| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to establish the contribution made by local communities in their support to the provision of quality education in public primary schools in Starehe Division, Nairobi. Collaborationin the provision of quality education between the government of Kenya and the local communities is known to have developed gradually from colonial times when the eMS missionaries settled at Rabai in Mombasa. Since then, successive governments in independent Kenya have attempted to provide free basic education since 1974 to the current FPE program which was introduced in 2003 by the Kibaki administration being a fulfillment of pre-
election pledges.
In this collaboration, the government and development partners were to provide teachers, tuition fee and teaching and learning materials to all public primary schools. On the other hand the local communities and parents were to take the children to school, provide them with school uniforms and food provide a conducive environment at home and school, provide supplementary teaching and learning materials, motivate both teachers and pupils and expand the existing infrastructure to accommodate the expanded number of pupils.
Researches on the FPE program have shown that the government and development partners have fulfilled their pledges but the provision of quality education has remained a challenge. In the light of this, the study sought to answer the question of what contribution community support and participation had made in the provision of quality education in public primary schools in the division. The main study objective sought to establish the contribution that had been made by community support in the provision of quality education in public primary schools.
A survey study design was adopted for the study and 12 out of 31 public primary schools in the division were involved. Purposive sampling was used to select the teachers and pupils who together with the education Divisional Advisor were the key informant to the study. Interviews were done on the PTA chairpersons and the head teachers. Direct observation of each of the 12 school was also carried out. The data was analyzed qualitatively and due to comparative analysis, the SPSS data analysis method was used and the data represented using graphs, tables and charts.
The study found out that the parents and communities had taken the children to school but they had not clearly understood their partnership role in the FPE program. This was cited as a hindrance to parental and community support in the provision of quality education in public primary schools in Starehe division which was reported as weak. Various economic and social factors were also cited as hindrances to community support and participation. The weak community support was reported to have contributed negatively to the provision of quality education in the division.
The study suggested that there was need for efforts to be made by the Ministry of Education to set up community education forums to sensitize and mobilize the communities on issues pertaining to the importance of education. There was also need to set up community programs that could assist them support schools without having to rely on donors and individual development partners. | |
