Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors influencing wastage among girls in secondary schools in Kericho East District. Generally, it looked into the factors that force girls to drop out of school or repeat grades. The study was employed a mixed methods approach where both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used. A descriptive survey research design was adopted when conducting the study. This study was based on the Production Function Theory as expressed by Psacharapoulos and Woodhall (1985). Stratified random sampling was used to select 22 secondary schools which were either public mixed or public girl’s schools. This formed 35% of the total 63 public mixed and public girls’ schools in the study area. The respondents were all head teachers and one form three class master in each selected school. Form three students of the selected schools also participated in the study. All the above respondents were purposively sampled into the study. A total of 399 respondents participated. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. Piloting of the study was conducted in two schools in the neighboring Kericho East District. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The inferential statistics used was Chi-square test of association. The findings revealed that economic factors like poverty at household level which forced girls to venture into the tea picking business, cultural factors such as pregnancy and marriages were responsible for dropout among girls. The school related factors like school examination regulations and social factors like provision of sanitary towels were found to affect girls’ education negatively. It is therefore hoped that the findings and recommendations of this study will be useful to educational planners and other educational stakeholders in solving the problem of wastage among girls in secondary schools in the study area.

Keywords:

Factors influencing, educational wastage, Drop out and repeater rates, girls education, Kericho, Kenya.