Influence of Learner Capitation Grants on Academic Performance of Pupils in Kenya: A Study Across Public Primary Schools in Suba West and Mbita Sub-Counties

Abstract

Countries all over the world have invested heavily in Education. The Kenyan government through its commitment to education introduced Free Primary Education in the year 2003 to help provide quality, relevant, accessible and inclusive education for all children of school going age with an aim of improving retention rates, completion rates and pupil academic performance in schools. Despite the heavy investment, completion rates, retention rates and pupil’s academic performance in schools was still a challenge. The average academic performance in Suba West and Mbita Sub counties in the last six years from 2018 to 2023 was below average. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of learner capitation grants on learner academic performance in Suba West and Mbita Sub Counties. The study was guided by the Resource Dependency Theory (RDT), by Salancik (1978) which postulate that human organizations are not self-sufficient and must acquire essential resources from external bodies to achieve the set objectives. In this case, the resource is learner capitation grant; and liberal Classical theory of equal opportunity by Rousseau which postulates that the natural statesmen are born equal and personal qualities should not jeopardize social equality so long as society rewards people according to their status. The study established that learner capitation grants had high influence on learner performance with a mean rating of 3.93. This means that learner capitation grants contributed highly to pupil performance. The study recommended that learner capitation grant should be reviewed upwards and be disbursed to schools on time in order to enhance learners’ academic performance. The Findings of this study are useful to stakeholders in education for policy formulation with regard to learner capitation grants.