Effect of Undugu Basic Education Programme on Retention Rates in Public Schools in Nairobi County

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue VII, July 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Effect of Undugu Basic Education Programme on Retention Rates in Public Schools in Nairobi County

Parasi Belinda¹, Prof. Genevieve Wanjala², Dr. Andrew Riechi^3
1PhD Student at University of Nairobi, Kenya
^2,3University of Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine the effect of Undugu Basic Education Programme on retention rates in public schools in Nairobi County. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. This is in the light of the fact that retention of pupils in quality education and training forms the basis upon which economic, social, technological, ethical and political sustainable development of any nation is founded. Globally, governments use education as a means for fighting diseases, ignorance and poverty. The research instruments employed for data collection were questionnaires for teachers and head teachers, interview guide for the director and focus group discussion guide for UBEP pupils. By means of a descriptive research design, data was collected from director, head teacher, teachers and students in UBEP programme. A census of 20 teachers, 4 head teachers and 1 director were considered. The pupils who participated in the study were 100 of which 25 each came from Mathare, Ngomong, Kibera, and Pumwani. The study findings showed that 95.8% of the respondents agreed that retention in UBEP schools increases the opportunity of vulnerable children to acquire concepts, skills, and attitudes to form the foundation for future learning scores. The result further shows that 76% of the pupils in Ngomongo do repeat class while 24% proceed to the next class. Also, Pumwani pupils and Kibera pupils do not repeat classes instead, they all proceed to the next class. The study concluded that Undugu Basic Education Programme influences retention rates in public schools in Nairobi County.

Key words: Undugu Basic Education Programme, Retention Rates and Vulnerable out of school children.

Introduction

Globally, governments use education as a means for fighting diseases, ignorance and poverty. However, DeStefano and Schuh-Moore (2015) found that the government alone cannot provide education for its entire citizenry for most countries. DeStefano and Schuh-Moore agreed with Colclough (2016) that the government providing the bulk of basic education is justified since if left to the free market, the private sector might under invest in it. The effect is that individuals and societies will be affected directly, and the country will suffer economically as there will be a dearth of adequately trained workforce. These thus call for the need for alternative basic education avenues to supplement the education provided by the various governments.

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