Exploring the implementation of The Re-Admission policy for adolescent mothers in an urban slum context in Eldoret, Kenya

Abstract

In an attempt to safeguard the education of the girl child, the government of Kenya through the Ministry of Education (MoE) introduced the re-entry policy (which was later changed to re-admission policy) that was established in 1994. The policy stipulates that pregnant girls should go back to school and complete their education after giving birth. However, from the literature surrounding the policy implementation, that has not always been the case. The policy in paper has been poorly implemented especially in the slum areas. This study, therefore, sought to explore the policy implementation in Langas slum in Eldoret. The following objectives guided the study: to investigate the support mechanisms put in place by the school principals to ensure that the adolescent mothers fit comfortably in the school environment once they are re-admitted, to explore adolescent mothers experiences regarding re-admission and the re-admission policy and finally to seek ways in which the re-admission policy and its implementation can be improved in order to benefit the adolescent mothers. This study was guided by the top-down system theory on policy implementation. It is anchored on the phenomenological design which is based on the qualitative approach. Data was collected using in-depth interviews and drawings. Trustworthiness was achieved through; dependability, transferability, confirmabilty and credibility. Five secondary school principals were sampled purposively while ten adolescent mothers were sampled using snowball sampling technique. Data was analyzed thematically using the interpretivist lens. The findings revealed that there is inadequate support mechanisms put in place to support adolescent mothers such as inadequate personnel for guidance and counselling and lack of in-service training for guidance and counselling teachers, lack of financial support from the government. It also revealed that adolescent mothers face a myriad of experiences chief being stigma and discrimination from teachers and students and financial constraints. It further established the various ways in which the re-admission policy and its implementation can be improved in order to benefit the adolescent mothers better. This study concluded that the implementation of the re- admission policy was still a challenge in the urban slum context. The main recommendations arising from the study include: capacity building for secondary school principals by the ministry of education, the government should employ teachers who are strictly in-charge of guidance and counselling, training of teachers in charge of guidance and counselling by the MoE, financial assistance for adolescent mothers, introduction of school policies that favour adolescent mothers and sensitization of the re-admission policy for adolescent mothers in schools and in the communities.