Publication:

Challenges Encountered In Managing human resource in public Secondary Schools In Kwale County.

In Kenya human resources management related problems associated with head teachers of public secondary schools have been both turbulent and rapid. Over the past one decade many secondary schools have witnessed strikes in most of which, the head teachers are in the spotlight. Despite the heavy investment that the Government of Kenya (GoK) has put in secondary education, the coordination of human resources to avert strikes that lead to destruction of properties worth millions of shillings and wastage in terms of expulsion remains questionable. The contribution of effective human resources management practices and incidences of unrest have not been well investigated and documented. The purpose of this study was to determine the challenges and constrains that head teachers as managers of education institutions face in managing the human resource in secondary schools in Kwale County. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The target population comprises 35 head teachers, 150 Heads of Department and 244 teachers. A sample size of 71 subjects was used in the study. The sample was selected from the target population using mixed sampling techniques, which includes: purposive and simple random methods. The research instruments that were used in the study included questionnaires and interview schedules. It was found out that it is evident that funds are the greatest challenge followed by mistrust and lack of recognition then lack of mentors. Inadequate funds were found to be the predominant challenge for head teachers in motivation of staff. The head teachers were not able to pay support staff at the expense of school programmes. It can be concluded that poor performance in Kwale County in KCSE over the years has been contributed by among other factors poor management of the human resource in the school. It is crucial that people in management take cognisance of the role played by strong human resource management strategies. Further research should be conducted on a larger sample to identify if really teacher trainers have an impact on human resource management practice in public secondary schools.