Patrick Lumumba Ogalo, Enose M.W. Simatwa, Tony O. Okwach
Principals play a crucial role in providing quality education. However, in some schools due to certain challenges, quality of education falls below expectation as evidenced in poor student academic achievement in national examinations. In Nyando and Muhoroni Districts, the quality of secondary education from the year 2006 to 2010 was below average, that is, for this period the mean grade was C- in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations except in the year 2007 when the mean grade was C. This implies that principals of secondary schools were facing certain challenge that was affecting the quality of secondary education. The challenges faced could have been cultural, social, and economic in nature. In the present time with advent of Christianity it is possible that the challenges could have been more of socio-economic than cultural in nature. The purpose of the study was therefore to investigate the socio-economic challenges that principals were facing in their endeavours to provide quality secondary education in Nyando and Muhoroni Districts. The study established that social challenges faced by the principals were: HIV and AIDS pandemic which was rated 4.59 by principals, large poor families which they rated as 4.21, parental low education 3.97, pregnancy 3.73 and religious practices 3.72. The study also revealed that economic challenges that principals face were: high cost of living which was rated at 4.75 by principals, poverty 4.56, school levy default 4.56, child labour 3.59 and bodaboda (motorbike transport) business 3.53. The study concluded that the main social challenges faced by principals were HIV and AIDS pandemic; large poor families, low parental level of education and pregnancy. The main economic challenges were high cost of living, poverty, and school levy default. The study recommended establishment of mobile clinics to mitigate effects of HIV and AIDS pandemic on the quality of education to enhance their participation in the provision of quality education and increasing free secondary education subsidy to cushion effects of poverty on quality education. The findings of this study are useful to education managers in enhancing provision of quality secondary education in Kenya
Share this article