Key factors influencing teacher absenteeism in public secondary schools in Nzaui Sub County Makueni County

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.