The effects of rapid expansion of secondary schools on the provision of quality education in Kericho district

Abstract

Access to secondary education has continued to gain more significance to all stakeholders in education; including the government, parents, teachers and even learners themselves. This is because secondary level education determines selection and admission to institutions of tertiary and higher education, job preparation and is even regarded as a measure of social status. Secondary education therefore lays a foundation for one to be more economically and socially productive, as well as lead a more satisfying life. It is for these reasons, among others, that access to secondary education has continued to expand through establishment of more institutions at this level. This expansion has been markedly rapid since independence, in comparison to the other levels such as primary and university; this has inevitably led to queries on the issues of relevance and quality standards of the education provided in many of the newly established schools. This study sought to survey the effects of rapid expansion of secondary schools on provision of quality education in Kericho District. The objectives of the study were to: (i) Determine the factors that have led to the rapid establishment of more secondary schools in the District. (ii) Identify challenges faced by the newly established secondary schools in the teaching-learning process. (iii) Establish the effect of resource adequacy on provision of quality education. (iv) Determine if there is a relationship between the age of a school and quality of education provided. (v) Assess the effects of rapid expansion of secondary schools on provision of quality education. (vi) Identify measures that can be instituted to address expansion of secondary schools while maintaining quality standards. The population targeted for the study comprised of all headteachers; heads of academic departments;members of the ParentsTeachers Associations and Boards of Governors of all secondaryschools established between 1990 and 2005 in Kericho District; the District EducationOfficer and the District Quallty Assuranceand Standards Officer. Data was obtained from the respondents in secondary schools, which were randomly sampledusing a table of random numbers. Questionnaires, Interview schedules and an observationscorecard were utilized to gather the required information. The headteachers' questionnairewas designed to elicit information on their professional backgrounds, general information about their schools such as status and category, availability and adequacy of teaching and learning resources, as well as curriculum implementation processes and performance. The heads of departments' questionnaire was intended to seek data on their professional backgrounds, adequacy of learning resources for all the subjects in the curriculum offered within their departments; namely languages, Humanities and sciences, and the performance in national examinations by candidates in their respective departments. The interview schedules administered to members of the schools' Parents TeachersAssociations and Boards of Governors sought information on factors leading to establishmentof their schools, their opinions on teaching-learning resources availability and performance. The District Education Officer and the District Quality Assurance and Standards Officer on their part were interviewed in an attempt to seek data on the growth and number of secondaryschools in the District, number of teachers in these schools and the roles of the Ministry of Education in the expansion of secondary schools. The purpose of the observationscorecard was to triangulate data obtained from the headteachers and heads of departments regarding availability of facilities in the sampled schools. The data collected by the researcher was then coded and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using the Statistical Packagefor Social Sciences. Descriptive statistics were used to compute the frequency distributions and percentages; and the information summarized in tables of frequencies, pie charts and graphs. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, and the t-test were used to calculate the level of correlation and to determinethe significance of the relationship. Thefindings of the study showed that: (i) Varied factors promote the rapid expansion of secondary schools. These include communities' development initiatives; long distances to other secondary schools; desire for affordable low-cost secondary education; parents wanting their children to study near home so that they can monitor their progress, a growing population of primary school leavers desiring secondary education and inability of local children to meet entry criteria to other secondary schools. (ii) Local communities play the greatest role in the establishment of new schools, as they initiate plans and provide capital needed for the new secondary school projects. (iii) Expansion of secondary schools mainly involves the esta6 iffir'Reht of new ones, as opposed to expansion of places in already existing institutions. (iv) Many newly established schools begin enrolling students without regard to availability or adequacy of teaching-learning facilities and resources such as school buildings, teachers, learning materials and finances; which are insufficient in most of the new schools. (v) There is low correlation between teaching-learning facilities and performance of students in national examinations. (vi) There is a high correlation between availability of adequate teaching resource and performance of students in national examinations. (vii) The rapid expansion of schools does not affect provision of quality education, so long as the teaching-learning environment is conducive. (viii) The Ministry of Education does not control the mushrooming of new secondary schools, it only approves their registration and makes recommendations on provision of resources and teachers, though does not enforce this. After examining the findings, it was concluded that the rapid expansion of secondary schoolsin Kericho District does not significantly affect the quality of education in the newly established schools, as there is a low correlation between the age of a school or adequacy of physical facilities and performance. The availability of adequate well trained teachers affects the level of attainment by candidates in national examinations significantly. It was also concluded that the expansion of secondary schools should continue to be encouraged so as to raise access rates, and the Ministry of Education's Department of Quality Assurance and Standards should be strengthened so that it plays a more effective and efficient supervisory and monitoring role in enhancing standards of quality of education in the newly established schools. The recommendations made include the need for the government to institute a comprehensive policy framework to govern the establishment and development of secondary schools, extensive consult_ations between and among al the stakeholders before establishment of new institutions, ensuring that development of secondary schools is pegged on quality and relevance of education while implementing expansionary activities, need to reduce direct costs of secondary education by seeking alternative ways of funding secondary school education, such as abolishment of tuition fees and enhancing internal efficiency in the newly established secondary schools through attention to intra-school inputs and school climates. Suggestions for further research made include undertaking a similar study to assess the impact of primary school expansion on provision of quality basic education, replicating the study on another geographical region such as another district or province to find out whether a similar scenario prevails, a comparative study could be done to relate the Kenyan experience to that of other developing countries. A bibliography of the literature reviewed and appendices of instruments used is also provided.