Greener Journal of Educational
Research Vol. 9(2), pp. 90-103, 2019 ISSN: 2276-7789 Copyright ©2019, the copyright of
this article is retained by the author(s) DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.15580/GJER.2019.2.062419117 http://gjournals.org/GJER |
|
Influence
of Free Secondary Education Policy on Educational Wastage Rate in Kericho County, Kenya
Department
of Education Management, Foundations and Psychology University of Kabianga, Kenya.
ARTICLE INFO |
ABSTRACT |
Article
No.: 062419117 Type: Research DOI: 10.15580/GJER.2019.2.062419117 |
In pursuance of provision of Education for All,
Free Secondary Education (FSE) policy was adopted in 2008 to enhance access,
improve quality, equity, relevance and Gender Parity in the provision of
Secondary School Education in Kenya. The first cycle of students who
benefitted from FSE policy graduated in 2011. The national mean Gender
Parity Index (GPI) for 2004 to 2007 was 0.88 while in Kericho
County it was 0.69 lower than national. The form to form transition
fluctuated as between 9,103 and 9,333 in Kericho
County. The influence of FSE policy on Educational wastage rate in was not
known. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish influence of
FSE Policy on wastage in Kericho County.
Objectives of the study were to; determine the influence of FSE policy on
wastage rate in Kericho County. The study was
based on the concept of investment choices and consequently a conceptual
framework was formulated. The independent variable was FSE policy and
dependent variable was educational wastage rates. Descriptive, ex-post factos and correlational research designs were adopted.
The study population was 4,457 Principals, Sub County Quality Assurance and
Standard Officers, Directors of Studies and form IV students of 2011. The
sample size was 485. Snowball and saturated sampling techniques were used to
select respondents. Questionnaire, interview schedules, Focus Group
Discussion, interview guide and document analysis guide were used to collect
data. Reliability coefficient of the principals’ questionnaire was 0.80 at
set p-value of 0.05. Quantitative data was analyzed using Cohort Analysis,
descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was transcribed and
analyzed in emergent themes and sub themes. The study established that there
was a weak negative relationship between FSE policy and educational wastage
rate with a coefficient of -0.22 at a p-value of 0.05, meaning it accounted
for 5% of the variation. The study concluded that FSE policy reduced wastage
rates. The study recommended that FSE fund should be reviewed upward to
reduce educational wastage rates. The findings of this study are significant
to stakeholders in education as it informs them on the need to review the
policy with a view to improving secondary school education so as to achieve
the objectives of FSE policy. |
Submitted: 24/06/2019 Accepted: 14/08/2019 Published: |
|
*Corresponding
Author Viviline
Ngeno E-mail:
vivilinengeno@
yahoo.com Phone:
+254722294888 |
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Keywords: |
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INTRODUCTION
Wastage in education
is of great concern worldwide. It concerns the stakeholders in education
because students take too long to complete their education while others drop
out from the system early having not acquired the relevant required skills.
This led to wastage of resources in terms of finances, time and human resource
efforts and many hours. The National Centre for Policy Analysis (2008)
indicated that the graduation rate in the US was 85%; it further revealed that
only about 7 in 10 students are actually successfully finishing high school in
four years meaning the 30% complete after four years or dropout, leading to more
student years. In the US’s 50 largest
cities, the graduation rate was 52% implying that the 48% took long to graduate
or dropped out. McGregor
(2012) states that since the 1990s, the South African government has made a
requirement that people go to school from 7 to 15 years. In December 2011, the South African
government announced that 70% of students passed their final examination to
finish high school while in 2008 the rate of those who completed was 63% of the
total enrolment.
According to Owalabi, (2006) it is basically dropout and repetition that contribute to wastage
rate. This is the ratio of the number of students who dropout and those who
repeat a class in a given year to the enrolment in the previous class in the
previous year. Every year a student spends
in school requires inputs, that is, classrooms, desks, chairs,
textbooks, stationery, sports, equipment, laboratory equipment and materials,
transport facilities, charts, chalkboard, water, electricity and human inputs’
in form of teaching effort, ancillary services of administrative and technical craft as well as student time and
effort. All these inputs which can be expressed in money have to be supplied
every year. The expenditure therefore translates to student-year. From this
point of view education inputs used up in the process of education are measured
in terms of student-years. It is expected that students complete their
education as stipulated; which then constitutes to education output of
whether he passes the end of examination cycle or not.
To address the issue
of educational wastage worldwide, basic education has been made free by most
countries to enable children access education and reduce educational wastage.
This includes secondary education. In Kenya Free Secondary Education policy was
put in place to enhance transition from primary to
secondary school by making secondary school education affordable (MOE, 2007). The objectives of FSE policy were to enhance access to
secondary education, improve quality, equity, relevance and gender parity in
the provision of secondary school education (MOE, 2007). To achieve these
objectives the government provided a guideline (Table 1).
