International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE) Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2015, PP 46-50 ISSN 2349-0373 (Print) & ISSN 2349-0381 (Online) www.arcjournals.org ©ARC Page | 46 Investigation of Re-Entry of Student Mothers in Secondary Schools in Kenya Jayne Wangui Mwenje - Macharia & Dr. David Kipkasi Kessio Abstract: The purpose of this research was to assess the factors that influence the implementation of the re- entry policy. The objectives of the study were to investigate the level of awareness of the re-entry policy in secondary schools; identify the policy gaps; determine the factors that influence implementation of the re-entry policy and seek ways in which the re-entry policy can be improved to ensure successful implementation. The research was based on the rational system approaches and the functional process model. This was a descriptive research yielding both quantitative and qualitative data. The research was carried out in Nakuru County which had 43 mixed and purely girls’ secondary schools. The study was involved 8 of these schools. A sample size of 225 respondents was obtained using the systematic and purposive sampling techniques. The participants included the County Director of Education, Assistant Education Officers, head teachers, teachers, parents and students. The data collection instruments used included survey questionnaires and key informant interviews. The quantitative data was analyzed and presented in frequencies, tables, percentages and graphs while the qualitative data was organized into thematic categories according to the objectives of the study. The research established that about half of the students were aware of the policy’s existence while the others were not. Electronic media was found to be the most effective method of disseminating information on the policy. The research findings would be useful to the Ministry of Education, schools, Non - governmental organizations, parents and other stakeholders in education. Key words: re-entry, student – mother, access 1. INTRODUCTION The Universal Declaration on Human Rights, in 1948 by the United Nations Organization embraced education as a basic human right. Kenya subscribed to and still is a signatory to this declaration as well as to the International protocols that established Education for All (EFA) agenda in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990 and Dakar, Senegal in 2000. This right to education was also provided for in various Kenyan policy and legislative documents like the Basic Education Act (MOE 2013) where the Cabinet Secretary was to ensure the implementation of the right of every child to free and compulsory basic education. The consequent Government of Kenya policy initiatives focused on the attainment of EFA by 2015. Secondary education is an important sector in national and individual development because it prepares students for vocational and professional training. This is the reason why the government made secondary education part of basic education and introduced Free Secondary Education (FSE) in 2008. During the launch of FSE, an initial Kshs 2.9 billion was released to get the Programme going, out of which, each secondary school student was allocated a yearly subsidy of Kshs 10,265 to cover tuition and administrative costs. The efforts in this sub-sector helped increase enrolment, retention and completion rates of both girls and boys. FSE opened doors to thousands of secondary school children countrywide to acquire education (Achoka et al., 2007; CSA, 2008; MOE, 2006). 2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM One of the most significant challenges to attaining the EFA goals, and which gravely affects the education achievement of girls is teenage pregnancy and subsequent dropouts. When these girls are unable to return to school, they lose their already low opportunity of continuing their education and eventually being gainfully employed. The dropouts also lead to great financial and material wastage with the nation losing billions of shillings annually in financial, policy and man power investment (MOE, 2005). Empirical studies established that despite introduction of the re-entry policy a significant majority of the adolescent mothers were still not attending school Taffa, et al ( 2003); (GoK,2014 ) . This pointed