Determinants of wastage in public primary schools in Starehe district, Nairobi county, Kenya

Abstract

Education is important to both the individual and the society because it helps one to grow physically, mentally and socially. It also brings developments in the society. In particular the primary education lays the foundation for further education and training. Despite its importance, learners in primary schools seem not to participate fully due to dropout and repetition. This study, therefore, seeks to establish determinants of wastage in public primary schools in Starehe District in Nairobi County. The key objectives of the study are to establish economic, social and cultural factors influencing dropout and repetition in primary schools and to propose strategies to reduce dropout and repetition in public primary schools in Starehe district Nairobi County. The study is based on production Function theory. The main areas on which the literature review is done are social factors, economic and cultural factors. The study will adopt a descriptive survey design and the study will be conducted in Starehe District of Nairobi County. There are 28 public primary schools in Starehe District. The study will target pupils in class7. It will also incorporate Head teachers and guidance and counseling teachers. There are 28 Head teachers and 28 Guidance and Counseling teachers since there is one Head teacher and one Guidance and Counseling teacher in each school. The sample will comprise 14 Head teachers and 14 Guidance and Counseling teachers which is 50% of the total population. It will also include 291 pupils which is 10% of the total population of the class seven pupils. The study will adopt purposive, stratified, proportionate and random sampling procedures. The data will be collected using questionnaires which will be issued to the respondents and collected after two weeks. The collected data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics with the aid of SPSS.