Government Expenditure and School Efficiency and Productivity Change: A Case of Public Primary Schools in Kenya

Education management is a more labor intensive process previously measured by level of school enrolment and education quality with low or no concern on productivity and efficient resource utilization. Trends in increasing government allocation to education sector demonstrate a positive impact on enrolment, education quality and efficiency levels determined in the study. However, there was a gap on how government expenditures impacted school technical efficiency in public primary schools. To determine schools’ technical efficiency and relative determinants; this study used data from the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) data which evaluated class six performance for 3 times periods (2000, 2004, 2012). In the analysis, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Two Stage Least Squares are applied. Results revealed that technical efficiency scores in 8 provinces were lower in 2004 compared to 1997 but increased in 2007 with productivity change exhibiting same trends. Input change for enrolment and school amenities affected overall output. Class-pupil and pupil–toilet ratio, distance from small town, dispensary, bookshop and secondary school as well as class type contributed negatively to efficiency scores. Class-book ratio, government expenditure, playfield availability and class numbers contributed positively to efficiency. The results showed that schools located near main road and library had positive relationship to level of efficiency. On policy, expenditures should be increased towards quality classes and more qualified teachers who are high determinants efficiency.