This archive report was first published on 15 July 2019.
On July 15, 2019, the Education ministry released a report stating that learners are still being forced to repeat classes despite a ban several years ago.
The report, which followed a study in 2018 covering the whole country, found that a substantial number of learners still repeat classes and that the dropout rate is high.
According to the National Assessment System for Monitoring Learner Achievement for Standard Three, 43.8 percent of learners repeated a class, with boys accounting for 46.8 percent and girls 40.3 percent.
At the Standard Seven level, 59.5 percent of pupils were found to have repeated a class.
Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) compiled the report, which stated that 'repetition was highest at Form Four with more boys than girls, at an average of three and two respectively. Repeating classes is associated with low learning outcomes.'
The study found that Class Seven children who repeated the class scored lower in Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, and Science than those who had not repeated.
The report cited chronic absenteeism, poor performance, demands by parents, and transfers to other schools as some of the reasons for repetition.
It also raised questions on teachers' over-reliance on commercial examinations, stating that 'a substantial proportion of teachers are not using their own tests to continuously monitor learning but are relying on past papers, zonal and commercially outsourced assessments and tests.'
The report warned that excessive testing is likely to affect learner achievement, citing that Standard Three pupils who were assessed frequently scored lower in Mathematics, English, and Kiswahili than those who were assessed less frequently.
Regarding cases of dropping out, 77.7 percent of head teachers indicated that their schools had experienced cases of pupils dropping out at Standard Seven from 2016 to 2018.
The report also indicated that indiscipline is still prevalent in schools, with learners going to school without eating and teachers facing challenges such as chronic absenteeism and missing lessons.
Section 35 of the Basic Education Act, No 14 of 2013, prohibits repetition of classes, stating that 'no pupil admitted in a school, subject to subsection (3) shall be held back in any class or expelled from school.'
