by Isaac Nyangeri, Kenya, November 1999
THEME = EDUCATION
In Kenya, many girls who start primary education, never complete their studies
When I was at school, there were many girls in our lower primary classes, but in class eight (primary education in Kenya goes up to standard eight), we had only three. It is safe to assume that a good number of the other girls ended up employed somewhere or other, mostly working as house-maids, for early marriages are not common in our part of Kenya. To try and keep the girls in school, the hiring of young girls as home-helps is discouraged by the authorities.
However, when one looks at the issue closely, it is discovered that hiring young girls to work in the house, bad as it is, is not the main reason for girls dropping out of school. I know of a number of girls who left school and just stayed at home, helping their parents with household chores and going to the market for them.
It should be pointed out that not all these young girls are completely lost to education. When they do get employment, some have the opportunity of pursuing their basic studies, part-time, working during the morning hours and then going for private tuition in the afternoons. For a few, this can be one way of continuing their education, but for the vast majority it never works out in the long run.
However, the normal course of events is that once a young girl leaves primary school, that's the end of formal education for her. Once in employment, many girls and young women find the going very rough since they are not allowed any time to rest, and a number of cases of positive il-treatment by employers have been reported. For example, in April 1998, 23-year-old Emmaculate Muhembe was scalded with boiling water by her employer in Nairobi, three days after being hired. She was then locked up in a room where she managed to sneak out. Imagine therefore what younger girls go through.
Opportunities for employment can be a reason for girls having to drop out of school. But what are the root causes?
- Some parents do not take education seriously. This sometimes happens because people do not understanding the purpose of education. For them, an educated person = an employed person. Consequently, if there are no employment opportunities, they see no reason why their children, especially girls, should go to school. And let's face it, even jobs for university graduates are hard to come by these days.
- Our education system does not prepare our young people for the realities of life. Gearing studies towards passing examinations þ as is currently the case þ does not help matters.
- Then there's the high cost of education. This begins right from nursery school level and turns into a nightmare at class one.
- Parents get discouraged because they sometimes find it extremely difficult to get their children into the school system. In urban areas, securing a place for a Standard One pupil is a harrowing experience for many parents. Nairobi, has 185 city council primary schools which are vastly overscribed by parents anxious to have their children enroled in these schools. Beginning in June, it is a common sight to find parents camping out at schools overnight in primary schools in order to get admission forms.
- While parents in rural areas may not be faced with the same problems as those in the towns and cities, it does not mean that all is sooth going. Their problem is to find the wherewithal to keep their children in school.
- During the course of the school year, there is a constant stream of small additional payments to be met by parents. Some of these "additions" to school fees are easily understood by parents, but others, well...
Additional fees can include such items as: Paying the watchmen and other maintenance staff; cost of textbooks; contributions towards "harambees" (pooling resources together); building funds; mock examination fees (which begin in Standards Three or Four, even though a Ministry of Education directive states that such mock exams should only be held in Standard Eight in Primary School and Form Four in Secondary School which are examination classes). President Moi has abolished "activity fees" (which was supposed to cater for sports). The result is, the name "activity fees" has disappeared from the list of "extras", but not the charge. Parents are still asked to fork out for this item!
Many of these extra items tacked on to the basic school fees are levied right at the start of the school year and if the parents cannot come up with the money, then their children are sent home until the cash is forthcoming - an effective way of getting the money out of the parents!
With all these financial burdens placed on parents, small wonder they find it impossible to keep their children in school, and when a choice has to be made, the girls are the first to be withdrawn.
END