Table 1: Costs incurred by the Government for each Student
per Year after the Introduction of FSE Policy in 2008
Vote head |
Day Schools (Kshs.) |
Boarding Schools (Kshs.) |
|
|
GOK Subsidy (FSE) |
GOK Subsidy (FSE) |
Parent Fees |
Tuition
|
3,600 |
3,600 |
0 |
Boarding,
Equipment and Stores |
0 |
0 |
13,034 |
Repair,
Maintenance and Improvement |
400 |
400 |
400 |
Local
Travel and Transport |
400 |
400 |
500 |
Administration
Costs |
500 |
500 |
350 |
Electricity,
water and Conservancy |
500 |
500 |
1500 |
Activity
Fees |
600 |
600 |
0 |
Personal
Emolument |
3,965 |
3,935 |
2,743 |
Medical |
300 |
300 |
100 |
Total School Fees |
10,265 |
10,265 |
18,635 |
Source: Ministry of Education (2009)
According to the Ministry of Education (2009) FSE is meant
to cater for the following items in secondary education: Tuition Kshs. 3,600/=, to cater for the students learning materials
for instance textbooks, reams of paper, exercise books and other learning
materials, Kshs. 400/= for Repair, Maintenance and
Improvement (RMI), Kshs. 500/= for Electricity, water
supply and conservancy (EW&C). Kshs. 400/= for
Local Transport and Travel (LTT), Kshs.500/= Administrative Costs (AC), Kshs.3,
965/=, Personal Emolument (PE). Kshs. 600/= and Kshs. 300/=
Co-curricular activities and medical care.
The day schools parents were to cater for Lunch, Uniforms,
personal effects and other projects for example expansion of infrastructure
upon approval by the District Education Board (DEB) in consultation with the
Boards of Governors (BOGs) and Parents Teachers Association (PTAs). Clear the
fee balance for continuing students for the academic year 2008 (MOE, 2009). The
boarding schools on the other hand parents should cater for boarding, Equipments and store Kshs.
13,034/=, RMI Kshs. 400/=, EW&C Kshs. 1,500/= LTT Kshs. 500/=
personal Emolument Kshs. 2,743/= and medical care Kshs. 100/= respectively. Making a total
of Kshs. 18,635 (MOE, 2009).
Table 2: Gross Enrolment in Terms of
Form to Form Transition of Secondary School Students in Kericho
County 2004 - 2007
Years |
Form I |
Form II |
Form III |
Form IV |
2004 |
9,103 |
9,444 |
8,620 |
8,102 |
2005 |
9,434 |
9,333 |
8,990 |
8,611 |
2006 |
10,516 |
9,329 |
9,217 |
8,849 |
2007 |
10,310 |
10,637 |
9,237 |
9,281 |
Source:
County Director of Education Office, Kericho (2011)
From Table 2 it can
be observed that transition of the three
cohorts were as follows: 2004 cohort transited as follows 9,103; 9,333; 9,217
and 9,281, the 2005 cohort transited as follows: 9,434; 9,329 and 9,237 and the
2006 cohort transited as follows: 10,516 and 10,637. The fluctuations could be
attributed to repetitions and dropout leading to education
wastage because on the whole a general decline can be observed as students
transited from form one to form four for the 2004 cohort. This trend was
of concern because with introduction of FSE policy the participation rates were
expected to increase and be sustained. FSE policy was introduced to enhance
transition of pupils from primary schools to secondary schools and reduce
wastage.
Research
Objective
Establish the influence of Free Secondary
Education Policy on Educational wastage rate in Kericho
County.
SYNTHESIS OF THE LITERATURE ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Wastage rate in education has been a problem
in many countries for decades. Severally studies have been done to establish
the wastage rate since when it is high it has a negative effect on
resources. Studies done in some developing
countries worldwide in 1980 on wastage rates varied from in different nations
as indicated in Table 3 (World Bank,1980).
Table 3: Wastage
Rates in some Developing Countries
Income in Group $ |
Country
Medium Rate |
Country High
Wastage Rate |
||
Less than $265 |
Kenya |
1.989 |
Burundi |
5.16 |
265-520 |
Jordan |
1.67 |
Thailand |
2.03 |
521-1075 |
Korea |
1.48 |
Dominican Rep. |
2.50 |
1076-2500 |
Singapore |
1.30 |
Gabon |
2.38 |
Source: World Bank, 1980
Table 3 showing
wastage rates in some developing countries in the world indicates that Kenya
had a wastage rate of 1.989, Jordan 1.67, Korea 1.48 and Singapore 1.30 had
medium rate. Countries with high wastage rate were Burundi 5.16, Thailand 2.03,
Dominican Republic 2.50 and Gabon 2.38. UNESCO (2006 b) carried out a study in
Nigeria on the Situation and Policy Analysis Survey and it revealed that there
was a 17% wastage rate and average of 46.6% of primary school pupils who
dropped out from schools were girls.
