Influence of constituency development fund on quality of education in public secondary schools in Kenya: A case study of Kisumu county

In the year 2003, the government of Kenya adopted devolved system of funding of education through the Constituency Development Fund in order to promote quality of education in secondary schools. Constituency Development Fund being a form of composite fund, finances education in public secondary schools by providing bursary to needy students and developing infrastructure. This study focused on quality of education in terms of students’ academic performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination. Public secondary schools in Kisumu County receive money from Constituency Development Fund but statistics show that performance is still low. In the year 2012 for instance, public secondary schools in Kisumu County received money from Constituency Development Fund amounting to Kenya Shillings 120,000 per school as minimum to Kenya Shillings 5,000,000 as maximum depending on their needs. Conversely, the county had a mean performance of 5.63 during that which was even lower than the national one which stood at 6.1. It was also not clear whether all public secondary schools in the county had the necessary infrastructural facilities which are crucial for effective teaching and learning process. The purpose of this study therefore was to establish the influence of Constituency Development Fund on Quality of Secondary Education in Public Secondary Schools in Kisumu County. The findings indicated that Constituency Development Fund had influence on student’s performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination. The study also confirmed the availability of the necessary infrastructural facilities constructed by Constituency Development Fund in many public secondary schools in the county. Several students in the county were being awarded some bursaries by the Constituency Development Fund. The study recommended that Constituency Development Fund should consistently give enough bursaries to needy students. This will enable them spend more time in school and concentrate in their studies which would eventually lead to good performance in examinations thereby improving quality of education. More funds should also be allocated for infrastructure development in schools which still lacked the facilities and projects started using Constituency Development Fund money should be completed on time. This study is important because it provides useful information on the influence Constituency Development Fund has on quality of secondary education in public secondary schools.