ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the factors influencing the implementation of free secondary education in the Kangema District. The objectives of the study were to: find out how increased enrolment in public secondary schools affects the quality of free secondary education in Kangema District; find out the impact of physical and material resources on the quality of free secondary education; establish the role played by the community in the implementation of free secondary education and the impact of this on quality of education; find out whether the government provides adequate funds for free secondary education and how this affects the quality of education, and propose policy options for the improvement of the quality of free secondary education in Kenya. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. The target population of the study was all the public secondary schools in Kangema District. Simple random sampling was used to select 10 schools, from which the headteachers and 40 teachers were selected to take part in the study. The District Education Officer (DEO) and four Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (QASOs) were also selected for the study. Data was collected using questionnaires for headteachers and teachers and interview schedules for QASOs and the DEO. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the quantitative data. The statistics used include frequency counts, means and percentages. Qualitative data was analyzed by organizing them into similar themes and tallying the number of similar responses. The study established that increase in enrolment had a negative effect on the quality of education. It was established that the physical facilities that were inadequate were classrooms and desks, which impacted negatively on the implementation of FSE. It however emerged that latrines were adequate. The study also established that the community supported the schools to a small extent by disciplining the students, contributing financially and sometimes donating physical resources. The study further established that the funds allocated to schools were inadequate, hence did not meet the needs of the school as required, in addition the funds were not released on time to enable the schools to meet their financial obligations. The study recommends that: the government should allocate enough funds and resources to schools to ensure that free secondary school education runs smoothly without compromising quality of education; the government should build new schools and employ more teachers to accommodate all those qualifying for secondary education; headteachers should enroll students according to the resources and teachers they have to avoid overcrowding schools and overworking teachers; and headteachers to involve the community around them to aid in school development issues