The Influence Of Transport Cost Differentials On Access To Secondary Education In Kenya

Abstract

The government of Kenya introduced Free Tuition Secondary Education (FTSE) in January 2008 with the aim of increasing transition from primary to secondary by 70% percent. However, since the introduction of FDSE, little is known on the burden born by parents when taking their children to secondary education in relation to transport cost. This paper sheds light on the associations between transport cost, gender, age, category of school and access to secondary education using data from one county in Eastern Kenya. The results show that the average distance from households to school is 24km, with day schools being closer at 12km and boarding schools 28km away. It also established that there is a relationship between distance from household to school and cost of transport (P<0.05 and coefficient of 142). In line with gender, the study established that household with girls in secondary school spends Ksh 3,186 compared to boys Kh3, 100. However, the mean differences are not statistically significant. On the highest transport cost paid by both, the study shows girls pay Khs, 19,000 and boys Ksh 18, 000. Unlike gender, the result shows that there is a relationship between the age of the students and transport cost (r=-.105*, p=.048) implying that students who are younger relatively pay less transport cost compared to elderly ones. The study also established that students in day schools spend less money on transport than their counterparts in boarding schools. For those in day schools and boarding schools on average they spend Ksh 1,547 and Ksh 3,501 respectively. It further established that there is a positive statistical significant relationship between distance from household to school and school dropout (r = 0.773, n = 339, p = 0.001) an indication that transport cost affects access to secondary education in Kenya. Generally, transport cost negatively correlates with access to secondary education, suggesting that transport cost may be a barrier to middle level education in countries where the burden of educating children is borne excessively more by households than by governments.