Effectiveness of the school management committees in the management of public primary schools in Mwea division , Embu county, Kenya.

Abstract

The School Committee has been given the mandate under the Education Act 1968. School Management Committees manage, develop and ensure that the traditions and standards of the school are maintained and also aim at improving them, as they are also/ directly answerable about the welfare of the school. They ought to source for funds for development and also ensure that the curriculum is properly implemented for the well being of the pupils. This study sought to find out the effectiveness of the School Committee in the management of Primary Schools in Mwea Division of Mbeere.District in Embu County. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The study population consisted of all public primary schools in Mwea Division of Mbeere South District in Embu County and data collection was guided by objectives which included: to establish the effectiveness of the school management committee in the effective running of primary school; to determine the responsive rate to school emergencies; to identify the challenges faced by the school management committee in performing their duties at the school and to identify the strategies put up by the school management committee to improve their participation and maintenance of the school standards. The study used survey research design. The population under the study included all the head teachers and all school committee chairpersons and all the School Committee members of the twenty¬five schools. Random sampling technique was used to select one hundred and twenty five respondents for the study. Data was collected through questionnaires for the school committee members and the head teacher. An interview schedule was also used for the chairperson of the school management committee. Pilot tests were carried out to test the validity and reliability of the instruments. Data was analyzed using the descriptive statistics. Findings were presented in form of frequencies, tables and graphs. The research found out that the main challenges influencing the school management committees' effectiveness were illiteracy among members and inadequate funding. It was also highlighted that to some extent, uncooperative parents, uncooperative committee members and lack of allowances also posed challenge to school management committee's effectiveness. The government should come up with a schedule whereby the school committees are trained regularly on management skills and even in-servicing is done to the already trained due to the changing treads and policies in the education sector.