Improvement of Internal Efficiency of Primary School Education: A Case of Kandara District, Murang’a County, Kenya

Abstract

The reforms undertaken in education sector by the government aim at addressing both the overall goals of national economy recovery strategy and international commitment. The rationale for those reforms has been to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness in resource utilization. By making primary education free to all children regardless of their social classes, it is hoped that the handicaps that were inherited in being poor would be removed. However, the education sector is still faced with issues of access, equity and quality. Many children are unable to achieve education due to various reasons like ignorance of their parents to enroll them in schools, household burdens and poverty. This has hampered achievement in accessing education especially where children are forced to drop out of school because of lacking basic needs like food and uniform. It is in the wake of such alarming trend of dropout rates that the researcher sought to assess on improvement of internal efficiency of primary school education. The study adopted descriptive research design to collect data. Data analysis was done through organizing the data and tabulation in frequency tables and percentages. Study findings revealed that schools were understaffed and had inadequate facilities; parents neglected to monitor their children’s school going activities. The study concluded that there were indications that guidance and counseling was needed to reduce repetition and dropout rates. The researcher recommended that the government should; ensure no understaffing in schools; launch public awareness campaigns regarding the problem of dropout and ensure parental cooperation for completion of primary cycle of education.