Factors Influencing Retention Rate Of Girls In Secondary Schools In Ndhiwa Sub-County Homa-Bay County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Kenya’s vision 2030’s social pillar on Education and training states in part that the overall goal for 2012 is to reduce illiteracy by increasing access to Education, improving transition rate in primary and secondary schools and raising the quality and relevance of education hence retention. Kenya has targeted universal primary education since independence .The retention of girls in public secondary schools in Ndhiwa has been low. Each year about 11.37 % of females drop out of school in Ndhiwa Sub-county. The central focus in this research study was to make an analysis of factors influencing retention of female students in secondary schools in Ndhiwa sub-county, Homa-Bay County-Kenya. The objectives of the study was to: investigate the influence of finance on retention of female students in secondary schools in Ndhiwa, evaluate the contribution of social- cultural factors on the same, examine how quality and relevance of curricula influence the retention rate and to assess the extent to which accessibility to educational opportunities contribute to retention. The study was guided by Ruth Pearson’s theory based on the framework of gender relations. The study targeted all the 2240 girls in the public secondary school in Ndhiwa Sub-county and all 38 head teachers of the 38 public secondary schools in the Sub-county. The study is descriptive in nature with a large sample size; a questionnaire was developed as the main data collection instrument. Data was analyzed through descriptive statistics inform of tables and mean deviations. The results of the study showed that there is direct influence of finance on retention of girls in primary and secondary schools in Ndhiwa district. Socio-cultural factors affected retention of girls negatively in secondary schools in Ndhiwa for many parents cannot afford to pay for their children schools. The relevance of school curriculum had an influence on retention of girls in Ndhiwa district. The accessibility to educational opportunities had a significant influence on the same in Ndhiwa district. The study concluded that the key variables that informed the work had substantial contributions to retention among female students in public secondary schools in Ndhiwa district. From the findings, the study recommended that the government should formulate policies favorable to female learners in order to improve retention rate in secondary schools and encourage sustainable educational development in Kenya and Ndhiwa in particular. Moreover, families should also be encouraged to bear the children they can care for. The government encourages family planning and sensitization to parents and guardians on what ought to be done to ensure learners get retained in schools.