Performance of Kibera Informal Secondary school students in National Examinations

Abstract

The launch of free primary education in 2002 triggered an influx of pupils' into public schools. This had been a success as the targeted number of students of 8 million had been overwhelmingly achieved. The enthusiasm in this success stirred made same government in 2008 to extend the program to those in public secondary schools. It was dubbed 'free secondary education’ and targeted to enroll 1.4 million students at the end of that year. However, it was not as free as it sounded as both the parents and the government were to participate on equal grounds in educating the students. The program could still not emancipate parents to let their children join public schools as it was still as expensive as before. The launch of the program took place when Kenya was still bleeding from the aftermath of the post-election violence. Gravest of all was inflation. It financially crippled most parents in Kibera causing them to live from hand to mouth at the utter expense of living up to the goal of 'F.S.E' program .Non formal schools mushroomed to offer education at a subsidized cost as a solution to this crisis. However, since then, very few students have stood the chance to make it to public universities under the scholarship body offered by the government of Kenya. Many of the students who get enrolled in these non-formal schools ended with very poor performance in Kenya certificate of secondary education (K.C.S.E) exams. A study was carried out on a sample of seven schools to find out why. Questionnaires and interviews were administered on both teachers and students. The research operated on a methodological theoretical framework of the historical poverty life that Kibera has had since it came to be the slum it is. This approach brings out the challenges that students in Kibera are facing.