Sponsors’ in the management of public primary schools in Kenya today: case of Wareng district

Abstract

Sponsors have a great influence in the management of public schools in Kenya. That is why they were given the mandate in the Education Act to oversee the general management of their sponsored schools. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of sponsors on management of public primary schools in Wareng District, Uasin Gishu County. This study was guided by the following objectives: To establish the influence of sponsors in the development of infrastructure, to examine the influence of sponsors in financial control, to determine the influence of sponsors in the appointment of head teachers, teaching and non teaching staff, and to identify the challenges faced by sponsors. The study adopted the descriptive survey design and was guided by the systems theory approach. The target population comprised all schools, head teachers, all chairpersons, sponsors representatives and a District Quality Assurance Standards Officer in the district. The sample size of 115 respondents comprised 38 head teachers, 38 chairpersons, 38 sponsor representatives and one officer from the District Education Officer‘s office .The participants were sampled through quota, purposive and simple random sampling techniques. The research was both quantitative and qualitative where questionnaires, interviews and observation schedules were used as data collection tools. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical technique, specifically frequencies and percentages. A bar graph, pie charts and tables were used to present data. The study revealed that sponsors no longer participate in their initial role of developing and funding their schools. It was also found out that there is confusion of rights and roles of sponsors with those of the head teacher, especially after the introduction of Free Primary Education. Finally, the study established that there are many challenges which face sponsors today. The study recommends that the ministry of education needs to review the policy on sponsoring of schools especially the rules and rights of sponsors. Based on the findings of this study, it is suggested that further research be carried out on a comparative study between Sponsor Management and District Education Board Management in public primary schools. It is hoped that the findings of this study will help educators and the ministry of education to review the policy on sponsors and give clear responsibilities to school managers.