An Assessment of School Management Committees’ Capacity in the Implementation of FPE Funds in Public Primary Schools

Abstract

The introduction of Free Primary Education (FPE) in 2003 saw a shift in the functions of School Management Committees (SMCs) with emphasis shifting from collection of funds and provision of infrastructure to management of government funds and learning resources in the school. The school management committees (SMC) are responsible for managing funds, settling disputes in the school and procurement. This study sought to assess the capacity of SMCs in implementation of FPE funds in public primary schools in Eldoret East District. The study was guided by the following objectives: To find out the capacity of school management committee members in the implementation of FPE funds and to establish the training needs of SMCs on the implementation of FPE funds in public primary schools. The study conducted a survey of public primary schools in Eldoret East district. Both probability and non-probability sampling methods were employed to select 200 respondents among the head teachers, senior teachers and members of school management committees. From the study findings Majority of the respondents cited the inability of the SMCs to implement devolved FPE funds while at the same time lacking accounting skills and personal continuous development and training. The study recommends that the SMCs should be trained on financial management to be able to run the schools professionally.