An Empirical Study of the Determinants of Enrollment in Secondary Schools in Kajiado District

Abstract

Since independence 111 1963, the government and other stakeholders have invested substantial resources in secondary education. For almost three successive decades there have been impressive gains in enrollment rates at secondary level. However, since early 1990s, gross enrollment rates have rapidly been declining. This problem has been compounded with introduction of free primary education in 2003. Motivated by this alarming decline in secondary school enrollment in Kenya and the importance attributed to education as means of alleviating poverty, this paper has concentrated on secondary school enrollment in Kajiado District. We use cross-section and time series data to examine the various determinants of enrollment in secondary schools in Kajiado District. This paper looks at the several determinants of enrollment in secondary schools in Kajiado District. Panel data analysis of thirty-seven schools in Kajiado District is used to find the impact of several determinants of enrollment covering the period 1998 to 2003. We include variables likely to determine the enrollment of schools such as school fees, availability of schools, the expected benefits of education, completion rate, discontinuation rate, age of the school, ownership of the school and accommodation status of a school. The results show that school .fees, completion rates, availability of schools and discontinuation rates are significant determinants of enrollment in secondary schools. Construction of more secondary schools as well as expansion of the already existing ones and subsidization of school fees is identified as the key policy recommendation to improve the enrollment in secondary schools.