West Pokot County is still facing the challenge of a low transition rate from Primary to Secondary schools. County commissioner Apollo Okello who raised concern over the problem, said that the County has a transition rate of 86%-90% from Primary to Secondary schools despite the national government’s target of 100%.
Okello urged provincial administrators and education officers in Sub Counties to ensure there is 100% transition as was directed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
He said that chiefs and their assistants should get the report of all those who joined secondary school, noting that all students who sat for KCPE this year in the County should join secondary schools.
Speaking in Kapenguria, the County commissioner said that the failure of children to enroll in schools contributes to high illiteracy levels.
Apollo said taking children, especially girls, past the primary schools level, would reduce the high teenage pregnancies, which are high, coupled with FGM cases. “FGM is still commonly practiced in this community and most of the girls who undergo this practice end up getting pregnant because the girls are perceived to have entered maturity and parents no longer have control of what they do,” he said.
He said that retrogressive practices have been established as the main reason why girls don’t advance to higher learning from primary schools. “Girls’ education is not only a fundamental right, but also an important catalyst for economic growth and human development,” he said.
He urged parents to take advantage of the free education program and take children to school to help attain the total transition to secondary schools.
