| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT -"
Low enrolment and wastage in secondary schools are areas of great concern to educational
administrators in Kisumu East Sub-county. The Sub-county recorded secondary Net Enrolment
Rate (NER) of 22.2% and drop-out rate of 10.3%, in 2007, lower than the neighbouring Nyando
and Kisumu West sub-counties with NERs of 30% and 30.5% respectively and drop-out rates of
8.4% and 6.7% respectively. Free Secondary Education (FSE) policy introduced in Kenya in the
year 2008 was intended to mitigate a wide scope of these problems. Its impact after the
implementation needs investigation. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of
FSE on internal efficiency of secondary education in Kisumu East Sub-county. The objectives of
the study were to; establish the impact of FSE on enrolment; examine the impact of FSE on
completion; determine the impact of FSE on repetition and drop-out rates and establish the
impact of FSE on the number of years spent per graduate in public secondary schools in Kisumu
East sub-county for four cohorts between the years 2003-2012. A conceptual framework
showing the influence of FSE on internal efficiency of education was used. The study adopted
ex-post facto and descriptive survey designs. The study population consisted of 37 head teachers,
3 ZQASOs and 1 SQASO. Stratified random sampling was used to select 18 public secondary
schools and 18 head teachers. Saturated sampling was used to select 3 ZQASOs and 1 SQASO.
Questionnaires, interview schedules and document analysis were employed to collect data. Face
validity was determined by presenting the research instruments to lecturers in the Educational
Management and Foundations department for expert advice. Reliability of the instruments was
determined through a pilot study using test-retest method. A correlation coefficient of 0.85 was
obtained. Data collected was analysed using Quantitative Cohort statistical analysis and
descriptive statistics. Qualitative "data were transcribed, coded and presented according to
themes. The study found out that after the introduction of FSE policy, enrollment increased by
16.3%, completion rate increased by 12.3%, drop-out rate reduced by 3.4%, repetition rate
reduced by 0.5% and average years spent per graduate reduced by 0.71 years. The study
concluded that FSE had positive impact on internal efficiency of education and recommended
that FSE capitation should be increased to allow for expansion of public secondary schools so as
to create room for increased enrolment. This study suggested further research on; Challenges in
the implementation of FSE policy and impact of FSE on transition rate to higher education. The
findings are significant to educational policy formulators in developing other strategies or new policies meant to improve the quality of education and mitigate educational wastage. | en_US |