A study carried out
in Nigeria by Mallum (1981) on educational wastage
and need for guidance in Nigerian schools shows that there are several patterns
of wastage in different systems. The main factor leading to wastage was
eliminating exams and lack of space in the next grade or level leading to
repeaters, drop outs and premature withdrawal by students in schools. This
study was done so many years ago and it has been affected by time. A study
carried out by Mundia (nd)
in Zambia on secondary school wastage, continuing Education and Youth
Employment in Zambia, indicated clearly that wastage was rampant due to factors
like lack of space in the next grade or level, poverty and the factor that boys
are given a priority when it comes to education leading to the girls dropping
out of schools at a very tender age.
Bii and Nzevi (2013) carried out a study on internal
efficiency assessment of secondary education in Bureti
district, Kenya and they found that secondary schools that had low wastage
rates were single schools that were church sponsored and they perform better
compared to schools with high wastage. They further found that schools with
high wastage rates were public, mixed and day secondary schools and they were
plugged by high pregnancy rates for girls and absenteeism. Two sets of
questionnaires were used to collect data. Data was collected using one type of
instruments and it has its own weakness. This study did not determine the
influence of FSE policy on wastage rates though the study was done after the
introduction of FSE policy.
A study carried out
in Nigeria by Adeyemi, (2012) on school variables and
internally efficiency of secondary schools in Ondo
state revealed that wastage rate index
was 1.17 indicating that students spend 7.02 student years to complete against an ideal student
years of 6 years. The coefficient of
efficiency of 85.5% shows that the secondary schools in Ondo
State, Nigeria are 85.5% internally efficient. The study employed document
analysis in collecting data from 32 secondary schools. It further revealed that Teacher
qualification best predicts school internal efficiency, followed by teachers
teaching experience, class size, student teacher ratio, school location and
school size. They used only document analysis and should have employed more
instruments to get varied results through interview. This study did not
establish the influence of FSE policy wastage rates.
Musyimi (2011)
did a study on the impact of FSE policy on wastage rates in secondary schools
in Kathonzweni District, Makueni
County. The study was conducted using a descriptive survey design. The sample
size was 18 secondary Schools in the District, and since the study involved a
complete enumeration of all schools in the District, it was a census inquiry.
Data was collected from the DEO’s office using a proforma.
Quantitative data was analysed using the Statistical Package For
Social Sciences. Findings indicated that cohort wastage rates were decreasing,
from a high of 44% in the 2006 cohort to 19% in the 2007 cohort. The actual
cohort wastage rate was not computed in this study since the data was not from
the schools. Inferential statistics was not done to determine the impact of FSE
policy on wastage rate.
A study carried out
in Western Kenya by Achoka (2007) found that some of
the reasons leading to school dropouts in western Kenya were poverty, early
pregnancies, early marriages, HIV/AIDS, drug Abuse and
low Self Esteem. Studies by Juma (2004) indicated the
major factor influencing dropout rate in secondary schools was lack of school
fees and other levies. Education is quite expensive compared to other things
like demands which are required. Mwebi
and Simatwa (2013) did an analytical study on
Expansion of private universities in Kenya and its implication on quality and
completion rate found that educational wastage was 3.2% and the completion rate
for the said period was 96.8%. The study recommended that Private Universities
should improve on provision of physical facilities, teaching and learning
materials and administrative services. This study was done in private
universities and the wastage rate was not computed as per the student years.
In Kenya expenditure on education has remained high since
independence in 1963. Thus the cost of secondary education was found to be a
major factor contributing to non-attendance of school (MOE, 2007). According to
Basic report on Kenya integrated
household budget survey 2005/2006 (MOE, 2007) about 38% of the out of school
secondary school age youth were not
enrolled in school because parents did not allow them. 25.6% were not in school due
to the school costs. Other reasons included indirect costs of schooling (27.6%)
as some youth had to work and/or help at home, lack of interest in schooling
(11.3%), distance from school (7.1%) and school conflicts with beliefs (7.8%).
The youth were out of school because they have either dropout or were
non-starters.
Free Secondary
Education policy in Kenya was launched
in 2008 to address issues and challenges
in making secondary education affordable and accessible by addressing factors
that hinder both entry into and completion
of secondary education by all gender
(MOE, 2007). The Task Force made bold recommendations that were
incorporated in the implementation of
FSE policy, that were viewed as ones
that would increase participation by
minimizing dropout and repetition beside attracting the non-starters to secondary education (MOE,
2007).
The recommendations
included:
Introduction
of selective reforms to address secondary education inputs, that is,
curriculum, textbooks, staffing, teachers, students and facilities; Promote all day schools in terms of
facilities and learning environment to the level of provincial schools; Develop
mechanisms for flexible delivery of curriculum to cater for children with
special talents and abilities; Improve
on lifespan of textbooks, review pupil-textbook ratios; Permit secondary
schools to hire temporary teachers to take place of those who are sick or on
maternity leave; Review staffing norms on regular basis to enhance appropriate
development and utilization of teachers;
Promote measures to ensure that enrolled children complete secondary
education; Make uniforms affordable and durable; Abolish school levies, like
PTA project fees and Enhance provision of special needs education among others.
