Influence of socio- economic and political factors on provision of free tuition programme in secondary school in Kenya

Abstract

Free Tuition Programme (FTP) for secondary schools and the high number of students who seem not to be reaping its benefits is one of the emerging issues facing the education sector. This study investigated selected factors (socio-economic and political) influencing the provision of FTP in Secondary schools. The main research question was, 'how do the socio-economic and political factors influence the provision of the FTP?' Many studies do not feature students schooling in the context of the aforementioned in the light of FTP. The study was conducted in Machakos County where student participation in secondary schooling has persistently remained low despite the government tuition efforts. The study was guided by the Human Capital Theory which considers education as critical for the facilitation of skills that lead to the growth of the individual and the society. It was a survey grounded within the constructivist paradigm based on the qualitative approach. The sample for the study was chosen using stratified, purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Stratified sampling was used to strata the schools into Day and Boarding which formed 30% of the population. Purposive sampling was utilised to select 32 principals, 128 class teachers and 8 District Education Officers. Simple random sampling was used to identify 128 students. Data was generated using questionnaires, interviews and document analysis. Instruments were tested for reliability through testretest method. Content validity was determined through critical review considering the objectives of the study. The data was coded, fed into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software programme and ana lysed using simple descriptive statistics. Themes were derived from narrative data. The findings and suggestions provide useful information to the education planners and policy makers on improving provision of FTP for secondary schools towards benefiting all students equally. The study recommends the need to develop an action plan towards strengthening adult education programmes so as to improve the education level of the parents, sensitise and empower the community so as to minimise retrogressive practices, and reduce wastage of tuition funds; develop sustainable poverty reduction mechanism inorder to address the economic constrains that are influencing students' participation in schooling and review of the existing structures, rules and policies as far as political involvement in management of education and school administration is concerned so as to end politicians interferences and retrogressive politics in schools, all geared towards improving student participation in schooling for successful provision of the FTP.