Girl child education and academic performance in Ainabkoi zone Eldoret east district, Uasin Gishu county rift valley Province, Kenya

Abstract

Kenya recognizes education for girls and women as a tool, for empowering them and as a fundamental human right. There is an improvement in the overall literacy for both males and females thus narrowing the gap between them. However, despite their awareness, the national enrollment figures in primary schools camouflage regional variations that pose a challenge to the national achievement. The main goal of closing the gender literacy gap will not, therefore, be achieved without focusing attention on the girl child education in the underprivileged regions in the country. There is evidence that free primary education is faced with several challenges likewise to the girl-child education. and academic performance. This study sets out to highlight the major gender and education challenges facing the girl-child education in Ainabkoi zone, Eldoret East district, Uasin Gishu County, Rift Valley Province in Kenya. The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges facing girl-child education and academic performance in Ainabkoi zone is specifically aimed at finding out the economic and socio-cultural factors that tend to affect girlchild education and academic performance. This will eventually identify the challenges affecting the achievement facing girl-child education for all and proposes positive actions for mitigation of the situation so as to establish whether there are existing strategies for addressing the challenges facing girl-child education and how to uplift girl's education. The study will, therefore, be made of a descriptive and exploratory design in which both qualitative and quantitative methods used in collecting the data from the children (pupils), head teachers and parents on the challenges facing girl-child education and academic performance. The researcher will target thirteen primary schools which have a population of five thousand eight hundred and forty-one (5841) pupils. The number of respondents who were given the questionnaires will constitute two hundred and forty (240) which were spread equally to all the thirteen schools in the zone. The method to be used while collecting the data included the use of questionnaires interviews, observation, and examination records.