A study done by Gachugi (2011) in Nyeri
Municipality found that a number of factors contributed to wastage in secondary
schools. Lack of fees was a major contributing factor to non-enrolment and
dropout in schools. Lack of proper discipline in school led to students being
sent home. Teenage pregnancy also contributed significantly to dropout.
Repetition was attributed to increased chances in acquiring better grades in
the KCSE examination and parental requests after student's transfer from other
schools to help them gain academic momentum. This study focused on the factors
that contribute to wastage rates in Nyeri secondary
schools. This study did not determine the influence of FSE policy on education
wastage.
Adeyemi (2012)
and Musyimi (2011) studies addressed the issue of
educational wastage in Nigeria and Kenya using specific regions as sites for
their studies. However those sites were
not made. Adeyemi (2012) used schools as unit of
analysis and so did Musyimi (2011). However, Adeyemi
(2012) collected data from schools, which was primary data, but Musyimi (2011) used secondary data from DEOs office. Adeyemi (2012) focused on internal efficiency and addressed
wastage as an indicator of internal efficiency indirectly while Musyimi (2011) dealt directly with wastage. These studies
did not address the influence of FSE policy on Educational wastage rates. This
is the knowledge gap this study sought
to fill using Kericho County as a site for the study.
CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK
Figure 1: Conceptual
Framework Showing the Influence of the FSE Policy on Educational Wastage rate
in Kericho County
This conceptual framework was adapted to
focus on independent and dependent variables. Independent variable was FSE
policy while dependent variables was Educational
wastage rate. The school levies was an intervening variable. This variable was
taken care of by including it in correlations to establish its influence. Educational Wastage rates was computed in Kericho County secondary schools before and after FSE
policy. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficients and coefficient of
determination was used to establish the influence of FSE funds on wastage rate
in Kericho County.
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
Ex post
facto,
descriptive survey and correlational research designs were used in this study.
The study population consisted of 45
secondary school principals, 45 Director of Studies (DOS), 5 District Quality
Assurance Standards Officer (DQASOs) and
4,362 form four 2011 students drawn from 45 secondary schools in Kericho County. The sample size for the students was
determined using the formula by Israel (1992) .Thus:
Where: n is the sample size, N
is the population size, and e is the level of precision.
This formula was applied in this study to
determine the students sample size. The students study population was 4,362
form IV students.
n = = 366
Saturated sampling technique was used to
select the 5 DQASOs, 40 Director of Studies and the 40 School Principals.
Saturated sampling is whereby the whole population is used because it is too
small to be sampled (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2003). This was adopted in this study to select
the DQASOs, Director of Studies and school principals as their populations were
too small to be sampled. Questionnaire, interview schedule, Observation Guide,
Focus Group Discussion Guide and document analysis guide was used in this
study. Reliability was determined by administering the instrument on the same
respondent twice at an interval of two weeks inon
5(10%) of the principals and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficients was
used to compute the correlation coefficient. The correlation coefficient was
0.8 at a set p-value of 0.05. This means the instrument was reliable as the
calculated coefficient was greater than 0.7.
Quantitative data was analyzed using
descriptive and inferential statistics Descriptive statistics in form of
frequency counts, percentages, gender parity index, cohort analysis and
Inferential Statistics; in form of Pearson Product Moment Correlation
Coefficients. Wastage rate was computed in Kericho
County. Owolabi (2006) indicates that wastage rate is
the number of student-years they have spent in total is calculated and compared
with what is theoretically possible. The cohort analysis method is used where
it is reconstructed using successive class data on enrolment and repeaters. A
chart is constructed on the basis of promotion, repetition and dropout rates to
show the flow of students. The following four assumptions are made using this
method.
(a)
Promotion and repetition rates are held
constant throughout the period.
(b)
All the students have the same likelihood of
repeating, dropping out or being promoted;
(c)
A class can be repeated 2 times;
(d)
There are no other entrants to the system
apart from the original entrance.
The following formula was used; For example
where the optimum input-output ratio in a cycle of 6 years is 6:1 (Owolabi, 2006).
Ideal
= input- output ratio =
=
= 6
Actual
= input
- output ratio =
Wastage
rate =
In ideal situation the wastage rate is equal to 1. This
formula was applicable in this study in calculating the wastage rates where the
cycle takes 4 years to complete. Pearson Correlation (r) was then done to
determine the influence FSE policy has on wastage rate in Kericho
County.
Correlation coefficients (r) were therefore
interpreted to determine the influence of FSE policy on the dependent variables
in terms of direction and strength of relationship Elifson,
Runyon and Haber, 1990; Leedy and Ormrod,
2005) interpretation guidelines was used as shown in Table 4. This was adopted
in the interpretation of Pearson’s (r)
and coefficient of determination R2
in this study.
