By Azael Masese
The betting craze that has gripped the entire country has been identified as a key contributor to the dismal performance in national examinations in Bomet County.
In a report titled ‘Improvement of Education and Vocational Skills Training in Bomet County’ by a taskforce formed by area Governor, Dr Joyce Laboso, found 77 per cent of students interviewed admitted that gambling has taken a toll on their studies.
On the other hand, 52 per cent of the teachers interviewed agreed with their students and this is largely attributed to poor parenting leading to uncontrolled behaviour.
Taskforce chaired by Dr Kirui Kipng’etich established that there is a growing number of students diverting money meant to meet education demands to place bets.
In some instances, some parents buy phones for their secondary school child or the children pool their resources to buy a mobile phone to be used for betting in a communal set up. Consequently, this has reduced their concentration on studies leading to poor performance in national examinations.
This is further complicated with the rise in the boda boda business where a number of school going children, especially boys drop out of school to engage in the business.
“The rise of boda boda business has seen others drop out of school in order to engage in this business,” the report indicated.
