| dc.description.abstract | Provision of primary education for all children has long been seen as of great
importance, at least in policy discussions, around the world and in Kenya. Since the
introduction of free primary education, the Kenyan government has continued to
invest heavily on the program for its sustainability and realization of the UN
Millennium Development Goals and the Education for All goals. It is important to
understand the extent to which this capitation grant has affected service delivery in
primary schools. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of
capitation grant on implementation of free primary education in Seme Sub-county,
Kenya. The study reviewed various literatures on some past studies and assessed
their contribution to the objectives of this study. The study used descriptive survey
design to carry out the study with both qualitative and quantitative methodologies of
collecting data. The study sample comprised of 86 head teachers, who were selected
purposively and proportionately while 269 teachers were selected through simple
random sampling technique. Teachers were given questionnaires, while head
teachers were also interviewed. Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained
from these respondents. Quantitative data from questionnaires were analysed by
descriptive statistics as well as Pearson correlation test with the help of SPSS
version 22 to compute the data, while qualitative data were analysed thematically
through content analysis in the thematic analysis. The study found that that over
three quarters of the respondents confirmed that because of capitation grant, school
dropout rate had dropped significantly. Improvement of the enrolment rate was also
reported by majority of the respondents who strongly agreed with the statement.
More than half of the respondents also confirmed that because of capitation grant,
school retention rate has improved significantly. Pearson correlation test also
showed a strong positive correlation between FPE capitation grant and pupils
enrolment rate of the selected schools in Seme Sub-County, with r = 0.723 at P<0.05.
On academic performance, the study revealed that the KCPE performance of pupils
in Seme sub-county had been on the upward trend, since 2002, with the highest
mean score and highest score achieved being 379 and 410 respectively, registered in
the year 2014. The increasing performance could be traced to 2003 that was when
the FPE capitation grant was incepted. Head teachers also reported during interview
that introduction of capitation grant led to improved performance in KCPE. Pearson
Correlation test also shows a strong positive correlation between capitation grant
and KCPE performance of the selected schools in Seme sub-county, with r = 0.843 at
P<0.05. The study recommends that the amount for capitation should be adjusted
upwards to enable the schools offer conducive environment. Parents should be
encouraged to supplement the school budget where necessary for smooth running
of the school and together with the capitation grant, the school would afford
adequately teaching and learning materials that would encourage learning and better
academic performance. Further research should be done on management factors
affecting proper utilization of capitation grant on implementation of free primary
education. | en_US |
