ABSTRACT

Enrolment of pupils at primary school level in Kenya has constantly increased since independence. Following the launch of Free Primary Education (FPE) enrolment has considerably increased in lower primary schools. This has been eventually boosted through the introduction of free primary education. Despite this effort by the government, there are still many challenges related to wastage in education. There are still low enrollment rates among primary schools in Kenya. This study aimed at investigating the determinants of pupils’ enrollment in lower primary school in Kirinyaga East Sub- County, Kirinyaga County. The specific objectives of the study were to; establish whether alcoholism determines enrollment trends, find out whether family structure determines enrollment trends, and establish whether parents’ level of education determines the enrollment trends in lower primary schools in Kirinyaga County. This study was based on the ecological systems theory of child development by Bronfenbrenner in 1968. Descriptive survey design was adopted. Random sampling technique was used to select 26 public primary schools an equivalent of 10% of the target population. Purposive sampling was used to select 26 school head teachers. Random sampling was used to select 77 lower primary school teachers and 152 parents. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview guides. A pilot study was conducted in two schools within the County before the main study to evaluate and improve the study instruments appropriately. Raw data obtained from the respondents were sorted, cleaned and scrutinized for errors. The study used descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation to describe the data obtained from the field. Cross tabulations were used to establish the relationship between the independent variables and dependent variables. Findings indicated that majority of parents who were engaged in alcohol had the highest number of children who were not enrolled in ECDE centres implying that abuse of alcohol adversely affected the enrollment of children in Kirinyaga County. There was a significant influence of family structure on the trends of children’s enrolment. More so, this situation was worsened when the living style of parents was coupled with alcohol abuse. The study concludes that alcoholism, family structure, educational level and employment status of the parents all contribute to the enrollment trend in schools. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that the key stakeholders including headteachers should commence programmes which facilitate sensitization of parents and the community, as a whole, on the importance of education to their children.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION AND COTEXT OF THE STUDY

Introduction

This chapter outlines the background to the study, problem statement, purpose of the study, study objectives, research questions, assumptions of the study, limitations and delimitations of the study and significance of the study. The chapter also presents theoretical, conceptual framework and definition of operational terms.

Background to the Study

It is fundamental for a parent to enroll his/her child in school to provide the essential foundation of the child. Enrollment is the process of initiating attendance to school by recruiting of otherwise non-school going children into the education systems of a country (UNESCO, 2007). Education is considered an essential tool that would help produce the human capital required since independence. Hence, enrolling children in schools enables the young populace to acquire education which would open doors and empower for them. Quality education opens up a world of opportunities, reduces the burden of diseases and poverty and gives the voice in society. For nations, education opens doors to economic and social prosperity spurred by a dynamic workforce and well informed citizenry able to compete and cooperate in the global arena (World Bank, 2000).

According to Muthwii (2004), the Kenyan primary education was free even though it was confined to some classes (Standard one to four). As a result, enrolment rate increased in most parts of the country but eventually began to go down due to higher costs

encountered. This was followed by slight increase in the rates of repetition, low completion rates and low transition rates among primary schools. In response to this situation, Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2005 was drafted, and in the document to address the millennium development goals, Education For All (EFA) policies and the general goals pertaining the national economic recovery (Government of Kenya, 2005).

Since independence, the Government of Kenya has been determined in providing universal education in primary level which undertook the form of Free Primary Education (FPE). This was later abolished under the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) which implemented and enforced parental contribution towards education based on cost sharing in terms of uniforms, textbooks, and other instructional material. The cost sharing system was introduced to adjust on the financial burden encountered by the government in 1988 which somewhat led to the decline in the gross enrollment rate (GER) and school attendance (Bedi, Kimalu, Manda & Nafula, 2004). Enrolment of pupils in schools represents the largest component of human capital investment in the society (Schultz, 2004).

Human capital investment has been largely presented by the enrolment of pupils in schools (Schultz, 2004). Even though it is perceived as long term, education is significant in economic growth and development as it facilitates acquisition of applicable skills, knowledge, attitudes and acceptable norms among the recipients (Aliu, 2001). Thus primary school is the foundation of the school system as it establishes the basis and becomes the pillar to the human capital development (Lassibille & Tan, 2003; Rome,

1990). Endogenous growth theory holds that investment in human capital significantly contributes to long-run economic growth.

Investing in education generates monetary and nonmonetary benefits to a country’s economic development process. The monetary benefits include greater productivity, higher earnings to the educated and economic growth (Riddell, 2005). The non-monetary benefits, on the other hand, include improvements in health care, reduction in income inequality, poverty reduction as well as crime reduction (Glick & Sahn, 2000). These potential benefits of education to national development motivate policy makers especially in developing countries to design policies targeted at expansion of access to education. Although importance of primary education to the economy is widely recognized, the poor economic performance of the African countries makes it difficult to achieve universal primary enrollment (Glick & Sahn, 2005).

A goal that every child is entitled to basic primary education in every country was set by the World Conference conducted in Jontien in 1990 (UNESCO, 2005). This was however not achieved leading to an extension of proposals set by the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2002. During this period, countries were supported to build a high quality primary education system that is accessible to all children. Policies related to basic and universal primary education and MDGs were also addressed (UNESCO, 2005). Gross enrolment in primary education rose from 71% in 1999 to 89% in 2008 in developing countries. Over the same period gross enrollment increased by 18% in USA, and by 8% and 11% in North Africa and Southern Asia respectively (UNESCO, 2011). This pace

was however, not sufficient to ensure 100% enrollment rates of both girls and boys in primary education by the years 2017.

The second goal outlined in Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was to achieve Universal Primary Education (United Nations, 2015). According to the report by the United Nations, countries in Asia, Latin America and in the Caribbean have achieved high enrolment in both boys and girls. However, the report advocates that there are still low enrollment in both Sub-Saharan and Eastern Africa. For instance, Gross Enrollment Rates (GERs) in Africa range from 160 for Madagascar to 33 for Somalia.