ABSTRACT
Education progress plays a very important role in determining the future of a pupil
and even in planning for the schools and education sector as a whole. Primary Education
forms the basis of implementing Poverty Reduction Strategy by the government
through the acquisition of basic literacy skills, which increases opportunities for employment
and ability to be self-reliant, hence the need to monitor the pupils general
progress from the time of entry in class one to graduation after the expected eight years
in Kenya’s Primary school level of education. This study applies Life Table Technique
in determining the progression of pupils from the time of entry in class one to graduation
in class eight, in public primary schools in Migori Sub County. The objectives
of the study were to determine the Sub County’s retention rate by class and sex and
also to determine the expected duration of schooling for each class by sex. A sample
of 91 schools was drawn using multi stage sampling where each of the six zones was
represented and an Interviewer-Administered Questionnaire was used to obtain data
to meet the study objectives. The cohort for the study included the Sub County’s class
one public primary school enrolment in the year 2007 for the sampled schools. The
findings of this study were; the retention rates for male pupils was higher than that
of female pupils and also the retention rate was lowest in class seven and highest in
class three. Similarly, the expected duration of schooling was higher for male pupils
compared to the female pupils; also the expected duration of schooling for each class
was lower than the normal duration as expected. This study would help to monitor
the progress of primary school pupils in the Sub County and also help the schools, the
community, the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders in adopting the appropriate
measures to curb the elements of attrition.