This archive report was first published on 3 May 2021.
Kenya's education system is facing a significant challenge as thousands of girls fail to sit for their national examinations in primary school, with Gender-Based Violence being identified as the major contributing factor.
According to statistics released by the Ministry of Education in March, 12,424 Class 8 candidates did not turn up for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations administered in March, a number that is double that of 2020 when 5,530 missed out.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha announced that despite missing the exams, the girls will be granted a second chance to sit their exam and transit either to secondary school or polytechnics.
However, Magoha did not provide more details or the exact reason such a large number of candidates stayed away from examination centres.
A senior ministry official attributed the challenge to teenage pregnancies, early marriages, and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in some areas, with the number of girls who did not turn up for the examinations being as high as that of boys.
Kenya's schools were closed since March 2020 to January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and last year alone, close to 200,000 teenage pregnancies were recorded countrywide, with specific regions worst affected.
Trans Nzoia recorded the highest number of teenage pregnancies at 10,000 cases, and despite Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi warning that those responsible would be prosecuted, little has been done to curb the trend.
As the Ministry of Education prepares to release results of national examinations for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, officials fear that the number of dropouts will be high, with the government giving them another chance.
Girls in informal settlements are the worst affected due to their vulnerable situation, and recent statistics released by the Ministry of Public Service and Gender show that there was a 36 percent spike in GBV cases in 2020, raising concerns on the safety of women and girls.
Public Service and Gender Cabinet Secretary Margaret Kobia said the cases were recorded between January and December, and represented an increase of 1,411 compared to cases reported in 2019, with Nairobi, Kakamega, Kisumu, Nakuru, and Kiambu counties accounting for most of the cases.
