TITLE:
Influence of Government Subsidy on Students’ Enrollment in Public Secondary Schools in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya
AUTHORS:
Edna Ngasura, Eliud Nyakundi, Peter Koros
KEYWORDS:
Subsidy, Enrolment, Accessible, Human Capital, Public Schools
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.11 No.8,
August
25,
2023
ABSTRACT: Despite the government effort of subsidizing Education, children from
humble backgrounds fail to enroll in public secondary schools. Therefore, the
study sought to find out the influence of government subsidy on student
enrollment rates in Uasin Gishu County. The specific objectives were: to assess
the influence of government subsidy on student enrollment rates in public
secondary schools. This study was anchored on the human capital theory by
Schlutz in 1961. A descriptive survey research design was employed to describe
the characteristics of respondents. The study was conducted in selected public
secondary schools in Uasin Gishu County. The target population was derived from
192 public secondary schools in Uasin Gishu County. The study targeted 192
principals, 2384 teachers and 6 QASO Officers. The sample size for principals
and class teachers was derived using Yamane formula. The study used the
questionnaire to collect quantitative data and unstructured interview guide was
used for qualitative data. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Regression
analyses were utilized for inferential statistics. It was found that government
subsidy significantly influenced enrolment and government subsidy scores
significantly predicted enrolment. A
one-way ANOVA test also revealed that there was a statistically significant
difference between timely disbursement of government subsidy and enrolment. The
study, therefore, concluded that even though government subsidy has a positive
influence on student enrollment in several public secondary schools, there
exist several gaps that impede full implementation of free secondary education.
The study recommended that there is a need for the government to effectively
ensure that basic education is free and accessible to all students by fully
providing for all basic necessities and elimination of extra levies.