Cost Saving Measures And Internal Efficiency In Public Secondatry Schools In Kisumu West District, Kisumu County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

The problem of the study was that internal efficiency in terms of improved rates of students‘ flow which is the main objective of Subsidized Secondary Education is costly yet the available educational resources are dwindling. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine the cost-saving measures and their influence on internal efficiency with specific reference to various rates of students‘ flow such as repetition, dropout, completion, graduation rates and average graduation year per student which ultimately helped to determine coefficient of internal efficiency of Public Secondary Schools in Kisumu West District. The objectives of the study were to investigate the cost-saving measures on educational resources heads of public secondary schools in Kisumu West District employ; to establish the level of internal efficiency in public secondary schools in Kisumu West District; and to determine the influence of cost-saving measures on internal efficiency in public secondary schools in Kisumu West District. Cost- effectiveness analysis guided the study. The study used descriptive survey research design. The target population was 367 respondents consisting of 36 Principals, 220 teachers, 108 PTA members of the BOG, two AEOs and one DEO. The sample size was 103 respondents (28.1% of target population) made up of 10 principals, 60 teachers, 30 PTA representatives, two AEOs and one DEO. Proportionate sampling was used to select the principals, teachers and PTA representatives while AEOs and DEO were selected using purposive sampling. They were requested to give information for the study. Four types of instruments: questionnaires, interview schedule, observation checklist and document analysis form were used. The questionnaires were for the principals, teachers and PTA representatives. An interview schedule was used for soliciting information from AEOs and the DEO. An observation checklist was used to check the physical and material resources in the school. Finally, document analysis form was used to confirm enrolment records and available records on finances in terms of income and expenditure. The instruments were piloted to determine their validity and reliability. Before data collection, permit was sought from the National Council for Science and Technology. The quantitative data collected were entered into a computer spreadsheet in a standard format to allow for computation of descriptive statistics using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 14.0. The descriptive statistics such as percentage and frequency distribution were used to analyze the quantitative data. Data on enrolment, repetition, dropout and completion rates was analyzed using ratios and percentages. Graduation rates and average years per student were calculated applying already established formulae to determine the level of internal efficiency. Qualitative data was placed under themes consistent with research objectives; and conclusions made based on trends and patterns of responses. The study established use of, bulk purchases through direct sourcing, assigning multiple tasks to school workers for maximum human resource utilization and institution of income generating projects among others as cost- saving measures. However, timely completion of school projects; increase in class size; use of electricity for e-learning; multiple shifts; and effective utilization of available TSC teachers are yet to be explored. Only 40% of the schools made savings. The rest did not due to failure of full exploitation of cost-saving measures. It was also revealed that the public secondary schools in Kisumu West District have an internal efficiency of average years per graduate of 4.409 translating to an additional 0.409 years needed to produce graduates that require an optimal 4 years of the secondary education cycle. Coefficient of efficiency of 0.909(90.9%) was determined in line with the UNESCO recommended coefficient of efficiency of over 0.90(90%) for an internally efficient education system. It was further established that the cost-saving measures employed by public secondary schools helped improve internal efficiency level. Based on the study findings and conclusions, it was recommended that principals and educational policy formulators encourage full exploitation of cost-saving measures. This will help lower average year per graduate as a strategy towards an internally efficient secondary education system.