DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2018.v06i07.018

Pages: 1477-1484

This study investigated the relationship between subsidized school funding and transition rates from public primary to secondary schools in Vihiga county, Kenya from 2008 to 2015. The study borrowed one of the basic tenets of Von Thunen’s Production Function Theory, which postulates a linear relationship between educational inputs and outputs. The descriptive survey research design was used to implement the study, whose target population included Sub-County Directors of Education, form three students, principals and teachers, all drawn from the 115 public secondary schools in Vihiga county, Kenya. The study sample comprised of 518 form three students, 102 teachers, 12 principals and 5 Sub-County Directors of Education. Saturated sampling technique was used to select the sub county directors of education, stratified random sampling for the schools, and simple random sampling for the students, teachers and principals. A questionnaire, an interview schedule and a document analysis guide were the main data collection instruments. Three weeks to the actual study, the three research instruments were piloted and found suitable for use in the actual study, as they were found to be both valid and reliable after assessment. Raw data were first analyzed descriptively, using frequencies, means and percentages, and then the null hypothesis tested inferentially, using Simple Linear Regression analysis. Results revealed a significant positive linear relationship between subsidized school funding and transition rate from primary to public secondary schools. On the basis of this revelation, it was recommended that the Ministry of Education reviews and enforces a more effective form one admission policy, which would ensure both day and boarding facilities receive the appropiate number of form one students without bias on either school category. This can be easily be achieved by allocating more funds to day schools, to enhance transition rate from primary to public day secondary s