DEVELOPMENT LEVIES AND LEARNERS' PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC DAY SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN WEST POKOT COUNTY, KENYA

Elvis Kokwo, Jane Barasa, Julius Maiyo

Abstract


This study examined the effect of development levies on learners' participation in public day secondary schools in West Pokot County, Kenya, guided by the null hypothesis that development levies have no statistically significant effect on learner participation. Data were collected from 113 students, 37 parents, and 32 principals using structured questionnaires and interviews. Descriptively, both students (composite mean = 2.72) and parents (composite mean = 2.53) leaned toward agreeing that high development levies constrain enrolment and retention, with near-unanimous agreement across both groups that low-income learners bear a disproportionate share of the burden (r = .685, p < .001), the strongest association observed in the model. Bivariate regression confirmed that development levies significantly predicted learner participation, F (1, 125) = 76.140, p < .001, explaining 37.9% of the variance (R² = .379); the null hypothesis was accordingly rejected. Qualitative accounts from principals revealed a structural paradox underlying this statistical relationship: levy-funded construction was credited with improving facilities and, in principals' assessment, attendance, yet delayed or inconsistent parental payment routinely stalled projects, leaving incomplete facilities that temporarily undermined the same participation outcomes the levies were meant to secure. The study concludes that development levies function as a financially necessary but distributionally regressive mechanism for infrastructure financing, one whose benefits and burdens are not shared equally across household income levels, and recommends government-regulated levy ceilings, mandatory exemptions for low-income households, and expanded direct capitation for infrastructure to reduce schools' reliance on parental contributions.

Keywords


development levies, learner participation, school infrastructure, Free Day Secondary Education, West Pokot County

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v13i11.7071

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