Determining optimal size of secondary schools: the case of Kakamega District, Kenya

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Periodical article

Title:	Determining optimal size of secondary schools: the case of Kakamega District, Kenya
Author:	Muyia, Nafukho
Year:	1995
Periodical:	Journal of Eastern African Research and Development (ISSN 0251-0405)
Volume:	25
Pages:	144-155
Language:	English
Notes:	biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:	Kenya East Africa
Subjects:	educational financing secondary education education Secondary schools Kakamega District (Kenya) Cost analysis
Abstract:	Data obtained on expenditure and size of secondary schools in Kakamega District, Kenya, in 1989 were used to determine the optimal size of schools and the ways in which unit costs of secondary schools in the district could be lowered. The analysis was based on a sample of 41 secondary schools, representing 23 percent of the total school population in the district. The results of regression analysis indicate that the optimal size of schools in 1989 was 574 students. The variables student/teacher ratio, teacher qualifications, and average teacher salary were responsive to unit costs with positive and significant coefficients. The author suggests that schools in Kakamega District can lower unit costs by increasing school size towards the optimal in the case of underenrolled schools and by reducing school size in the case of overenrolled schools. Bibliogr., sum.