| dc.description.abstract | Secondary education plays a major role in bridging the gap between basic education and the world of work. It is for this important role that the Kenyan government has ensured the growth of secondary education since post independent Kenya. The expansion though commendable, has been regionally skewed with some regions such as Central Province registering high enrolments and NEP registering ( Sifuna & Chege 2006). The expansion has also been faced by serious gender disparities and thus it has not match the demand for it leading to certain groups in the society being excluded from education. These groups include the pastoralists, urban poor and the physically handicapped.
In attempts to address the needs of such groups and in line with the call for EFA, the government encouraged partnerships in education. NGO's, the community, and the private sector were called upon to provide education. These partnerships have encouraged the formation ofNFE. In recent time, NFE has resurged to what is being referred to as community schools which are similar to formal education in terms of curriculum, teacher training, schedule and examination. They differ in setting as they have proliferated in regions that seem to be neglected by the government initiatives. These areas include informal slums and ASALS.
The study which sought to find out the challenges facing girls in community based secondary school found that girls are overburdened by domestic chores. They perform these chores after school or early in the morning learning no time for their studies. Fifty one percent of the respondents revealed that they pay school fees which range between KES 3,000 to 3500. The study also sought to determine the reasons for dropping out. Pregnancy was found to be the major reason. The key informants revealed that on average six girls drop out of school each year. Other reasons for drop out as the study found out include lack of school fees and sanitary towels.
Finally the study explored the interventions in practice and found out that the feeding programme had been instituted in all the three schools. Provision of bursaries and sponsorships as well as impromptu pregnancy tests was other interventions in practice. To strengthen the existing practices, provision of accommodation was suggested. A few of the respondents were already being accommodated by the respective schools due to reasons such as defilement and abuse. Other means to strengthen the existing practice included mentorship for girls and relocation of the schools from the informal settlement. | en_US |
