Pupils in a classroom. [Photo:USAID/ twitter.com]
Mombasa County has been ranked ninth in the country's literacy levels.A study carried out by Twaweza East Africa found out that Mombasa's average learning levels (53.6%) are above the national average which stands at 47.4%.According to the research, which was done among pupils aged between six and 16 years, half of the children in Class 3 can do Class 2 level work, with seven out of 100 children in Class 8 not being able to do Class 2 work.
However, learning outcomes in the county are inequitably distributed in Kilindini and Mombasa districts.“49 out of 100 Class 3 pupils in Kilindini district can read a Class 2 story compared to 76 out of 100 in Mombasa district. While 55 out of 100 Class 3 pupils in Kilindini district can read a Class 2 Kiswahili hadithi compared to 78 out of 100 in Mombasa district,” read part of the research findings.
The study points an accusing finger at the Hassan Joho-led government as the findings indicate that the county government's support of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) is below average, as only 14 out of 100 ECDE centres in the county are supported by the county government.The teacher/classroom ratio in the county is also low, as there are 10 teachers per school with 10 streams.“There are 11 teachers per school with 10 streams in Mombasa district and 11 teachers for similar school in Kilindini district.”The study findings also indicate that teacher attendance is slightly higher that pupil attendance, though there are no gender disparities in pupil attendance rates in the county.According to the research titled, 'Are our children learning?' girls perform better than boys in reading both English and Kiswahili stories.