Abstract:
Teacher absenteeism is a major problem facing many educational institutions in Kenya today.
The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on teachers committing offences of chronic
absenteeism and duty desertion evidences this by among others the increasing disciplinary cases.
Data from various school Principals, Head teachers and Education Officers has implicated
teachers for coming to school late, leaving early from school, teachers being in school and not
attending to their lessons and teachers doing private business during working hours. The main
objective of the study was to determine how key factors influence teacher absenteeism in public
secondary schools in Nzaui Sub-County, Makueni County. The study employed descriptive
survey design to collect data from 48 teachers and 12 principals from the sub county, which has
416 teachers, 52 principals and 1 staffing officer. The research instruments used were
questionnaires, interview guide and document analysis. Data was analyzed using both qualitative
and quantitative methods. The study established among others thatillness, lack of regular
supervision and assessment, assigning teachers non-teaching duties, teachers‟ strike, lack of
harmony between parents and teachers are key causes of teachers‟absenteeism. The study
recommendsthat in order to reduce teacher absenteeism there is need to addresspersonal, school
and environmental factors‟ leading to teacher absenteeism effectively. Future teacher
absenteeism studies also need to be conducted, by use of regression model to identify the key
determinants andcomputing the teacher absenteeism of the different cadres in the
entireMakueniCounty and in other parts of the country.
