Influence of Average Household Education Expenditure on Student Enrolment Sustainability in Public Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which average household education expenditure influence student enrolment sustainability in secondary schools. The study was guided by the theoretical and conceptual framework which borrows heavily from the concepts of human capital theory which was proposed by Schultz and developed extensively by Becker. This theory postulates that expenditure on training and education is costly and should be considered an investment since it is undertaken with the view to increasing personal incomes. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population consisted of principals and household heads from public secondary schools in Bungoma County. In order to have a representative sample, this study employed a stratified random sampling to select 691 school principals and household heads. Questionnaires, interview and observation schedules and document analysis were used as data collection instruments. Validity was established through expert opinion. Reliability was established through piloting. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that there is a negative relationship between the average amount of money spent by household to educate a child in secondary school and student’s enrolment rate in secondary schools. This implies that as the household expenditure in education increases the enrolment decreases. This study therefore recommends that government or other educational stake holders should support parents who have children in form one as a strategy of increasing students’ enrolment rate