ABSTRACT
The Kenyan government acknowledges that there is need to enhance the education levels of its citizens in a bid to improve the livelihood of its citizens and to enhance the growth of the economy. Improved secondary education is essential in the enhancement of the education levels and skills of human capital in any nation. Unfortunately, in Kenya, the number of students leaving schooling without completing secondary education is quite alarming. The determination of this study was to assess school based factors influencing drop-out in secondary schools in Kikuyu Sub-County. Exploration was steered by four objectives; to establish the influence of school resources on drop-out in secondary schools in Kikuyu SubCounty, to assess the impact of school policies and practices on drop-out in secondary schools in Kikuyu Sub-County, to determine the influence of principals leadership style on drop-out in secondary schools in Kikuyu Sub-County and to reveal the extent to which students‟ discrimination by teachers influence drop-out in secondary schools in Kikuyu Sub-County. Exploration was based on the education production function theory. The study was conducted using descriptive survey design. The study was carried out in Kikuyu sub-county, Kiambu County and the target population was 28 principals and 427 teachers and 10400 students of public secondary school in Kikuyu Sub-County. To determine the sample size the research adopted the 10-30% of the universe which is seen as representative. The sample therefore comprised of the 3 principals of the involved schools which is 10 percent of the 28 schools, 43 teachers which is 10 percent of the study‟s population of 427 teachers and 1040 students which is 10% of the 10400 student‟s population. The raw data needed for this study were collected with the help of pre-determined questionnaires and interviews. Piloting study was conducted with a hundred (100) students from Gichuru high school. The researcher used descriptive statistics where frequencies and percentage of responses were obtained through the use of SPSS. The study found that resources utilized in the passing and acquisition of knowledge was not enough in the institutions which negatively influenced dropout. Use of discriminative school policies lead to drop out of the discriminated students. Principal‟s leadership style influences the students drop-out. The study recommended that there is need for provision of adequate resources to reduce the burden passed to the parents. The government should ensure that the laid down policies are adhered to. The school management should adopt strategies to discourage student‟s discrimination.