Education for Kenyan Girls in the Post Covid-19 ERA: Mitigating Strategies for Future Pandemics

Abstract

The study examined the effects of school closure during the COVID-19 pandemic on the education of secondary school girls in Moiben Sub-County, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. It used a mixed-method research design that targeted classroom teachers and Form III and IV students from mixed-day public secondary schools. A sample size representing 251 students was selected, while 66 teachers were purposively selected as respondents for the study. The data for the paper was collected using questionnaires. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and presented in tables and figures. The study found that 10 – 14% of students dropped out of school due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Of those who dropped out, the girls accounted for more than 60.0% of the ones who did not resume their education after the opening of schools in January 2021. The study found that teenage pregnancies, child labour, early marriages, and low household income contributed to girls’ not returning back to school. The paper recommends that the government set up appropriate interventions to ensure that future pandemics do not result in the discontinuity of education for students by investing in proper physical and human infrastructure. Other recommendations have been highlighted in the paper.