Determinants of Effective Participation in Pre - School Education in Dujis Zone, Garissa District Kenya

ABSTRACT Despite the critical role of pre - school education in holistic development of the children, there are problems inhibiting access to participation in pre - school education, most government documents in Kenya are silent on the key issues such as terms of services for pre - school teachers, linkages between various players in ECO and modalities of partnership among others. Problems facing EGE have not been investigated and understood. In the light of the above, the purpose of this study was to investigate the problems facing pre - school education in Dujis Zone, Garissa District. The study focused on curriculum and programme in place, investigated the academic qualifications of teachers, policies in place on pupils entry age and pre - school registration, facilities and materials - resources available. Teachers, parents and pupils of pre - school in Dujis zone were the target population. The schools are located at Garissa town and pupils are drawn from neighboring townships such as Balambala, Modikarey, Sankuri and Danyere among others. The schools' population of 262 pupils in pre - school gave the researcher access to a relatively high concentration of pre - school pupils from a fairly wide area of Dujis Zone. Data collection instruments were questionnaires, interview schedules and observation checklists. Data collection was organized systematically using descriptive statistics and the researcher analyzed the data of evaluation of problems encountered in access to effective participation in pre - school education in Dujis Zone of Garissa District. The study found out that most of the pre - schools had no teachers for long. The study also noted delays in fees payment, low salary and delays in salaries, inadequate finances to run the schools are one of the major factors inhibiting access to effective participation in pre - school education. The study recommends that the government should integrate EGE into Free Primary Education system since this will ensure funds are allocated for EGE programmes.