Female KCPE and KCSE exam candidates will be among 800,000 girls to benefit from free sanitary towels in the next three months.
The other girls who will benefit are from slum areas and those falling below the poverty line.
The provision of sanitary towels in schools is aimed at cushioning vulnerable schoolgirls from dropping out and absenteeism due to menstruation.
Education CS George Magoha said this on Monday at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development where he flagged off sanitary towels donated to support 180,000 girls by the M-Pesa Foundation.
“Today the M-Pesa Foundation has donated 540,000 sanitary towels to girls in urban slums and pockets of poverty across the country," the CS announced.
He also noted that the donation would contribute to improved performance of girls and ensure their pride and dignity is raised.
The Ministry of Education’s 2016 report revealed girls from poor families miss 20 per cent of school days in a year due to a lack of sanitary towels.
The data indicated that a girl in primary school between Standard 6 and 8 can lose up to 18 weeks out of the 108 weeks, while those in high school can lose almost 24 weeks out of 144 weeks of learning.
Various stakeholders argue that some girls end up indulging in sexual activities to cater for the menstrual products and the effect is early marriages and teen pregnancies.
