Influence of Educational Costs on Students’ Participation Rate in Public Boarding Secondary Schools in Kicukiro and Ruhango Districts, Rwanda

Abstract

Despite the Rwandan government's effort to improve the quality of education by increasing the participation of students in public boarding secondary schools, little attention is given to the amount of money that government and household invest in education. This study was guided by four objectives which were to determine the influence of households‟ education expenditures on students‟ participation rates, to examine the influence of government education expenditures on students‟ participation rates, to establish the correlation between education costs and students‟ participation rates, and to analyze the mechanisms put in place to improve students‟ participation rates in public boarding secondary schools. The study was anchored on correlation research design to establish the relationship between education costs and students‟ participation rates. Data was collected from students and their parents, school head teachers and Districts Education Officers (DEOs). The target population comprised of all two DEOs and 10 school head teachers, 4382 students corresponding to 2186 parents. Yamane (1967) formula used to get a sample of 252 students, 126 parents while both DEOs and all school head teachers were selected purposively. The study used questionnaires, interview guide and education documents analysis for data collection. The data was analyzed using SPSS software tool version 21. Through data analysis, the study proved that most of households have more girls in boarding secondary schools than boys. The study revealed that there is a strong negative correlation between households‟ education cost and students‟ participation with r = -.824 and p< .01. The study also revealed that cost of girls‟ school materials is 10% higher than those of boys and there was evidence of a negative relationship between school material cost and student‟ participation rate (p<.05). In terms of household average educational expenditure in public boarding secondary schools, the study revealed that the household education cost is 165,427Rwf for girls and 156,794Rwf for boys. However, parents of children in schools of urban areas pay 12.6% higher compared to parents of children in schools of rural areas on school fees. The study also showed that the average government educational expenditures per students were 157,452Rwf per year. The study found that it is less likely to have full participation in boarding secondary school once the households‟ educational expenditures is continuing to be higher than the government expenditure. However, there is positive relationship between government education expenditures and student‟ participation rate in public boarding secondary schools. Based on calculating the cost of education, the study concludes that parents of girls in public boarding secondary schools and parents of children in schools located in urban areas pay a high cost of education especially in terms of school materials and transport. The study, therefore recommends the transfer of students to local schools; increase of contribution to boarding schools by government and more school income generating activities, which can promote students‟ participation rate in boarding secondary schools. Finally, study suggests further research be carried out to indicate the influence of hidden costs of education on students‟ participation.