Schools managed by parents score highly in performance, says report

Students perform better in schools where parents are actively engaged in the day-to-day running of the institutions, a new report says.

The 'Kenya School Report Card’ underpins the role of parents in creating an environment of success for children in schools as opposed to leaving education at the hands of teachers.

The report found out that parental responsibility received the lowest rating suggesting that most parents are detached from their children’s education.

In schools where parental responsibility received a higher rating, there was a good performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams by the children.

“There is, therefore, a strong co-relation between assertive parental responsibility and high learning outcomes,” said the report.

“This assessment data suggests that the more parents involve themselves in mechanical processes designed to facilitate the education of their children, the more successful the children will be in institutions such as primary school.”

The findings were released at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi by a lobby group National Taxpayers Association (NTA). 

Conducted in a sample of 5,000 schools countrywide, NTA found that parents in school management committees strengthened governance and reduced cases of misappropriation of funds.

This is because parents were sceptical about education officials addressing school problems as they would rather leave the future of their kids at the hands of people they did not trust.

“There is need for a national campaign with the parents as the focus to tell them how important their role is for ensuring a brighter future for the next generations of economic, social and cultural growth in a developing country like Kenya,” it states.

The report notes that “16 per cent of parents doubt that the ministry of Education officials will address issues that they raise in the school.”

The involvement of the parents increased accountability of funds and made the overall learning environment for teachers and students better in turn increasing their performance. 

At the same time, parents interviewed by NTA recommended that school managements be transparent and accountable on utilisation of school funds.

“In their assessment, the parents recommended that management of the schools must display books of accounts publicly as demanded by ministry of Education policy.”

“They also requested that other monies collected by the headteachers from the parents as development money, or for purposes of registration of exams must be accounted for accordingly.”

The objective of the study was to strengthen citizen and government accountability in the public schools therefore increasing the performance of the learners.

Parents with children of school-going children were asked how well their schools performed in key areas including their participation in the running of the institutions.

“The poor linkage between parental involvement in public schools has reduced their capacity to ensure the provision of quality education,” NTA chairman Peter Kubebea said.

“Parents must therefore begin to participate in the delivery of quality education services in the primary schools,” he added.