Ann Mweru Muya^1,, Mary Mbii¹, Jackson Ndung’u¹

Re-entry policy guidelines are an outcomes of the Beijing conference of 1995. Since then, Governments’ mapped out the guidelines to ensure that all school going girls who gave birth, went back and completed their basic education in line with Education for All (EFA) goals. In Kenya, the Ministry of Education (MoE) developed the Reentry policy on adolescent mothers but in spite of the endeavors, to date, teenage mothers in Sirma Zone of Laikipia County, do not complete their education due to a discordant between the policy and inhibitive cultural practices. The purpose of this research was to assess the extent inhibitive cultural practices had influenced the Reentry policy in public primary education in Sirma Zone. Descriptive research design was adopted with a total of 169 respondent namely: 113 teenager mother, 53 teachers and three Sub County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (QUASO) from ministry of education forming the target population. 30% was used to get a sample of the 53 teachers in the five primary schools in the zone, then simple random sampling technique identified them from schools. Snowball sampling technique sampled the teenage mothers, while census sampling techniques sampled QUASOs. The total sample size was 53 respondents. A questionnaire collected data from the teachers and the teenage mothers and an interview schedule collected data from the QUASOs. Descriptive statistics, (means), was used to analyze the extent while inferential statistics mainly multiple regression was used to test the relationship. The qualitative data was analyzed in verbatim. The finding established that female genital mutilation (FGM) is still practiced and teenage mothers are still forced into early marriages hindering them from returning to school, that teenage mothers were married off by their parents to hide the shame and that the community still believed that boys should be given priority when it came to education. Qualitative data also agreed that practices like early marriages for girls and FGM was rife in Sirima Zone. In conclusion, inhibitive cultural practices found to be a hindrance for teenage mothers going back to school. The study recommended that the community should be sensitized on effects of inhibitive cultural practices to education of the girls and the community to allow the Reentry Policy to be implemented fully. Provision of appropriate, affordable and physically accessible child-care facilities should be enhanced as well as rescue centers for teenage girls. Proper follow up on by the stakeholders needs to be intensified.

inhibitive cultural practices, reentry policy, inclusive education, EFA goals