TEACHING-EMPOWERING-MENTORING-BUILDING OPPORTUNITY Mission: to partner with individuals and communities in Western Kenya to support entrepreneurial activities, education and health through training programmes, scholarships, water and sanitation projects

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Secondary school dilemma

The results came out last week for the KCPE (exams at the end of elementary school) The scores are used to select students to continue to secondary education (which is not free). The government gives an amount per capita for 'tuition' but there are other fees the parents have to pay as well as uniform, boarding etc. The National schools will take the first 7,000 best performers, although these are likely to be graduates of private schools whose parents can afford close to $1000 per year. The next 420,000 who scored 50% or more will go to a range of schools from good to mediocre. Many drop out because parents cannot pay even the $150 for a day school. The remaining 120,000 have no hope of further education. To take any kind of meaningful training, a child needs a high school leaving certificate. We are seriously concerned about the children scoring high from our Read for the Top and Virtues schools. We have boosted the performance but many of the children cannot continue without help.
 

No comments:

Post a Comment