CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING FREE DAY SECONDARY EDUCATION

Abstract

Education is a key investment in human capital which provides individuals with knowledge, skills and technical training in readiness for the labor market. Towards this goal, Kenya launched Free Primary Education (FPE) in 2003 as part of the implementation of Millennium Development Goal two on the achievement of universal primary education by 2015. However a large percentage of primary school graduates could not access or complete high school due to the prohibitive expenses under the parental responsibilities as stipulated in the Section Paper No. 1 of 2005. The government addressed the issue by launching the Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) in 2008. Little is specifically known concerning particular attributes of the implementation of Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE). This research on the challenges faced in the implementation of FDSE sought to fill that gap specifically in Kiambu Sub-county in Central Kenya. The specific objectives of this study were: To investigate changes of availability of learning and teaching resources to the implementation of Free Day Secondary Education; to determine the changes of adequacy and timeliness of disbursement of government FDSE subsidies to the implementation of Free Day Secondary Education, to assess the challenges of Teacher pupil ratios to the implementation of Free Day Secondary Education and to examine the challenges of availability and adequacy of physical facilities to the implementation of Free Day Secondary Education. The study used a descriptive survey research design. The study population consisted of principals and teachers of the secondary schools in Kiambu Sub-county, the Quality Assurance Standards Officer (QASO) and the County Education Officer (CEO). Primary data was collected using questionnaires for the principals and teachers while the Key Informant Interviews (KII) was for the county director of education and Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (QASO) officers. Data analysis and interpretation was done using Statistical Package for Social Scientists to determine the findings of the research. Results of data analysis were presented in frequency tables, bar charts and pie charts. The study established that the program increased access to high school from 1.2 Million in 2007 to 1.6 Million by 2008 in the Kenyan schools, therefore, this strained the available learning and teaching resources, physical facilities as well as the number of teachers in the schools as the government funding could not cater for all the requirements of the high enrollment. The study recommends that the government should invest more funds for the necessary teaching and learning process and employ more teachers for better class management, assessment and evaluation. The increased financial allocation should be based on the current market prices as implementation of the FDSE depends on adequacy of the teachers and learning resources. The study also recommended more regular monitoring by QASO to support Quality implementation of the program. It also recommended the participation of all stakeholders in the decision making at all levels of the FDSE implementation.