Opportunities and Challenges for Public Primary School Head Teachers in the Implementation of Free Primary Education in Kisumu Municipality, Kenya: An Analytical Assessment.

Abstract

This study investigated opportunities and challenges for public primary school head teachers in the implementation of Free Primary Education in Kisumu municipality. Being a descriptive research, the study population consisted of 114 head teachers, 17,100 class seven and eight pupils in the municipality. Out of this, a sample of 37 head teachers and 456 class seven and eight pupils was selected through stratified random sampling method. Four instruments were employed in data collection for the study. These included: Questionnaire, Interviews, Observation and Focus Group Discussion. Qualitative data collected from open ended items in the questionnaire were analyzed on an ongoing process as themes and sub themes emerged from the data, while quantitative data collected from closed ended items in the questionnaire were analyzed by use of descriptive statistics in form of percentages, frequencies and means. The findings showed that head teachers had a number of opportunities and faced many challenges in the implementation of Free Primary Education. High enrolments, inadequate government funding, inadequate physical facilities, inadequate teaching and learning resource materials, poor teaching, overcrowded classes, poorly constructed classrooms, heavy workload for teachers due to understaffing, uncooperative parents, student indiscipline and poor financial management skills were some of the challenges that head teachers faced. The opportunities available included continuing and former street children, curricula and co-curricula materials and facilities that were in place before introduction of Free Primary Education and teachers. The head teachers adopted coping strategies in the implementation of Free Primary Education including dividing classes into streams, Parents Teachers Associations employing more teachers and providing other resources that were required. It was however, established that head teachers had a number of opportunities and strategies they could employ in implementing Free Primary Education. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the Ministry of Education should address the challenges faced by head teachers in the implementation of Free Primary Education. Teachers Service Commission should also employ more teachers, and the Ministry of Education should sensitize parents on their role in the implementation of Free Primary Education, allocate more funds and train head teachers in financial management. Key words: Opportunities, challenges, free primary education, head teachers, primary, Kisumu municipality, Kenya.