School Factors Influencing Secondary Student Dropouts in Nyamira County, Kenya

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume II, Issue X, October 2018 | ISSN 2454–6186

School Factors Influencing Secondary Student Dropouts in Nyamira County, Kenya

Jane Kemunto Nyabuti

Department of Educational Administration, Curriculum and Teaching, School of Education University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, PO BOX 2500, ELDORET, Kenya.

Abstract: – The study was on the factors that make students to drop out of secondary schools in Nyamira District. The factors were researched under three categories: School-related, socio-economic and political factors. Simple random sampling was used select 14 schools that had participated in KCSE since 2006. A total of 56 class teachers, 14 head teachers and 280 form 3 students were purposively selected giving a total population of 350 respondents.Triangulation technique was used which included Questionnaires for teachers and students, interviews with school principals and observation of school setting and of important document. However, 45 (80.3%) of teachers’ and 273 (97.5%) of students’ Questionnaires were returned. It was found out that majority of the student blamed their schools for being responsible for their dropping out, yet there were other factors. It was therefore concluded that dropping out of school must be viewed as a multi causal problem. The major recommendation was that schools should improve their facilities and learning environment.

Key Words: Factors, school dropout, school environment and secondary school

I. INTRODUCTION

The Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948 by the United Nations Organization embraces education as a basic human right. Kenya being part of the signatories to the Convention supports education for all independent of age and socio-economic background. Kenya also is a signatory to the international protocol that established Education for All (EFA) agenda in Jomtien, Thailand, in 1990. In addition, Kenya is a signatory to the World Educational Forum (WEF), which was established in Dakar, Senegal, in 2000. As a result of these, Kenyan government is committed to: poverty elimination as an obstacle to educational development; promotion of human rights through provision of education, and attainment of sustainable development by the provision of quality basic education for all [1].

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