Abstract:
In Kenya the school fees charged by public secondary schools have risen dramatically, this is way far beyond the reach of many Kenyans. Many secondary school Head teachers attribute this to the rising inflation levels causing rise in prices for commodities which are necessary for the day to day running of schools. The purpose of the study was to establish the influence of austerity measures adopted by principals on service delivery in public secondary schools in Nandi Central Sub County. The study was guided by the following objectives: to establish the adoption of income generating activities on service delivery in public secondary schools, to examine the influence of utilization of available resources on service delivery in public secondary schools, to determine the influence of priotization of projects on service delivery in public secondary schools and to find out the alternative sourcing of finance on service delivery in public secondary schools. The study was guided by systems theory of administration and human capital theory. A survey research design was used targeting 36 boarding secondary schools,with 36 principals, 204 heads of department and 132 board of management (B.O.M). Secondary schools were clustered into four zones; Kapsabet, Emgwen, Kosirai and Kilibwoni, simple random sampling was used to select 30% of the required schools, all the principals of the selected schools were part of the respondents arriving to a sample of 61 heads of department, 40 BOM and 10 Principals making a total of 111. The questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics which include frequencies and percentages and was presented in form of frequency tables and charts. The significance of this study will give beneficial information to the school community in the area of budgeting especially in addressing shortfalls where they do arise. Findings on adoption of income generating activities on service delivery revealed that the majority of the respondents indicated that application for annual CDF support /grants, installation of Posho mills, engaging in agricultural activities, starting up a bakery business should be adopted. The study further established that prioritization of projects on service delivery was through utilization of available resources, initiating income generating activities and scaling down development projects. In conclusion income generated activities included installation of Posho mills and engaging in agricultural activities. Recommendations suggested included: - government to ensure that school fees for schools are not raised but instead encouraging schools to seek for alternative sources of financing such as farming. BOM should network to get more funding from sponsors. School principals should develop procedures that require school members including teachers to participate in income generating activities. Other researchers should research on the effects of utilization of available resources to cope up with rising cost of education in secondary schools in Kenya.
