Gender Responsive Budgeting Constraints on Equitable Access and Participation in Education in Kenya

Abstract

The thrust of this study was to examine the gender responsive budgeting constraints on equitable access and participation in education in Kenya. The study was undergirded by the Capital Approach (CA) theoretical framework propounded by economist Sen (1980) and later developed and modified by philosopher Nussbaum (1988). The descriptive survey design was adopted and justified on the grounds of wide utility in educational research. Questionnaires for teachers and interview schedules for education officers were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The study established that the main gender responsive constraints on equitable access and participation in education, in decreasing order of importance were; low premium attached to education, inadequate physical facilities, household poverty, and child-labour and retrogressive socio-cultural practices among some communities, especially pastoralist communities, in Kenya. It was concluded that despite efforts made at national level of governance, concept of gender responsive budgeting has not yielded the required impact. It was recommended that the devolved government at county level of governance should sensitize communities and key policy makers on the need to set a side gender budget to address issues related to equitable educational access and participation in their respective counties.( 187 words).