Authors: Margery Wanjira Muriuki1 and Margaret Gikuhi2
1The Catholic University of Eastern Africa
P. O Box 62157-00200, Nairobi – Kenya
Email: mmuthire@yahoo.com
2Lecturer, Department of Postgraduate in Education
The Catholic University of Eastern African American
P. O Box 62157-00200, Nairobi – Kenya
Email: gmumbim@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The constituency bursary fund (CBF) was established in 1993/4 financial year with an objective of helping the vulnerable families to finance secondary education hence reducing inequalities. This study set to investigate the efficiency of the Constituency Bursary Fund in enhancing retention of needy students in secondary schools in Manyatta Constituency of Embu County. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised of all the 46 secondary schools in Kibra Sub-County. Cluster random sampling procedure was used to select ten public secondary schools from a total of 17 schools while 10 school principals, 2 members of the CBF, 100 students, ten from each school, County Education Officer, and two area chiefs were purposively sampled. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequency distribution were employed to analyse the quantitative data. Qualitative data was placed under themes consistent with the research objective and conclusions made based on trends and patterns of responses. The study established that not all deserving cases benefited from the funds and that bursary schemes slightly improved secondary school retention rates, which means that there may be other factors affecting retention other than the availability of funds. The study also found that the most common challenges faced in the distribution of bursary funds were lack of transparency and lack of clear procedures in identifying the needy children. The study recommended that there should be a fair distribution of funds as girls tend to have more needs than boys, and procedures for distribution of bursaries should be clearly stipulated.
Keywords
Constituency Bursary Fund, Manyatta student retention, bursaries and retention, Manyatta bursary schemes, secondary school retention, Manyatta CBF, CBF and retention, enhancing student retention, financing and retention
Suggested Citation
Muriuki, M.W. & Gikuhi, M. (2019). Effectiveness of Constituency Bursary Funds in Enhancing Retention of Students in Secondary Schools in Manyatta Constituency, Embu County. African Research Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 6(2), 2019. Available online at http://arjess.org/education-research/effectiveness-of-constituency-bursary-funds-in-enhancing-retention-of-students-in-secondary-schools-in-manyatta-constituency-embu-county-kenya.pdf
