Constituency bursary scheme for secondary schools in Kenya: Challenges of the development fund (CDF)

Abstract

Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is money put aside by the government for the development of communities in Kenya .A constituency is the basic unit for electing a mem ber of parliament. One of the provisions is the bursary scheme for needy children. This is meant to increase access to secondary education among the needy families since education is a right (Children’s Act). The purpose of th e study was t o investigate the factors that affect the management of the constituency bursary scheme (part of CDF) for needy secondary school students in Kenya. The study aimed at determining the factors considered in allocating bursaries to needy students, identifying mechanisms for targeting needy students, establish if disbursement of funds is timely and if the funds are adequate, and to find out the constrain ts facing the constituency bursary committee. The study was based on the Classical Liberal Theory of Equal Opportunity. The descriptive survey design was adopted . The target population consisted of principals, students and members of constituency bursary c ommittee. Purposive sampling wasemployed to select 1 4 secondary schools with boarding facilities from twenty four public secondary schools in Amagoro constituency in Western Kenya.T his is because boarding schools are expensive for most parents and yet they perform better in national examinations . Therefore, most parents would prefer boarding schools as they allow more time to students to concentrate in their studies. Purposive sampling was us ed to select 300 students who had applied for bursary. The 1 4 princ ipals of the sampled schools were automatical ly selected, while sixteen members of the Constituency Bursary Committee ( CBC ) were randomly selected for the study. The instruments used for the study were questionnaires for principals and students, and an in terview guide for the constituency bursary committee. Documents analysis was conducted on records of students who had applied for bursaries and those who benefited from the bursary scheme for the period 2005 – 2009. Validity of the instruments was enhanced through piloting and review by experts, while reliability was ensured using the test - retest method to compute the Pearson’s Product Moment correlation s coefficient. The data collected from the field was coded and entered into the computer for analysis ass isted by the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistic al analysis was done, includ ed frequencies, means and percentages. The results of data analysis were presented in frequency tables, and pie - charts. Qualitative data was first organized into categories or themes and patterns were created, after which it was analyzed using descriptive statisticsas was done for quantitative data. The study established that the major factors considered in allocating bursaries were special needs, o rphans, poor parents and academic performance. The study also established that the mechanisms for targeting needy students were through dissemination of information through principals, teachers and public gatherings. According to the study, the amount of b ursary funds awarded to needy students was at most times inadequate, and the disbursement of funds to students was untimely. The study further found that the CBC is faced by various challenges, including insufficient funds allocated to it by the Ministry of Education, late release of these funds, unreliable information provided by applicants, and lack of a reliable database on applicants and beneficiaries. The recommend ation s to make the bursary scheme more efficient and effective were as follows ; the CB C should intensify sensitization of parents/guardians, students, principals and teachers on the factors considered for bursary allocation, and the CBC should be facilitated by Ministry of Education to establish a database of applicants f o r the bursary sch eme to enable the committee fund only the most needy students .T he government should allocate more funds to the CBC and remit to the constituency at the beginning of school holidays, and that the Ministry of Education should strengthen the monitoring and ev aluation structures of the bursary scheme to ensure that it meets its objectives of assisting the needy hence increasing access to secondary education . The conclusions of thestudy: management of the bursary scheme is affected by inadequacy of funds disburs ed to CBC, inadequate communication to stakeholders, ineffective identification of needy students and untimely disbursement of funds to CBC and students.