| dc.description.abstract | Enrollment and retention of girls has consistently lagged behind that of boys in most
regions of Kenya MOE (2006): a major concern to all educational stakeholders. This is because
female pupils face a lot more challenges than their male counterparts in and out of school. The
main purpose of this study was to establish factors contributing to completion rates of female
pupils in public primary schools in Kabianga division, Belgut Sub-County. The study was
guided by specific research questions and objectives that included the nature of completion rate,
school and home based factors that contribute to completion, strategies at school level and input
of stake holders aimed at retaining girls in school. The study adopted a descriptive survey
methodology with both qualitative and quantitative approaches to source, analyze and
synthesize available data. The sample comprised of eleven primary schools within Finlay’s tea
estate. The preferred sampling procedures were cluster and stratified random sampling. A set of
questionnaires were administered to 103 primary school continuing girls of standard seven and
eight and 21 class teachers while interviews were conducted on 8 Head teachers and the
S.C.D.E. Validity of the questionnaires was enhanced through a pilot study. The obtained data
was analyzed, synthesized and presented with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS). This programme facilitated univariate analysis, giving rise to frequency and percentage
distributions. Findings of the study revealed that: too many domestic chores 82(79%) delegated
to female pupils were responsible for low retention/ completion rate; 85(82%) of pupils quoted
in-adequate resources; 72(70%) argued that sexual harassment of girls by teachers was
responsible for low retention and transition rate of female pupils; 74(72%) of pupils opined that
forced repetition of girls was responsible for low retention/transition rate of girls; 11(52%) of
teachers opined that re-admission policy of young school- going girls who became pregnant
enhanced the retention/transition rate of girls. On strategies employed for managing completion
and drop-out rate of female pupils. 1(13%) of head teachers identified dialogue with parents
advising pupils to repeat; 2(25%) identified effective teaching, 1(13%) mentioned effective
monitoring of school attendance; 2(25%) identified guidance and counseling while 1(13%)
opined that talking to girls boosted their completion rate. On perspectives of Kenyan
stakeholders on ways of boosting female pupils’ completion rate in primary schools, 93(90%)
of pupils asserted that active participation of parents facilitated the enhancement of girls’
completion rate. The S.C.D.E confessed that comprehensive teaching enhanced the performance
of girls and other vulnerable children, thus motivating them to stay in school (retention). Based
on the findings of the study, the study made the following recommendations: teachers should
desist from harassing sexually/abusing young school- going girls; parents should delegate less
domestic chores to female pupils; moreover, forced repetition of pupils should be stopped in
schools; re-admission policy should be fully enforced to enable pregnant school going girls get
avenues of resuming their learning upon delivery and pest teachers and other adults who
sexually prey on school-going girls should be subjected to the full force of the law. In addition,
dialogue with parents advising pupils to repeat; effective teaching; effective monitoring of
school attendance; guidance and counseling and talking to girls should be enforced as strategies
for boosting female pupils completion rate. Parents should initiate and sustain a conducive
environment at home for self-study; provide girls with necessities such as pants, sanitary towels
alongside other schooling requirements. Teachers and other players in the educational playing
field should embrace comprehensive teaching in order to enhance the performance of girls and
other vulnerable children. Informed by the results of this study, educational stakeholders
especially the Government of Kenya should formulate related policies and introduce
mechanisms to enhance retention/completion rate of female pupils. | en_US |
