Application of life table model in studying progress of public primary school pupils in Migori sub county, Kenya

Abstract

Education progress plays a very important role in determining the future of a pupil and even in planning for the schools and education sector as a whole. Primary Education forms the basis of implementing Poverty Reduction Strategy by the government through the acquisition of basic literacy skills, which increases opportunities for employment and ability to be self-reliant, hence the need to monitor the pupils general progress from the time of entry in class one to graduation after the expected eight years in Kenya’s Primary school level of education. This study applies Life Table Technique in determining the progression of pupils from the time of entry in class one to graduation in class eight, in public primary schools in Migori Sub County. The objectives of the study were to determine the Sub County’s retention rate by class and sex and also to determine the expected duration of schooling for each class by sex. A sample of 91 schools was drawn using multi stage sampling where each of the six zones was represented and an Interviewer-Administered Questionnaire was used to obtain data to meet the study objectives. The cohort for the study included the Sub County’s class one public primary school enrolment in the year 2007 for the sampled schools. The findings of this study were; the retention rates for male pupils was higher than that of female pupils and also the retention rate was lowest in class seven and highest in class three. Similarly, the expected duration of schooling was higher for male pupils compared to the female pupils; also the expected duration of schooling for each class was lower than the normal duration as expected. This study would help to monitor the progress of primary school pupils in the Sub County and also help the schools, the community, the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders in adopting the appropriate measures to curb the elements of attrition.