The Influence of Free Primary Education Programme on Pupils Performance in Kenya
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Background: Education is considered as critical human capital necessary for the realization of country’s growth potential. It is also considered both a human right and a vital means of promoting peace and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms generally. In the realization of these, the government of Kenya introduced free primary education (FPE) in 2003. The purpose of the study was to analyze the influence of FPE education in Kenya by focusing on its effect on enrolment; availability of learning resources and the quality of teaching.
Materials and methods: The study targeted 36 respondents namely 15 ministries of education management staff, 11 Kenya Union of Teachers officials and 10 Teachers service commission senior management staff. The study applied multi-faceted approach by collecting primary data as well as conducting desk review. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire that had both closed and open ended questions. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS and presented in tables
Results: The study reveals that introduction of FPE negatively impacted on resources available for teaching resources including. This also impacted on the teacher effectiveness in terms of teaching methodology, pupil discipline control, and management of examinations and effective use of teaching and learning resources. In addition, the teachers have little capacity for effective pupil engagement, which is instrumental in improving teacher effectiveness. Within the FPE set-up efficient teaching workforce satisfaction has not been conducive; thereby diminishing the instruments to reward motivate the teachers. Specific challenges that significantly affect teacher effectiveness include large class size, teacher inadequacies and pupil age variation.
Conclusion: The introduction of FPE in 2003 by the Government of Kenya led to notable strains in the ability of primary schools to offer quality education. The advent of FPE has also affected the capacity of current coaching force. The specific facets of teacher effectiveness that the initiative apparently jeopardized include teaching methodology, pupil discipline control, and management of examinations and effective use of teaching and gaining knowledge of resources. Within the FPE set-up efficient teaching workforce satisfaction has not been conducive; thereby diminishing the instruments to reward motivate the teachers. Specific challenges that significantly affect teacher effectiveness include large class size, teacher inadequacies and pupil age variation.
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