Re-Admission Policy and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Performance in Bungoma North Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

The educational needs of pregnant school girls and mother-students have received minimal attention despite the introduction of re-admission policy in Kenyan secondary schools. The objectives of the study were to determine the extent of the implementation of re–admission policy in secondary schools, the involvement of stakeholders in the re–admission process, the effect of re – admitted mother – student on academic performance and challenges experienced by schools and students who return to school. The study was guided by the production function theory advocated by Tinto Model on school retention. The sample size for the study was 774 respondents who were chosen. The experts in the department were consulted to ensure that the data collection tools ware valid, piloting was also done to ensure reliability Questionnaires ware used and the major data collection instrument supported was interview schedules and the observation schedules from the sample of population. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented using tables. The results of the study showed that the level of implementation of re – admission policy was on average in most secondary schools. The results of the study further revealed that parents were not involved in the re-admission process. The study also found out that mother students perform poorly in schools and this impacted on their final Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) performance. The study recommends that all schools should fully implement the re – admission policy and to ensure that the re – admitted students perform better in examinations. The study also suggests that there is need for holistic involvement of all stakeholders in designing, developing and implementing the re – entry policy.