Table 4: Interpretation of Pearson Correlation
Coefficients (r)
Strength of the relationship |
Positive (+) |
Negative (-) |
Weak/low/small |
0.01
– 0.30 |
0.01
– 0.30 |
Moderate/ medium |
0.31
– 0.70 |
0.31
– 0.70 |
Strong/high |
0.71
– 0.99 |
0.71
– 0.99 |
Perfect relationship |
1.00 |
1.00 |
No relationship |
0.00 |
0.00 |
Source: Adapted from Elifson,
Runyon and Haber (1990);
Leedy and Ormrod
(2005)
RESULTS
Demographic
Characteristics of the Respondents
The respondents in this study included school
Principals, Director of Studies, DQASO and students. Their demographic
characteristics were as shown in Tables 5
Table 5: Principals’
Gender and Headship Experience (n=40)
Demographic characteristics |
Frequency (f) |
Percentage (%) |
Gender |
|
|
Male |
30 |
75.00 |
Female |
10 |
25.00 |
Total |
40 |
100.00 |
Headship Experience in years |
|
|
5 |
1 |
02.50 |
6-10 |
12 |
30.00 |
11-15 |
17 |
42.50 |
16-20 |
10 |
25.00 |
Total |
40 |
100.00 |
Table 5 indicates
that out of all the 40 (100%) school Principals involved in the study 30 (75%)
were male while 10 (25%) were female. This shows that very few female teachers
are appointed as school Principals in Kericho County.
This is in agreement with the study carried out in a sampled number of schools
in Kenya by Bosire
et al (2009) where it was
indicated that out of the 28 sampled school Principals 22(79%) were male while
6 (21%) were female. The school principals’ leadership experience was also
indicated and one (2.50%) had headship experience between 5 years, 12 (30.00%)
had an experience of 6-10years, 17 (42.50%) has an experience of 11-15 years
while 10 (25.00%) had an experience of 16-20 years.
From the findings in
Table 5, most school principals had headship experience of 6 years and above.
This shows that they had enough experience in school management and they were
able to give the relevant information on students’ academic achievement in Kericho County. Principals with experience can be relied on
for the authenticity of data collected. They were also better placed given that
the data required dated back to the year 2004 that required experience in
school administration.
Table 6: Teaching
experience before being Appointed as School Principals (n=40)
Years |
Frequency (f) |
Percentage (%) |
5-10 |
2 |
5.00 |
11-15 |
5 |
12.50 |
16- 20 |
24 |
60.00 |
21-25 |
9 |
22.50 |
Table 6 indicates the school Principals
teaching experience before they reached the level of school principal. Those
principals with a teaching experience of between 5 -10 years were 2(5%) between
11-15 years were 5 (12.50%), while 24(60%) had a teaching experience between
16-20 and 9 (22.50%) had a teaching experience of between 21-25 years. This
shows that these School Principals had gone through all the ranks in the
teaching profession and had experience to be appointed as the school
Principals. It shows that the principals were able to answer questions on
students’ academic achievement in Kericho
County. This is vital in determining the
validity of data that was generated in this study.
Table 7: School
Principals’ Highest Professional Qualifications (n=40)
Highest Qualification |
Frequency (f) |
Percentage (%) |
BED, BSC +PGDE, BA + PGDE, B.COMM + PGDE |
15 |
37.50 |
M.ED |
25 |
62.50 |
Total |
40 |
100.00 |
Table 7 indicates the education level of the
school principals. Fifteen (37.50%) had a Bachelor’s degree while 25 (62.50%)
had Master Degree. Based on the findings in Table 7 it is clear that all the
Principals had the required level of education. Education Portal (2014) shows
that in the US the requirement to be a School Principals is a Bachelor of
Education degree. This is also applicable in this study and in agreement with
The Basic Education Act 2013 (Republic of Kenya, 2013). These principals were
in a position to understand and give the relevant information about wastage
rate in Kericho County, given their academic
credentials.
Table 8: FSE Fund and
School Levies incurred in four years on average for 2008 Cohort after
introduction of FSE policy (n=40)
Type of School |
FSE in 4 year (Kshs.) |
Percentage (%) |
Costs incurred by parents in 4
years (Kshs.) |
Percentage (%) |
Totals in Kshs. |
Days scholars in mixed schools |
41,060 |
40.43 |
60,509.65 |
59.57 |
101,569.65 |
Boarders in mixed schools |
41,060 |
27.40 |
108,803.85 |
72.60 |
149,863.85 |
Girls boarding |
41,060 |
25.62 |
119,178.57 |
74.38 |
160,238.57 |
Boys boarding |
41,060 |
24.88 |
123,964.43 |
75.12 |
165,024.43 |
Table 8 indicates the costs incurred by the
government and the parents after FSE policy in Kericho
County. The government spent Kshs.41, 060 for four years while the parents
spent Kshs.60, 509.65 on average for four years in mixed day schools, and for
boarders in mixed schools they spent Kshs.108, 803.85. In girls boarding and
boys boarding they spent Kshs.119, 178.57 and Kshs.123, 964.43 respectively.
