Important to Note:

School going girls in the country are likely to drop out at the age of 17, the latest report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows.

The data shows the dropout rate among girls stands at 6.5 per cent compared to 5.9 per cent among boys of the same age.

The dropout age decreases with decreasing age.

The high dropout levels among girls especially in primary schools have been attributed to teenage pregnancy, early marriage, peer influence, repetition, and child labour.

A study conducted by ActionAid in 2018 revealed that school environment, religion, the economic strength of families, insecurity and broken families led to high dropout levels among girls in Baringo, West Pokot, Migori, Garissa, Kajiado, Embu, Taita Taveta and Isiolo counties.

Another study by the University of Nairobi that was published in the London Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences found that when resources are scarce in a family, chances of venturing and investing in education becomes a great challenge to them.

“Because of financial constraints, there is dictation on who should be educated, and in most cases, boys are preferred to girls,” the study findings say.

Teenage pregnancies and early marriage prevalence is also still a prevalent problem in Kenya as they have been attributed to girls dropping out of the education cycle.

The problem is highly prevalent in rural areas especially those tribes with preserved traditions.

“Inadequate physical facilities for girls in Asals and rural areas have negatively impacted learners' achievement,” it says.

Similarly, the school environmental aspects ranging from physical facilities, instructional materials and approaches to teachers attitudes contribute to girls dropping out of schools