Subsidized School Funding and Its Effects on Personnel Effectiveness: A Study of Kenyan Public Secondary Schools

Abstract

The Subsidized secondary school funding initiative was meant to address critical challenges such as illiteracy, low quality education, low transition rate from Primary schools and low completion rates at secondary level. The purpose of this study was to establish the role of subsidized secondary school funding programme in enhancing access and quality of Education in Sabatia Sub-County, Kenya. Specifically, the study was to assess the ways in which subsidized education affected personnel effectiveness in Sabatia Sub-County. The study location was Sabatia Sub-County and involved public secondary schools. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population included 28 Principals, 28 Directors of studies, 630 Form 3 students, parents, one Sub-County Education Officer and the Chairman of the Sub-County Education Board. Stratified, purposive and simple random samplings were used to sample the respondents. A total of 248 respondents formed the sample size. The study utilized questionnaire, interview schedule, Focus Group Discussion, and observation guide as instruments for data collection. A pilot study was conducted in two selected schools to enable the researcher to strengthen the reliability and validity of the data collection instruments. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Predictive analysis software (PASW) in the computer for means percentages and frequencies. Data was presented in form of frequency tables, pie charts and bar graphs. The study established that: The teachers: student ratio was 1:30. In addition; delays in disbursement of the funds and lack of funding in the month of December led to difficulties in paying non-teaching staff. However salaries of non-teaching staff had been elevated and hence raised the morale among staff, there was highest shortage being experienced in Biology and Chemistry comprising 11.67% of the shortage. From the findings it was concluded that disbursement of the funds was due to the Government bureaucracy. It was recommended that an agency be established in the Ministry to deal with disbursement to address the delays.