A Cohort Analysis on the Impact of free Tuition Secondary Education Policy on Student Survival Rates in Public Secondary Schools in Kericho County, Kenya

Secondary education is a conduit through which essential skills, knowledge and competencies are imparted for the benefit of individuals specifically and the society generally as such, its significance at individual and societal levels cannot be overlooked. The Kenyan government introduced the Free Tuition Secondary Education (FTSE) Policy in 2008 in a bid to ensure that students regardless of their socio-economic backgrounds acquired secondary education. The goal of this policy in sum was to increase access, retention and completion rates of students in secondary schools. Survival Rate was another concern to be addressed by the FTSE policy since its influence was unknown. It is thus against this backdrop that the study sought to establish the impact of FSE Policy on Survival Rates in Kericho County. The study was based on the concept of investment choices. Descriptive, ex-post factos and correlational research designs were adopted. The sample size was 485 comprising Principals, Sub County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers, Directors of Studies and form IV students of 2011. Snowball and saturated sampling techniques were used to select respondents. Questionnaire, interview schedules, Focus Group Discussion guide and document analysis guide were used to collect data. Reliability coefficient of the principals’ questionnaire was 0.80 at set p-value of 0.05. Quantitative data was analyzed using cohort analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was transcribed and analyzed thematically. The study established that there was a moderate positive relationship between FTSE policy and Survival Rate with a correlation coefficient of 0.324 at a p-value of 0.05, Coefficient of determination R2 was 0.1050 meaning it accounted for 10.50% of the variation. The study concluded that FTSE policy increased Survival Rates. The study recommended that FSE funds be reviewed upwards to increase Survival Rates. The findings of this study are significant to stakeholders in education as it informs them on the need to review the policy with a view to improving secondary school education so as to achieve the objectives of the FTSE policy.