An Empirical Study of the Determinants of Enrollment in Secondary Schools in Kajiado District
Abstract
Since independence 111 1963, the government and other stakeholders have invested
substantial resources in secondary education. For almost three successive decades there
have been impressive gains in enrollment rates at secondary level. However, since early
1990s, gross enrollment rates have rapidly been declining. This problem has been
compounded with introduction of free primary education in 2003. Motivated by this
alarming decline in secondary school enrollment in Kenya and the importance attributed
to education as means of alleviating poverty, this paper has concentrated on secondary
school enrollment in Kajiado District. We use cross-section and time series data to
examine the various determinants of enrollment in secondary schools in Kajiado District.
This paper looks at the several determinants of enrollment in secondary schools in
Kajiado District.
Panel data analysis of thirty-seven schools in Kajiado District is used to find the impact
of several determinants of enrollment covering the period 1998 to 2003. We include
variables likely to determine the enrollment of schools such as school fees, availability of
schools, the expected benefits of education, completion rate, discontinuation rate, age of
the school, ownership of the school and accommodation status of a school.
The results show that school .fees, completion rates, availability of schools and
discontinuation rates are significant determinants of enrollment in secondary schools.
Construction of more secondary schools as well as expansion of the already existing ones
and subsidization of school fees is identified as the key policy recommendation to
improve the enrollment in secondary schools.
Sponsorhip
University of NairobiPublisher
Department of Economics, University of Nairobi