A learning session at Sofia Primary School in Machakos County. [Photo/Flickr]
A survey report by Twaweza East Africa says most children and teachers in Machakos County attend school.
The survey, carried out in four districts in the county, says that only 3 out of 100 children aged 6-16 years are out of school, which is twice lower than the national average.
“One out of 10pupils and teachers missed school on the day of Uwezo visit, which is above the national average. Five out of 100 pupils were absent from school in Yatta district compared to 7 out of 100 pupils in Mwala district,” reads part of the report released in May.
Despite the school attendance being higher than the national average, the learning levels in the county is still low.
Only three out of 10 children in Class 3 can comfortably do Class 2 work, says the report.
Also, one out of 10 children in class 8 cannot do Class 2 work.
The Twaweza report also says there are 14 teachers per school with 10 streams in urban areas and 9 teachers for a similar school in rural areas of Machakos County.
Machakos district has 13 teachers per school with 10 streams compared to Mwala with 8 teachers for a similar school
In terms of literacy levels, the report says, “The number of Class 3 pupils who can read Class 2 level stories in English and Kiswahili is slightly above the national average. Boys have higher reading skills than girls in English but there is parity in their reading competencies in Kiswahili.”
Kangundo District has the highest literacy competencies while Mwala District has the lowest.
A Class 3 child in Kangundo district is three times more likely to read an English story than the counterpart in Mwala district.
Shockingly, only one out of 10 Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) centres in the county is supported by the County Government of Machakos, which is thrice lower than the national average.
Machakos has been ranked 17th with 50.5 per cent literacy level. The national average literacy level is 47.4 per cent, according to the Twaweza report.