Factors influencing migration of pupils and students from private to public schools in Kenya; a case of Nakuru town, Nakuru county

Abstract

Pupils and Students migration from one school to another may be influenced by several factors such as race and ethnicity, socio-economic status, residential status and student’s performance. Lately, there is a trend in Kenya where pupils and students are now migrating from private to public schools. The aforementioned migration results in enrollment and resources imbalances. In spite of the enormity of this problem, the reasons for migrating of pupils and students from private to public schools hitherto remain an abnormal behavior since it expected that the migration should be from public to private school. This is due to the fact that private schools are more prestigious, have better facilities, enough teaching staff among other resources. It is against this backdrop, therefore, that this study is necessitated. The study sought to establish the factors that influence migration of students from private to public schools. The study was conducted in Nakuru town, Kenya. It was limited to four specific objectives which aimed to find out how secondary school entry quota system, planning cost of education, academic performance and socio-economic planning determine the aforesaid students’ migration. The study was guided by rational choice and educational productivity theories. A descriptive research design was adopted. The study targeted all the 172 administrative staff working with public primary and secondary schools in Nakuru town. A sample of 64 respondents was selected using stratified random sampling method. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software. Data analyses constituted frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations and multiple regression analysis. The study findings were presented in form of statistical tables. It was revealed that the relationship between entry quota system and pupils and students migration was positive and weak. On the other hand, cost of education planning, academic performance and social economic planning had strong and significant effect on students and pupils migration from private to public schools. The study concluded that the aforestated factors were of fundamental importance in addressing the issue of pupils and students migration. It was recommended that secondary school entry quota system should uphold fairness and equitability; the parents and guardians ought to be economically empowered in order to support their children in pursuit of education; and the Ministry of Education should inspect both private and public schools on similar bases in order to avoid prejudicing certain categories of schools.