Day school students were not given any guideline on the amount of levies the
parents were to pay while parents in boarding schools were to pay Kshs.18,627
per year which would add up to Kshs.74,508 in four years. Table 8 shows how much the parents paid
and it was more than the given figure and parents in day schools paid yet there
was no guideline for them. This data was relevant in this study because it
helped in establishing the influence of FSE policy on wastage rate.
Research
Question
What is the influence of FSE policy on
wastage rate in Kericho County?
To establish the influence of FSE policy on
wastage rate in Kericho County, the following key
inputs that determine wastage rate were examined before and after the
introduction of FSE policy. KCSE mean scores were established to determine the
influence of FSE funds on wastage rate in Kericho
County.
Influence
of FSE Policy on Wastage Rates in Secondary Schools in Kericho
County
The research question responded to was: What
is the influence of FSE policy on secondary school education wastage rates in Kericho County?
The formula by Owalabi, (2007) was
used to compute educational wastage rates in Kericho
County. Two cohorts were taken before and after FSE policy so as to trace the
repeaters back. The repeaters for 2004 and 2007 cohort was further traced to
confirm those who repeated twice, this was traced using the admission numbers
to get those students belonging to 2004 and 2007 cohorts only. This was
computed and presented in Table 9.
Table 9: Students
Enrolment and Wastage in Kericho County before
Introduction of FSE
policy (n=40)
Years |
|
Form I |
Form II |
Form III |
Form IV |
2004 |
E R N |
3603 13 0 |
|
|
|
2005 |
E R N |
3632 14 0 |
3304 27 352 |
|
|
2006 |
E R N |
|
2926 30 352 |
2800 98 619 |
|
2007 |
E R N |
|
|
2829 89 621 |
2308 96 647 |
2008 |
E R N |
|
|
- 6 |
2341 113 509 |
2009 |
R |
|
|
|
6 |
Key: R; Repeaters N; New Students E; Enrolment
Table 9 shows the
students enrolments in Kericho County before FSE
policy. The students were traced to the third cohort to establish those
students who repeated twice. This was to determine the no. of students who
repeated and those who dropped out. The flow was then used to compute the
student years and those students who completed so as to compute the wastage
rate.
Figure
2: Evolution of the students’ cohort before FSE policy
The evolution of
these students was presented in Figure 2 to show the flow of the students.
From Figure 2, the
total inputs as well as the total outputs were calculated. The figures in the
boxes are the student inputs in years. All the inputs are therefore summed up.
Thus:
Form one |
3,603
+ 14 |
=
3617 student years |
Form two |
3304
+ 36 |
=
3340 students years |
Form three |
2800
+ 111+ 6 |
=
2917 student years |
Form four |
2308
+ 204 + 8 |
=
2,520 student years |
Totals |
|
=
12,394 students years |
The output = 2308 + 204 + 8 = 2,520
successful completers.
The cohort flowed through a total of 12394
student years and graduated a total of 2520 students.
Actual
= input-
output ratio = =
= 4.92
Ideal
= input-
output ratio = =
= 4
Wastage
rate = =
= 1.23
The wastage rate for the students before FSE
policy was 1.23 this is an indication that the students took more than four
years to graduate.
Table
10: Students Enrolment and Wastage in Kericho County
after Introduction of FSE
policy (n=40)
Years |
|
Form I |
Form II |
Form III |
Form IV |
2008 |
E R N |
4615 13 0 |
|
|
|
2009 |
E R N |
4614 12 0 |
4097 106 230 |
|
|
2010 |
E R N |
|
4098 123 352 |
3420 114 735 |
|
2011 |
E R N |
|
- 3 |
3252 111 423 |
2739 134 830 |
2012 |
E R N |
|
|
- 6 |
2725 136 822 |
2013 |
R |
|
|
|
4 |
Key: R; Repeaters N; New Students E; Enrolment
Table 10 shows the students enrolled after
FSE policy. These students were further traced to the third cohort using their
admission numbers to establish those who repeater twice. This was to determine
the students who repeated and those who dropped out of the system. The
students’ years were then computed and the students’ years were also computed
to get the wastage rate.
Figure
3: Evolution of the Students’ Cohort after FSE policy (Figure 2)
The evolution of the cohort was then
presented in Figure 3 to indicate to show the flow of the students. The total inputs as well as the total outputs
were calculated. The figures in the boxes are the student inputs in years. All
the inputs are therefore summed up. Thus:
Form one |
4615
+ 12 |
=
4627 student years |
Form two |
4097
+ 128 |
=
4225 students years |
Form three |
3420
+ 219+ 6 |
=
3645 student years |
Form four |
2739
+ 332 + 7 |
=
3078 student years |
Totals |
|
=
15,575 students years |
The output = 2739 + 332 + 7 = 3078 successful
completers
The cohort flowed through a total of 15,575
student years and graduated a total of 3078 students.
The wastage rate for the students before FSE
policy was 1.27 this is an indication that the students took more than four
years to graduate.
