Girls eclipse boys in school enrolment

By Caroline Rwenji

More girls have enrolled in learning institutions than boys, the Economic Survey shows.

The report reveals that more girls than boys enrolled in Standard One, sat for Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and enrolled for Form One in secondary schools.

There was an increase of 1.6 per cent of girls joining Standard One.

Boys’ enrolment in the same class rose 0.7 per cent. Survival rate for children who made it to Standard Seven was 72.3 per cent due to a high rate of repetition of classes and school dropouts.

The survival rate of boys who reached Standard Five in 2012 was 98.5 per cent as compared to girls at 98.5 per cent, indicating that more boys dropped out. Non-formal education saw an increase of 2.4 per cent, with 182,071 students joining in 2012 up from 177,837.

KCPE candidates have increased since 2008 and this has put pressure on the limited places in Form One.

Female candidates increased by 5.6 per cent from 375,400 in 2011 to 396,000 in 2012. The national mean score also increased to 55.95 per cent in 2012 from 53.02 per cent in 2011.

The survey also showed an increase in primary school teachers largely due to recruitment. There were 176,243 teachers in 2012 up from 174,267 in 2011.

An increase in high school enrolment was largely attributed to subsidised secondary education, with a rise of 5.6 per cent rise in both public and private schools.

Some 1.9 million students joined secondary school in 2012 as compared to 1.8 million students in 2011. The intake for girl students increased by 9.4 per cent more than boys who were at 7.4 per cent.

However, retention rate of students declined from 96 per cent to 92 per cent due to the high school fees.

Secondary teachers also increased by 4.5 per cent from 56,735 to 59,273 in 2012. Teachers training institutions saw an increase of 3.9 per cent from 29,571 enrolments in 2011 to 30,729 last year. P1 teachers increased by 3.7 per cent and diploma trainees by 7.6 per cent.