Relationship between Selected School Characteristics and Principals’ Perceptions on Cost Efficiency in Public Secondary Schools of Bomet County, Kenya

Abstract

Public secondary schools in Kenya are expected to operate efficiently in the use of resources. Despite this expectation, the cost of education in relative terms in most public secondary schools in Bomet County is still high. This may be an indicator that public schools are cost inefficient in their operations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between selected school characteristics namely; accommodation status of students, school size, type and location and principals‟ perceptions on cost efficiency in public secondary schools of Bomet County, Kenya. The study was informed by the education production function theory and adopted the correlational research design. The target population was two hundred and seventy principals of public secondary schools and all the five Sub-County Directors of Education in Bomet County. A sample of 175 principals was selected using stratified, proportionate and simple random sampling techniques. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather data from the principals and an interview schedule was used to solicit data from the Sub-County Directors of Education. The content and face validity of the two instruments were ascertained by experts from the department of Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Management, Egerton University. The reliability of the principals‟ questionnaire was estimated using the Cronbach alpha method. It yielded a reliability coefficient of .822, and was therefore deemed reliable. Data was analyzed with the use of the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. Hypotheses were tested using the Chi Square test for independence at .05 level of significance. Qualitative data generated by the open ended items and interviews were analyzed thematically by organizing them in themes pertinent to the study objectives and summarizing them using frequencies and percentages. The study found that relationship between accommodation status of students in schools (χ2 [4, N = 143] = 2.121, ρ > .05), school size (χ2 [4, N = 143] = 1.905, p > .05), school type (χ2 [2, N = 143] = .113, p > .05) and principals‟ perceptions on cost efficiency were not statistically significant. However, the relationship between school location and principals‟ perceptions on cost efficiency was statistically significant, χ2 (2, N = 143) = 8.25, p < .05. The study concluded that principals perceived that location affected cost efficiency, while accommodation status of students, school size and type did not. The study recommended that, principals in Bomet County be equipped with financial management skills through training in order to enhance their ability to manage the institutions effectively. The study further recommended that rural schools should consider cost reduction and saving strategies when preparing and implementing their budgets, given that school location affects cost efficiency. The findings of the study could be useful to the principals and the ministry of education in putting in place mechanisms and formulating policies that aim at promoting cost efficiency in school management. The findings of the study could also serve as reference material for researchers studying the dynamics of cost efficiency in education.