Table 11:Wastage Rate in Kericho County
Secondary Schools Before and after Introduction of FSE policy (n=40)
Cohort |
Wastage Rate |
Before
FSE policy |
1.23 |
After
FSE policy |
1.27 |
Table 11 indicates
the wastage rate in Kericho County before and after
FSE policy. Before FSE policy the wastage rate was 1.23 while after it was
1.27. This shows that after FSE policy wastage rate was slightly more by 0.05.
This reveals that FSE fund had not reduced wastage rates in the county. According to World Bank (1980) interpretation
this is medium wastage rate and it is a waste of government and individual
resources because the students took longer to complete their four cycles and
others dropped out without completing. This findings concur with the study done
in Nigeria by Adeyemi, (2012) on school variables and
internal efficiency of secondary schools in Ondo state
where it revealed that wastage rate was 1.17 indicating that students take 7.02
student years to complete against an
ideal student years of 6 years. In Kericho County the
wastage rate after FSE policy was 1.27 which was worst
than before FSE policy, students took 5.06 student years to complete the cycle
against the ideal 4 student years. FSE
policy objective is to ensure the students entry and successful completion.
From the
available data it is clear that FSE policy had little influence on educational
wastage against the expectation that it would greatly lower the wastage rate.
This is attributed to the fact that students only benefited from the FSE
policy, the government subsidy only after meeting the requisite conditions to
be in school. That is, personal effects, motivation levies; KCSE examination
fees, mock fees, uniform fees, supplementary books levies, PTA projects levies
and boarding fees for boarding schools. These study findings concur with the
study done in the US by the UNESCO (2008) where it revealed that only about
seven in 10 students are actually successfully finishing high school in four
years meaning that 70% complete on time while the wastage rate is 30%. It also
agrees with the studies done in the US’s 50 largest cities where the graduation
rate was 52% implying that the wastage rate was 48%. This study also concur with the studies by
OECD (2011) where it revealed that Britain had more teenage drop-outs than in
most other developed nations when it revealed that almost one-in-five pupils
(20%) currently leave school at 16 before taking A-level style qualifications.
This shows that FSE policy has not been able to reduce wastage rate in Kericho County.
In order to establish
the influence of FSE policy on wastage rate for 2008 cohort, data on FSE fund,
school levies and wastage rates were computed per school and the results were
as shown in Tables 8 and 12 respectively.
Table 12: Wastage
Rates in Kericho County after Introduction of FSE
policy, the 2008 cohort (n=40)
Wastage rate |
Frequency of schools (f) |
Percentages (%) |
1.00-1.49 |
31 |
77.5 |
1.50-1.99 |
6 |
15 |
2.00-2.49 |
2 |
5 |
2.50-2.99 |
0 |
0 |
3.00 -3.49 |
1 |
2.5 |
Table 12 indicates
the wastage rates in Kericho County after the
introduction of FSE policy per school. Thirty one (77.5%) of the schools had
their wastage rate below 1.49, six (15%) had wastage rate ranging from 1.50 to
1.99, two (5%) had wastage rate ranging from 2.00 to 2.49. while one (2.5%) of
the schools had wastage above 3.00. The repeater rates per school, FSE fund, school
levies and combination of school levies and FSE fund in (Table 8 and 12) was
used to correlate. Interpretation was done using Table 4.
Table 13: Pearson
Product Moment Correlation (r) Matrix for FSE fund, school levies and Wastage Rate in Kericho County
|
|
Wastage
rate |
FSE fund |
Pearson
Correlation |
-.22 |
|
Sig.
(2-tailed) |
.18 |
|
N |
40 |
School levies |
Pearson
Correlation |
-.20 |
|
Sig.
(2-tailed) |
.23 |
|
N |
40 |
FSE fund & School levies |
Pearson
Correlation |
-.22 |
|
Sig.
(2-tailed) |
.17 |
|
N |
40 |
Table 13 indicates
that the relationship between FSE policy and wastage rates was weak and
negative with a coefficient of -.22. This relationship was not statistically
significant at a set p-value of 0.05. According to Elifson,
Runyon and Haber (1990) Leedy & Ormrod, 2005) guideline Correlation coefficients (r)
interpretation indicated that this is a weak negative influence. This means
that FSE funding accounted for an increase in wastage rates fro,
1.23 to 1.27 (Table 12) though the influence was not significant. Coefficient
of determination R2 is the
square of Pearson’s r which tells how
much of the variance is accounted for by the correlation which is expressed in
percentages (Leedy & Ormrod,
2005). To account for the influence of FSE on wastage rate Pearson’s r was therefore squared. The coefficient of determination R2 = 0.05 meant that FSE
accounted for 5% of the variation in wastage rate which was not statistically
significant. School levies which were
also an intervening variable had a negative weak of -0.20. Coefficient of
determination R2 = 0.04
which meant that FSE accounted for 4% of the variation in students wastage
rates. When school levies were combined together with FSE fund, it had a weak
negative influence of -0.22. Coefficient of determination R2 = 0.05 which meant that school levies and FSE fund
accounted for 5% of the variation in students wastage rate. This means that the
mediating effect of school levies on the influence of FSE policy on wastage
rate was zero percentage. Therefore the 5% was the real percentage that FSE
policy accounted for in the variation of wastage rate and 95% was accounted by
other factors. This means that FSE funding had very little influence on wastage
rates. Therefore other factors that were responsible for wastage rates were revealed
during interviews and focus group discussion.
