Abstract:
It is the policy of the government to ensure retention of pupils in school until they complete the primary cycle. The study therefore
inquired into the reasons why dropouts existed despite the government effort to increase access to basic education. The purpose of
the study was to investigate the effect of the learning environment on dropout in primary schools in arid and semi-arid regions
using a case of Katilu Division, Turkana South District in Kenya. The objectives of the study were to; investigate the effect of
availability of learning resources, teacher factors and performance in testson dropout. Survey research design was used in this
study. The target population was 12 head teachers, 237 teachers and 830 class six and seven pupils from the twelve primary
schools in the division. Simple random sampling was used to sample 250 pupils and 32 teachers, these were 30% of each of the
respondents. Twelve (12) head teachers were purposively sampled. Four (4) school dropouts and 4 community members were
identified to participate in the study. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect data. Documents at the District
Education Office were analyzed to determine the staff establishment and pupil enrolment in the Division. Reliability of data
collection instruments was ascertained through test re-test method. Data was analyzed quantitatively using percentages and a chisquare. The study concluded that key determinants of dropout were inadequate desks, frequent teacher absence from the
classroom, inadequate textbooks, punishment, poor performance in tests, and low teacher to pupil ratio and lack of participation
in refresher courses by teachers. The study, therefore, recommends that proper planning for provision of conducive and adequate
resources in the learning environment in primary school areas should be implemented in order to reduce wastage in form of
dropout.
