'Life skills, sexual maturation and sanitation: An exploratory study' edited by Peter Matungu

Many pupils in the eastern and southern African context leave school long before completing what might be described as a basic education. Thus, as a way of compensating for the adverse effect of early drop-out rates, there has been considerable 'talk' about including life skills as a key part of the primary curriculum. The idea behind this being that if pupils are taught skills for life and survival after school, rather than the present largely academic curriculum, they will be better able to cope with unfavourable economic climates. This exploratory research from Kenya is part of a three-part study conducted in Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe that focuses on the provision and teaching of life skills in primary schools, how the process of sexual maturation for both boys and girls is handled in schools and at home and, finally, exploring whether there is a link between adequate sanitation and sanitary protection for girls and their retention in school.