DISCUSSION
Interviews and focus
group discussions were done on the DQASOs, Director of Studies and Students
focus groups in 40 schools. It was clear that wastage rates
in Kericho County is still a problem and
resources are not utilized well. The Director Quality Assurance Standard
Officer said,
“FSE policy was introduced in Kenya to reduce wastage rates
and improve on equity and access. Unfortunately wastage is still a problem in
the county because when we do or receive statistics from schools the students
who enroll in Form one either repeat or drop out without completing especially
the boys because of indiscipline. The money the government has spent on these
students goes to waste and it also makes our education inefficient since the
learners begin and don’t complete the system”. This was an
indication that despite FSE policy there are other factors that could have
militated against the influence of FSE policy on wastage in the county and the
study revealed the following factors. The factor that was mentioned clearly by
all the DQASO and Directors of Studies in the 40 schools when they were
interviewed were;
Motor bike business
as one of the factor
that has really influenced wastage rate in Kericho
County especially among the boys more so in day schools. This is so because FSE
policy was started when the motorbike transport came in place. This had a lot
of influence in education wastage in Kericho County
being the current trend in transport. Motorbike business is a means of
transport common in Kenyan towns and villages.
The DQASO
said, “The motorbike business has led the students to take longer to complete
school in the required time, it also contributed to students dropping out of
school to do business especially the boys. The girls are also misled by these
motorbike men and some of them get pregnant and others have gotten married
early”. Due to poverty just like the boys who are employed as
riders to earn income. The girls on the other hand are given money by
the motorbike riders in exchange for sexual favours.
School levies was
also mentioned as contributing to wastage in education in the county. This was suggested to have really affected
the students in terms of class attendance and performance leading to repetition
and finally to drop out. This was mentioned largely by all the Directors of
Studies, DQASOs and the students during focus group discussion and interviews
in the 40 schools. Director of Studies in one of the schools said: “FSE fund should
be doubled from 10,265/= to 20,530/= this will help reduce the parents’
expenses and they will only concentrate in providing the personal effects for
the children. This will help to reduce drop out and repetition rates in
secondary schools”.
In fact one of the
students stated, “Education is not free the way it is said. We are always sent
home to get school fees and to buy books especially literature books.
Unfortunately some of our friends parents don’t have money making them stay
longer at home or some of them drop out because they have lost hope”. This is
an indication that much as the government is paying for tuition to ensure that
all the children get access to education there are other levies the parents
cater for and they are much higher compared to what the government is paying.
In fact in this respect another student said, “I am one student who took eight
years to complete secondary education. This is because my parents could not
afford to pay for my school fees. I dropped out in form two to work in the tea
farms for three years to pay my school fees. When I came back I repeated form
two so as to be relevant with my studies. Some of my classmates have cleared
colleges”.
This is an indication
that school levies is still a problem despite FSE policy being in place. The
amount the parents are expected to pay is high since they have other personal
effects to take care of. This makes it difficult for these parents to sustain
these children in school. This was in agreement with the study done by Gachugi (2011) in Nyeri
Municipality that school fees was one the factors contributed to wastage in
secondary schools.
Cattle rustling were also mentioned by all the DQASOs and
Directors of Studies in the 40 schools during interview. They clearly indicated
that it had highly contributed to wastage rate in the county since the
students’ dropout and due to poor performance they repeat classes. In fact one
of the DQASOs indicated clearly; Cattle rustling has influenced education
wastage because these boys who are engaged in it in the boarders drop out of
school and some when they come back to schools they repeat and some of them
repeat twice before they complete their studies. This contributes to waste of
resources greatly. These findings concur with that of the study done in Western
Kenya by Achoka (2007) in western Kenya were poverty,
early pregnancies, early marriages, HIV/AIDS, drug Abuse and low Self Esteem.
CONCLUSION
From this finding it is clear that FSE policy
had not influenced wastage rate in Kericho County
positively. Wastage rate was influenced mainly in this county by the dropout
rates and repetition rates due to the influence of other factors that had
clearly been mentioned by the DQASOs, Directors of studies and students during
Focus group discussion and interviews. The emergence of motorbike business and
also the economic situation in the county has contributed to these that is why
the school levies paid by the parents is almost similar to what they paid
before FSE policy.
RECOMMENDATION
The study recommends that, the government
should increase FSE funding to cover 70% students’ requirements in both day and
boarding schools as this would reduce cases of child labour,
motorbike businesses, early marriages, repetition and drop out thereby
minimizing wastage rates.
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