Why do pupils dropout when education is ‘free’? Explaining school dropout among the urban poor in Nairobi

Benta A. Abuya · Moses Oketch · Peter K. Musyoka

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Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare School Choice and Performance African Education and Politics

Abstract

The introduction of universal primary education in sub-Sahara African countries in the 1990s increased enrolment rates and provided opportunities to children who were previously not in school. Research demonstrates that eliminating fees is not the magic bullet that delivers universal access. This study seeks to determine risk factors associated with dropout among primary school children in the low-income areas of Nairobi. Qualitative data is from the Education Research Program, collected between June and July 2008. The study found that: dumpsites in the two slum sites of Korogocho and Viwandani lure children out of school; school levies still charged in schools keep children out of school; and chronic poverty within families lure girls aged 14–16 into transactional sex. In conclusion, the declaration of free primary education is not sufficient to realize improved educational attainment as dropout after initial entry negates the purpose for which it was introduced.

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References

1994Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook 1998Basics of qualitative research : techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory 1980Qualitative research and evaluation methods 1979The Ecology of Human Development 1990Qualitative evaluation and research methods 1990Qualitative evaluation and research methods 1979The ecology of human development : experiments by nature and design 1977Toward an experimental ecology of human development.

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2019Urban poverty and education. A systematic literature review 2016“I failed, no matter how hard I tried”: A mixed-methods study of the role of achievement in primary school dropout in rural Kenya 2019Perspectives of dropped-out children on their dropping out from public secondary schools in rural Pakistan 2020Education Research in Sub-Saharan Africa: Quality, Visibility, and Agendas 2018A systematic review of the literature on the causes of early school leaving in Africa and Asia

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