Financial Challenges Related to the Implementation of MOE Fee Guidelines on Provision of Educational Resources in Public Secondary Schools in Kenyenya Sub-County, Kisii County, Kenya

Abstract

Different public secondary school categories have different budgetary requirements to effectively meet their human, instructional and other incidental costs. In Kenya, the ministry of education issues fee guidelines on the user price to ensure affordability and avoid wastage. The study investigated the financial challenges related to implementation of MOE fee guidelines on the provision of educational resources in public secondary schools in Kenyenya Sub County. The MOE fee guidelines exemplified the fees requirement, compliance to fee guidelines, availability and adequacy of educational resources in public secondary schools and the educational resources characterizes the human, instructional and physical resources in public secondary schools in Kenyenya Sub County. The ministry of education therefore, issued fee guidelines on the user price to ensure affordability and avoid wastage. However, the ever growing divergent views by the principals and parents associations on the actual cost of education and MOE set fees guidelines amid report on huge creditors and debtors in schools with no reported incidences of schools closing down due to inadequate funds, despite the existence of fees guidelines led to the investigation into the financial challenges related to the implementation of MOE fee guidelines on the provision of educational resources in public secondary schools in Kenyenya sub county. The objectives of this study were to; establish the fees requirement in different types of public secondary schools, determine the levels of compliance to fee guidelines in public secondary schools, find out the availability and adequacy of educational resources in public secondary schools and establish measures taken to increase educational resources in public secondary schools in Kenyenya Sub county. Descriptive survey design was adopted where questionnaires, interview schedules, observation guides and document analysis were used to collect data. Schools were stratified into 3 strata as Public Boys Boarding (PBB), Public Girls Boarding (PGB) and Public Mixed Day (PMD) with the target study population of 41 public secondary schools in Kenyenya Sub County. A sample of 12 public secondary schools were selected with a total sample size of 37 respondents comprising of 12 Head teachers, 12 PTA chairpersons, 12 Bursars and 1 sub county director of education. Piloting of the instruments was conducted in one randomly selected school within Kenyenya Sub County but not used in the study to verify the reliability of data collection instruments. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 was used to analyze the data. Both inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Presentation of data was done by use of tables, frequencies, means, medians, modes and standard deviation. The findings of the study revealed that all the three categories of public secondary schools had different fees requirements in management of their annual school budgets. The public boys boarding schools required an average of kshs. 53,980 per student, public girls’ boarding school required kshs. 54,135 per student. While public mixed day school required kshs. 26,156 per student per year. It also emerged that most of the public secondary schools did not conform to fees guidelines as their percentage conformity in PBB, PGB and PMD were 33%, 0% and 50% respectively. It also was established that the human resources, instructional materials and physical facilities were not adequate. These findings were useful to the government in establishing fee guidelines that could be in conformity with annual school budgetary requirements. The study concluded that different categories of public secondary schools needed different fee requirements to run their annual school budgets. It is recommended that for the fees guideline to be effective, it must be able to meet measures against financial inadequacy in secondary school budgetary management.