Government Expenditure and Quality of Education: A Case of Public Primary Schools in Kenya
Loading...
Date
2019
Authors
Mutuku, Stephen
Korir, Julius
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scientific Research Publishing
Abstract
Government allocation to primary education in Kenya has been provided
since independence. The financing has been complemented by both community and household resources. The implementation of Free Primary Education (FPE) in 2003 increased enrolment to a Gross Enrolment Rate of 104
percent in 2003 from 92 percent in 2002 but stabilized at 104.2 percent in
2015. Class-pupil and teacher-pupil ratio increased to 45:1 and 56.6 between
2002/3 and 2012/3 respectively which compromised the quality of education
and school effectiveness. This was due to teachers concentrating on the Kenya
Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations results at the expense
of skill acquisition in arithmetic and comprehension. The compromise produced biased KCPE results that could affect key policy decisions made based
on the results. Despite increased enrolment that affected class-pupil and pupil-teacher ratio, 35 percent of households’ expenditure to education before
FPE implementation was saved with the introduction of FPE. In the past, the
measure of education quality has been KCPE results which were mostly biased. The KCPE results were low with FPE despite increased government expenditure on education. Although FPE benefits seemed high, questions on
actual impact of government expenditure on overall school performance
measured by education quality levels had not been addressed before, during
and after the FPE implementation and they form the problem discussed in
the study. Analysis results revealed that government expenditure had positive
and statistically significant impact on enrolment and quality of education Coefficients for school characteristics such as number of classes, teachers, books
and availability of toilets had positive and at least 95% - 99% statistical significance with government expenditure. Further, coefficients for class types
and schools located in rural areas were found to affect enrolment at 99% statistical significance. Further, education quality was low in 2004 as compared to 2000 but improved in 2012 compared to 2004. Class-pupil & pupil–toilet
ratio, distance from small town, dispensary, bookshop, and secondary school,
as well as class type, contributed negatively to efficiency scores. Class-book
ratio, government expenditure, playfield availability, and class numbers contributed to the inefficiency levels identified. On policy, it was clear that the
government should increase expenditure on education which affected overall
school performance in public primary schools. The expenditure should be
increased towards quality classes and teachers who are high determinants of
education quality.
Description
A research article published in Modern Economy
Keywords
Quality of Education, Government Expenditure, Primary Schools
Citation
Mutuku, S. and Korir, J. (2019) Government Expenditure and Quality of Education: A Case of Public Primary Schools in Kenya. Modern Economy, 10, 2405-2429. https://doi.org/10.4236/me.2019.1012152