An investigation into administrative problems caused by over enrolment in public primary schools in Nairobi province, Kenya

Abstract

This study was conducted in Nairobi province, Kenya. The main purpose of this study was to examine the problems that are experienced by primary school headteachers in their administrative tasks pertaining to; finance, staff personnel, pupil personnel, instructional materials and physical facilities. The research objectives focused on determining whether age, gender, administrative expenence, academic and professional qualification of headteachers have any effect' on administrative problems encountered at work. Further the objectives focused to establish the methods, used by the headteachers to solve their problems. The population of the study was made of all public primary school headteachers in Nairobi province. The sample was selected through simple random sampling. The sample comprised of eighty (80) headteachers. The questionnaire was the research instrument used to collect data. The questionnaire is a useful tool of collecting data due to anonymity of the respondents. It also encourages greater honesty and free expressions of feelings. The data was collected and analysed using descriptive statistics. This entailed the use of ranks, frequencies, and percentages. The problem in each group was ranked according to the way the headteachers experience them. From the data analysis the following findings were made. The most persistent administrative problems facing headteachers are lack of sufficient funds from the Ministry. The staff personnel complained of a high teaching load. Lack of uniform for pupils and lack of enough instructional materials were reported to be a problem. The study found out that the headteachers use various methods like holding discussions, calling parents and holding seminars on human relations as a means of solving their problems in their respective schools. The female and male headteachers had no significant difference in the administrative problems they faced in their respective schools. There was no significant difference between the problems faced by headteachers with many years of administrative experience and those with few years of administrative problems. The population of the study was made of all public primary school headteachers in Nairobi province. The sample was selected through simple random sampling. The sample comprised of eighty (80) headteachers. The questionnaire was the research instrument used to collect data. The questionnaire is a useful tool of collecting data due to anonymity of the respondents. It also encourages greater honesty and free expressions of feelings. The data was collected and analysed using descriptive statistics. This entailed the use of ranks, frequencies, and percentages. The problem in each group was ranked according to the way the headteachers experience them. The conclusion of the research indicates that the implementation of the universal free primary education has not been an easy task on the part of the headteachers. Further the implementation would have been successful if the government had collected enough data on how many children would be eligible for enrolment in January 2003 to avoid straining the existing teaching and leaving resources. From the research findings and conclusions, the researcher recommended that the Ministry of Education Science and Technology should and increase the funds allocated to schools to enable headteachers to buy necessary teaching materials. Further the money should also be disbursed on time to avoid delays in planning.