The relationship between students socio-economic status and accessto public university education in Bungoma West District, Kenya

Abstract

To access university education in Kenya, one needs to attain grade C+ in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education and above as a minimum qualification according to Joint Admission Board (JAB) requirements. The sample of students for this study was identified through simple random sampling while Public Universities were purposefully identified. The instruments comprised questionnaire and interviews. The validity of instruments was done through consultation with lecturers who are the experts in the Department of Education Planning and Management of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology and supervisors. Data analysis was done on computer based Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programme at the ANOVA and Chi-Square value 0.05 level of significance. Both descriptive statistics involving means, mode, frequencies and inferential statistics were used. The study found out that students’ socio economic status influenced the number of those who accessed university education. There is need for the government to establish a comprehensive scholarship and loan system for needy students.