High Class 8 dropouts hurt Kenya in UN poverty index
Pupils in a class at Tarasaa Primary School in Tana. Low transition from primary to secondary school is slowing down government efforts to improve the wellbeing of Kenyans, according to an annual UN global development ranking. FILE PHOTO | NATION
What you need to know:
Official data shows that 619,528 students enrolled in secondary schools compared to 828 528 that sat the national Class Eight exams.
The government aims to introduce free secondary education in 2017 to boost transition rates from primary school, which has not been charging fees since 2003.
Low transition from primary to secondary school is slowing down government efforts to improve the wellbeing of Kenyans, according to an annual UN global development ranking.
Kenya’s ranking remained unchanged at 147th out of 187 nations in the human development index, a gauge of well-being published by the UNDP for the past 23 years that combines economic prosperity with education levels and life expectancy.
The UN linked Kenya’s ranking to the average number of years of schooling, which stood at 6.3 years last year compared to seven in 2010 and includes students who fail to sit the Class Eight national examinations and those not enrolled in secondary schools.
Official data shows that 619,528 students enrolled in secondary schools compared to 828 528 that sat the national Class Eight exams.
“The drop in the average years spent on education is mainly attributed to transition issues from primary to secondary education,” said Julius Chokerah, national economist at the UNDP, during a media briefing Wednesday.
“It will require additional investment in schooling for the transitioning so that these years to increase.”
Besides education, the UN looks at the country’s life expectancy at birth and the growth of per capita income—indicators that have been improving in Kenya over the eight years.
Kenya’s life expectancy stood at 61.7 years compared to 61.1 in 2012 and 54.7 in 2005. The per capita income was at $2,158 (Sh189,624) last year, up from $2,100 (Sh184,527) in 2012 and $1,856 (Sh163,087) in 2005.
The government aims to introduce free secondary education in 2017 to boost transition rates from primary school, which has not been charging fees since 2003.
Currently, it wants to lower secondary school fees to up the transition and offer equity as rising post-primary expenses deny the poor quality education.
A number of bright students who secured Form One admission to national schools this year opted to join low-ranked schools as their parents could not raise fees running to as much as Sh130,000.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
