An unfinished agenda: why is the boy child endangered

Abstract

Persistent campaign for awareness of girl's retention in school has started bearing fruits, but in retrospect the society has ignored the plight of boy-child. The issue of the Boy-Child has not been adequately addressed (World Bank, 2005). Extensive analysis of data indicates that boy- child is at a higher risk of dropping out of school than girls. The trend of more boys dropping out of school started in a cohort comprising of 620,000 boys and 586,000 girls that joined standard one in 2005. By 2010, survival rate in the group had dropped to 558,000 boys and 562,000 girls. Never before had enrollment of girls in any primary school grade nationally had exceeded that of boys (UNESCO, 2003). This impedes the achievement of Universal Primary Education which is Millennium Development Goal, number two that by 2015 ensure that all boys and girls alike complete primary schooling. This paper seeks to examine the problems that hinder the boy child from achieving their dream as revealed in the transition rates from primary to secondary schools in Keiyo South district, Elgeyo-Marakwet County. It identifies the challenges to the achievement of education for all and proposes positive actions for the mitigation of the situation.