Public expenditure tracking of secondary education bursary fund in Nairobi Province, Kenya

The secondary schools bursary scheme was introduced by the Government in the 1993/1994 financial year to enhance access, ensure retention, and reduce disparities and inequalities in the provision of secondary school education. In particular, the bursaries are targeted at students from poor families, those in slum areas, those living under difficult conditions, those from pockets of poverty in high potential areas, districts in arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL), orphans, and the girl child. The findings of the survey reveal that the bursary is experiencing a number of challenges, notably: inadequate funds disbursed from the Ministry of Education to the constituencies with more than 58 per cent of the demand unmet; poor use of allocation guidelines resulting in more than 84 per cent of the beneficiaries getting the minimum allocation of Ksh. 5,000; inconsistent and fluctuating funding allocations from the national level and inconsistent support to needy students which disrupts the learning programme. Further, the findings indicate that there is poor keeping of records resulting in huge variations between funds allocated to constituencies and those disbursed to beneficiaries The survey recommends the allocation of more funds to constituencies and financing of a new beneficiaries adequately to completion; disbursement of funds to constituencies in only one phase; and revision of the guidelines to address the application procedures; and submission of comprehensive reports, among others.