Low Learner Numbers at Kenya High Schools
Capital FM reports that teenage pregnancies and child labor have been identified as major impediments to the government's 100% secondary school transition programme in Kisumu County.
Over 10, 000 children spread across the seven sub-counties were yet to report raising concerns amongst stakeholders.
Kisumu County Director of Education Peter Munene said out of the 31, 303 candidates who sat for the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in the area, only 20, 804 have reported so far.
He attributed the poor turnout to rising cases of child labour where some of the children have ventured into boda boda (motorcycle taxi) business and other income generating activities to fend for themselves and their siblings.
Cases of teenage pregnancies which skyrocketed during the Covid-19 lockdown period, he added, have also affected the turnout for girls in the area.
InFocus
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Over 97 million children in Africa are out of school, and 52 million are girls. This number continues to grow with the rising demand for education, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The Graça Machel Trust has partnered with a number of organisations to conduct Back2School research, which has been funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). In addition, it supports the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge
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In mid-March 2020 Kenya closed schools to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus but after nine months, in January 2021, it reopened the school gates to 16 million learners despite concerns. Following a seven week break, schools reopened for a thrid term crash academic programme on May 10 to July 16, 2021. In May 2021 Kenya had vaccinated 143,525 of its teachers.
For Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni ruled out any re-opening of schools in October 2020 and Education Minister Janet
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Thousands of form one learners have reportedly not taken their admission slots one week after the reporting deadline lapsed, prompting the ministry of education to intensify efforts to get them to secondary school.
Some regions have admitted only about 60% of the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education candidates, dealing a blow to the government's 100% transition policy, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has indicated.
A spot check by The Nation
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After two months of waiting since they received their 2020 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education results in April 2021, a few learners who were selected to join schools of their choice are celebrating while thousands who were placed in institutions that they did not even select have been thrown into a dilemma over their next move. Some parents are complaining that their children have been placed in day schools that were too far away from their homes, making it impossible for them to commute.
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Boda boda motorists on the move (file photo).
