An assessment of foreign donation on completion rate among selected public secondary schools in Msambweni District, Kenya.

Abstract

Kenya’s secondary education is financed from various sources depending on the type of education institution. All public secondary schools are majority financed by the government through domestic financing. To supplement the government’s efforts in providing and making secondary education more accessible foreign donors have partnered with a few public secondary schools in Msambweni district to support certain education projects such as school infrastructure so as to make education more accessible. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of foreign donation on completion rate among selected public secondary schools in Msambweni district, Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives: (1) To assess the influence of foreign donor school infrastructure on completion rate in public secondary schools in Msambweni district: (ii) To evaluate the extent of foreign donor fee subsidy on completion rate in public secondary schools in Msambweni district. The study was guided by the classical liberal theory whose major proponent was Rousseau who claimed that under natural state men were born equal. The study adopted the descriptive survey design because it is a basic research design that involves social issues. This involved the collection of data in order to determine characteristics of the respondents. Out of the 18 public secondary schools in Msambweni district, 8 schools were purposively sampled for the study because they were beneficiaries of the private donor support. A sample of 8 head teachers and 120 forms 3 and 4 students out of a student population of 1200 were used. The research instruments used in data collection were questionnaires for both students and headteachers and interview guide for headteachers only. Content analysis was also used to analyse data on enrolment and completion rate by students for the years 2010-2014. Piloting was carried out in 2 public secondary schools which were not part of the actual sample. The Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to ascertain the reliability of the instruments. To eliminate weak items the university supervisors assessed the content validity of the research instruments. Data was analysed through the use of the statistical package for social sciences programme (SPSS) version 20. The inferential statics technique of one-sample t-test was also used to measure the correlation of the variables. Analysed data was presented in form of tables, figures and narratives. According to the findings of the study foreign donors had positively supported secondary schools in Msambweni district in terms of infrastructure and fees subsidy to the needy students thus making education more accessible and affordable to many. The research recommended that more private donors to come forth and partner with the government in the provision of quality education to Kenyan children