Abstract:
The introduction of Free Primary Education (FPE) policy in 2003 was aimed at enhancing the enrolment of all
school going- age children in Kenya indiscriminately. However, significant concerns have been raised by
scholars and the public over the low enrolment of children with Special Needs Education (SNE). The main
objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of FPE policy on enrolment of special needs children in
education in West Pokot County, Kenya. Descriptive survey research design was used. The target population
was 696 respondents drawn from the 65 primary schools, SNE teachers of West Pokot County. Purposively
sampling was used due to relatively low enrolment of children with special education needs. Simple random
sampling was used to obtain the respondents as follows: 362 pupils with SNE and 123 SNE teachers. Each sub-
county formed an important cluster from where the respondents were drawn from. The researcher collected data
from pupils with special needs education and special education teachers. Focused Group Discussions (FGD),
Document Analysis schedule and interview schedules were also used during the study. Content validity was
done through the contributions of experts in the Department of Educational Planning and Management of
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology. Pilot study was carried out to establish the reliability of
the instruments. Test –retest method was employed to obtain the reliability of the instruments at 0.05 level of
confidence. The findings yielded both qualitative and quantitative data and presented in frequency tables and line
graphs. The findings revealed that factors affecting the efficacy of free primary education range from;
sociocultural, economic, environmental, school based, individual and policy and system factors. The study thus
recommends that the government commits more resources to FPE financing policy and employ strategic and
individualized mechanisms such as early identification, screening, tracking and monitoring of pupils from
homesteads to homestead to ensure enrolment enhanced nationally.
