The impact of IGAS in financing public secondary schools: a case study of Murang'a South District in Murang'a County, Kenya

Abstract

The Kenya government recognizes education as a critical tool in transforming the society. It spends a lot of funds on education in relation to the national budget. However, despite the continued increase in government investment in secondary education, education resources are never adequate to match the ever increasing enrolment rates. In connection to this, several public secondary schools have mobilized their scarce resources to establish IGAs in order to supplement the government expenditure on education. The purpose of this study was to establish the impact of IGAs in financing public secondary schools in Murang'a South district, Murang'a County. The specific objectives of this study were to identify the IGAs in schools, determine contributions of IGAs, establish the use of generated income, find out challenges faced by the school management in managing IGAs and to establish the measures that can be instituted to enhance IGAs. The study was expected to benefit education planners as they can use the findings to determine how they can increase teaching/learning resources in order to match enrolment needs in public secondary schools. Parents, communities, donors and other interested groups who contribute towards educational resources may get information on how well these resources are utilized. The research study employed a descriptive research design that involved use of frequency distribution tables, pie charts and bar graphs. The target population was secondary school principals and teachers of 27 secondary schools in Murang' a South district, Murang' a County. The study sample was 60 respondents from 10 randomly selected public secondary schools in Murang'a South district, Murang'a County. Simple random sampling was used to come up with right sample size because the population under study was heterogeneous; divided into different categories. Data collection was done using questionnaires, interview schedules and observation checklists. Responses from questionnaires, interview schedules and observation checklists were organized according to pertinent aspects of the study, analyzed and reported using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, charts, graphs and percentages. The results considered the impact of IGAs in public secondary schools in Murang'a South district, Murang'a County. The study findings were that some schools engaged in IGAs including dairy, poultry keeping and fish farming, to raise income to boost school finances and carry out school activities. The main challenges were inadequate land and funds. The study concluded that the impact of IGAs was minimal in schools and therefore recommended that further research be carried to determine the effect of IGAs in all secondary schools in Kenya., and that the Ministry of Education mounts training programs for school managers and teachers to equip them with knowledge and skills for effective implementation of IGAs.