| dc.description.abstract | The Constituency Bursary Fund (CBF), which was formally referred to as
Secondary School Education Bursary Fund (SEBF), was established in 1993/4
financial year. The objective of the fund was to reduce the financial burden of
Poor families in financing secondary education. CBF aims to cushion the
country’s poor and vulnerable groups against the high and increasing cost of
secondary education, therefore reducing inequalities. It is therefore necessary that
an assessment be carried out to determine the efficiency of the Constituency
Bursary Fund with a view of making its allocation better and more targeted to
enhance retention of needy students in secondary schools. This study therefore
sought to establish the influence of the SEBF on retention of students in public
secondary schools in Kiambaa Constituency, Kiambu County. The objectives of
the study were; to establish the extent to which the criteria given by the ministry
of education on secondary education bursary fund has affected retention of
students in secondary schools in Kiambaa Constituency, to determine the extent
to which the bursary allocated is adequate to influence students’ retention in
schools, to examine the extent to which consistency of bursary schemes fund
influence retention of students in public secondary schools in Kiambaa
constituency, to find out the strategies that can be employed to improve the
bursary scheme to enhance retention of students in public secondary schools in
Kiambaa constituency. The study used descriptive survey research design with
quantitative and qualitative approaches used. The target population comprised all
the 17 secondary schools in Kiambaa Constituency in Kiambu County. The
sample size was made up of 90 students who had applied for bursary, 10
Principals and 3 CBF committee members. Data for the study was collected using
questionnaires and interviews. To test validity and reliability of the instrument,
questionnaires were issued to sample schools outside the population of study
before embarking on the main research. Quantitative data was analyzed using
frequencies and percentages and was presented using pie charts, bar graphs and
frequency tables. The study established that the amounts awarded to the students
was too little to enable them remain in school throughout the study period hence
affecting their performance negatively. It also established that there was no
consistency in allocation and that the allocations were not in line with the school
calendar hence being of little help to the students in having them retained in
school leading to poor performance. The study recommended that the main
criteria that should be emphasized during allocation is the poverty level of the
student and other considerations can follow after. School administration and
community leaders should also be involved in the vetting process because they are
in close contact with the students and can easily identify the needy ones. | en_US |
