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Abstract:
Bursary funds are not fairly distributed to needy students to enable them pay their fee balances in public boarding secondary schools. This paper was based on a study that sought to investigate the role of political leaders in influencing the award of bursary funds in Wareng district in Rift Valley Province. A descriptive survey research design guided the study. 200 form four, needy students, identified by head teachers, participated in this study. Ten head teachers, a secretary and chairman of each of the 4 locations and constituency were purposively. Four locations, 30% of the 14 locations in the district, were sampled randomly. Questionnaires and interviews schedules were used to collect data. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistical techniques such as percentages and frequencies. The study established that there was political influence in bursary allocation. The recommendations of this study were that there is need to establish a legal framework to be followed when awarding bursaries to the needy students, the government should increase the amount of bursary funds and bursary disbursement should be done fairly. The findings of this study could be used by policy makers to solve the problem of needy students missing bursary funds. It would therefore enable more students to enroll and complete secondary education. This would subsequently enable the government to achieve its aim of Education For All (EFA) by 2015.

Keywords: access, bursary, public subsidy, needy students, disbursement of bursaries, drop out, retention, efficient, quality education. leaders.

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