Education Financing, Morality and Student Academic Performance in Selected Institutions of Higher Education in Kenya

Abstract

Concerns about student behaviour and their academic performance in institutions of higher learning are taking centre stage in various societies. This paper examines how education financing influences both morality and student academic performance of those students in Kenya. According to Kaberia (2006), while there exist policies to check curriculum, instruction and other quality of education matters, there exists no policy to check student performance. Secondly, while there exist guidelines to manage student behaviour and morality in secondary schools, there seems to be a sudden relaxation of rules, allowing freedom to students in higher learning, consequently leading to sexual immorality, drug abuse, and gambling. That being the case, it is feared that government funding model and practice does not have morality and academic performance as any of its priorities, which exposes especially vulnerable students to various delinquencies and academic flop, leading to cheating, dwindling performance, and even deregistration. This study adopted both survey and ethnography methodologies. Students from 4 institutions of higher learning were selected, and 220 students were interviewed. Data was collected through interviews, in-depth interviews, document study, and focus group discussions. Purposive sampling was used to select what was observed and 20 key participants who had quality information needed for this study. Data from participants were analyzed using SPSS and inductive thematic analysis and presented in descriptive and narrative form, and further juxtaposed with figures.