Public expenditure on education in Kenya: analysis of recent trends, education provision, and income distribution
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2017
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2560
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Imana, David Kamar (2017). Public expenditure on education in Kenya: analysis of recent trends, education provision, and income distribution. Retrieved from: https://repository.nida.ac.th/handle/662723737/5763.
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Public expenditure on education in Kenya: analysis of recent trends, education provision, and income distribution
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Abstract
The study of public expenditure on education typically revolves and is
designed around theories that try to explain why public expenditure keeps on
increasing. The basis of these theories is to test and predict the various factors that
affect the growth of public expenditure, predominantly for the purpose of providing
public policy recommendations that will not only improve service delivery but also
that is expected to improve the welfare of the poor household income groups and
regions as well. This study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect
the data from Kenya in order to research the factors that cause the growth of public
expenditure on education, and to examine the education provision trends and effects
of income distribution on the education sector. Standard multiple linear regression
analysis (SMLR) and benefit incidence analysis (BIA) methods were used to analyze
the growth of public expenditure and to assess the income distributive effects on
public expenditure on education respectively. Four models were tested using SMLR,
representing the education sector, and the primary, secondary, and university level.
The results obtained revealed different outcomes than what was expected from the theories and models formulated. Some of the factors tested were positively significant and therefore supported the expected theory predictions and others did not, as explained in Chapter 5. The study found that in the general education sector, five factors tested were positively significant: real GDP per capita, lagged expenditure, an increase in total public expenditure, budget deficit, and secondary teachers’ employment. This means that a number of factors tested in Model-1 were by a good margin of significant meaning and positively caused the growth of public expenditure on the education sector. On the other hand, the study used household survey data for 2005, 2008 and 2014, and the data were used to evaluate the effects of the free primary and free day secondary education policies that were introduced in 2003 and 2008 respectively. The main aim was to determine whether these policies are pro-poor or not.
In general, there is an attempt by the government of Kenya to enhance the position of poor households across all provinces. This is clear whereby the government has not only increased the income distribution to everyone but also other benefits, such as an increase in enrolments at all levels of education sector clear. The results of this study show that poor households have benefited from the government’s two basic education policies. The poorest income quintiles have a large share of enrolment in primary whereas the richest income quintiles had higher enrolments at both secondary and university levels. This implies that the distribution of public expenditure on education favors the poor at the primary level and vice versa at both secondary and university levels, as revealed in Chapter 6.
Finally, there is little to smile about the government public policy on the education sector. It seems that the government lacks sustainable funding mechanisms and proper policy implementation frameworks in order to provide not only quality education but also to reduce the inequality in the country. The result of this study indicates that public expenditure policy is pro-poor at the primary education level while secondary and university education levels are pro-rich. This implies that primary education in Kenya is progressive while secondary and university education is regressive or pro-rich in nature. This study recommends that in order to promote equitable resource allocation, better policies and more budget allocation to the education sector are essential. This can only be achieved through investing more in basic education infrastructure, conducting frequent checks on the effectiveness of all education levels, and importantly in formulating sustainable education public policies. This study provides a guideline on how to understand the impact of these factors and also offers solutions on how to alleviate these effects in trying to utilize the limited financial resources efficiently and effectively through supporting education policies.
The results obtained revealed different outcomes than what was expected from the theories and models formulated. Some of the factors tested were positively significant and therefore supported the expected theory predictions and others did not, as explained in Chapter 5. The study found that in the general education sector, five factors tested were positively significant: real GDP per capita, lagged expenditure, an increase in total public expenditure, budget deficit, and secondary teachers’ employment. This means that a number of factors tested in Model-1 were by a good margin of significant meaning and positively caused the growth of public expenditure on the education sector. On the other hand, the study used household survey data for 2005, 2008 and 2014, and the data were used to evaluate the effects of the free primary and free day secondary education policies that were introduced in 2003 and 2008 respectively. The main aim was to determine whether these policies are pro-poor or not.
In general, there is an attempt by the government of Kenya to enhance the position of poor households across all provinces. This is clear whereby the government has not only increased the income distribution to everyone but also other benefits, such as an increase in enrolments at all levels of education sector clear. The results of this study show that poor households have benefited from the government’s two basic education policies. The poorest income quintiles have a large share of enrolment in primary whereas the richest income quintiles had higher enrolments at both secondary and university levels. This implies that the distribution of public expenditure on education favors the poor at the primary level and vice versa at both secondary and university levels, as revealed in Chapter 6.
Finally, there is little to smile about the government public policy on the education sector. It seems that the government lacks sustainable funding mechanisms and proper policy implementation frameworks in order to provide not only quality education but also to reduce the inequality in the country. The result of this study indicates that public expenditure policy is pro-poor at the primary education level while secondary and university education levels are pro-rich. This implies that primary education in Kenya is progressive while secondary and university education is regressive or pro-rich in nature. This study recommends that in order to promote equitable resource allocation, better policies and more budget allocation to the education sector are essential. This can only be achieved through investing more in basic education infrastructure, conducting frequent checks on the effectiveness of all education levels, and importantly in formulating sustainable education public policies. This study provides a guideline on how to understand the impact of these factors and also offers solutions on how to alleviate these effects in trying to utilize the limited financial resources efficiently and effectively through supporting education policies.
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Thesis (Ph.D. (Development Administration))--National Institute of Development Administration, 2017