FIGURE 23: Secondary attendance rates by county
Percent of population
100
60
40
88
65
78
80
6070
50
50
59
47
28
31
26
20
0
National
(urban)
Population average
Shona
Shona
National
Shona
Kiambu County
NAR
National
Nairobi County
GAR
Source: Shona SES (2019) and KIHBS (KNBS 2015/16).
FIGURE 24: Secondary school attendance rates, by county and gender
Percent of population
100
80
65
60
40
79
77
53
48
37
26
29
61
60
66
34
24
30
20
0
Shona
National
(urban)
Men
Shona
National
(urban)
Shona
Women
Population average
59 72
National
Men
Shona
NAR
44
32
29
National
Women
Kiambu County
75
Shona
94
67
62 81
National
Men
Shona
National
Women
Nairobi County
GAR
Source: Shona SES (2019) and KIHBS (KNBS 2015/16).
that of nationals, low secondary school attendance can also be explained by the high opportunity cost
of going to school, suggesting that the Shona youth drop out of school to enter the labor market.
29. Educational attainment is low, especially for women and Shona community members. Almost
all the Shona population and nationals who are 15 years and above and are not attending school have
some form of education. However, educational attainment (completed or not) is generally low for the
Shona community as most of them have only attained some primary education (Figure 25). This may
be due to the requirement of a birth certificate to register for the last grade in primary school, which
they lack, forcing them to drop out of school in the lower level. For the few that are able to make it to
the secondary level, many are forced to drop out due to financial constraints. In turn, most nationals
living in urban areas, who are currently not attending school, have either attained some primary or
secondary education (73 percent), while 20 percent have attained at least some tertiary education
(compared to 2 percent of Shona, p<0.01). For both the Shona community and nationals, women are
more likely to have no education (or less than primary) than men, although the difference is more pronounced for the Shona community (Figure 26).
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Understanding the Socioeconomic Conditions of the Stateless Shona Community in Kenya
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