Equity In Bursary Allocation In Relation To Internal Efficiency Of Secondary Schools In Bungoma County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Basic education is very critical in any education system because of the crucial role it plays

in catalyzing national development. Consequently, maintaining a high student enrolment at

this level should be a priority for all countries. The Constituency Bursary Fund (CBF) was

established by the government of Kenya through an Act of Parliament in 2003. The purpose

of this study was to investigate equity in bursary allocation in relation to internal efficiency

of secondary schools in Bungoma County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were: to

determine the relationship between Bursary demand and amount disbursed to secondary

school students; to investigate the relationship between bursary allocation and student

participation rates in secondary schools; to establish the relationship between bursary

allocation and student performance in secondary schools; to determine if there is any

significant difference in bursary disbursements by tuition fees charged and to determine the

relationship between selected students’ characteristics and bursary allocation to secondary

school students. The study was guided by Human Capital Theory. The study employed a

mixed method research design. The population of the study was 206 principals from

secondary schools, 9 CDF managers, 5 banks managers and 88,343 students. The sample

size was 48 principals, 9 CDF managers, 5 bank managers and 883 students. The study

sampled 9 CDF managers and 5 bank managers using purposive sampling and simple

random sampling to select 48 principals and 883 students. Data was collected through

questionnaires and document analysis. Qualitative data were analyzed through thematic

narration, while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential

statistics (multiple regression model and Pearson correlation). The study findings indicated

that there was a strong significant relationship between Bursary amount demanded and

amount received; there was a weak but significant negative relationship between bursary

allocation and students’ non-attendance rates. The study concluded that as the amount of

bursary allocation to recipients increased so did the students’ performance with implication

that higher bursary awards enables students to remain in school and attend lessons and they

are more likely to perform better. Bursary disbursements were more or less the same

between male and female students. The study recommended that children of the poor

echelons of the society should be assisted to access the extra-county schools through

systematic measures that allow them to progress and perform well from primary schools.