Long Distances and Poverty Given As Reasons for Overage Pupils in Primary Schools
During the groundbreaking opening of four classrooms for Dida Secondary school, Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire said that in some parts of Kilifi, the schools are far away from the homes of children. This means that at a very young age walking for long distances for young learners is not possible.
“In Ganze, for example, you will find places where the schools are over five kilometers away. Walking such a distance can be challenging for children who are 5 years and below. This means that such children will start school when they are 7 years and above. Definitely, they will complete primary school when their age has advanced,” said Mwambire.
Kilifi County has been revealed as the county having the highest entry for candidates who are of age above 19 years. During the announcement of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results on Thursday, Professor George Magoha revealed that Kilifi had 3,672 candidates who are aged over 19 years, followed by Turkana with 3,062, Kwale having 2,441, Busia 1,692, and Garissa 1,680 among the top five list.
Besides, Mwambire noted that some schools are forcing learners to repeat classes.
“The only way to resolve this problem is to make sure schools are closer to people so that students do not walk long distances to school,” said Mwambire adding that more primary schools should be built in the county to address the problem of students who are overage.
Prof Gabriel Katana, the County Devolution executive and former CEC for Education said that students who are aged 19 years and above do not participate in class.
“When they do not get to school at the recommended age they perform other duties like herding animals at home until the parents are convinced they are old enough to walk to school. Because they are older, they tend to feel out of place in class because other students are younger, hence they feel shy,” said Prof Katana.
Poverty was also to blame with the retired Kilifi Education officer Nelson Charo saying that sometimes parents are not able to provide the basic items for learning to their children and therefore decide to leave them staying at home.
“The poverty index in this area is high. Parents are sometimes caught between buying food or buying books and paying fees. It is common knowledge that food will be given priority. If we address the poverty problem then everything will fall into shape and our children will go to school at the right age,” said Nelson Charo, the retired Kilifi Education Officer.
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