DETERMINANTS OF CHOICE OF PROGRAMME OF STUDY BY STUDENTS IN NATIONAL POLYTECHNICS IN KENYA

Abstract

Young people between 15 and 24 years are at a disadvantage in finding and maintaining quality jobs. Their unemployment rate is three times that of adults. Overall global unemployment is projected to reach 208 million people in 2023 with an unemployment rate of 5.8%.The scenario threatens economic growth and social cohesion. Acquisition of relevant skills that enhance task performance is a noble endeavor to bridge this gap. The dominant explanation for this scenario is increased production of less demanded skills on the job market. Determining which skills are most in-demand is necessary in career choice. Previous research primarily relied on cross-sectional data and thus has been unable to disentangle the changes between the available skills and most in-demand skills. The purpose of this study was to establish the factors that inhibit students from enrolling in various courses in TVETS that offer the in-demand courses in Kenya. Specifically, this study seeks to determine the effect of cost of programs, sex and students socio-economic status on choice of programs one enrolls in National polytechnics. The study was guided by the theory of demand. The study used ex-post-facto design. The study targeted a population of 83157 students from ten national polytechnics and ten principals of these national polytechnics. These students constituted the 2022/2023 cohort who enrolled in various programs in these national polytechnics. Stratified proportional to size, random and purposive technics were employed to pick a representative sample of 1854 respondents comprising of 1846 students and 8 principals. Data from student respondents was collected using questionnaires and document analysis while principals had an interview guide. My supervisors validated these instruments before being administered. The reliability of the questionnaires was determined using internal consistency using the Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.8. Frequency distribution tables, percentages, measures of central tendency-mean, median and mode, measures of dispersion-variance and standard deviation, pair wise correlation, chi-square, logistic and multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied on the quantitative data. Qualitative data was however analyzed by objective. The findings were presented descriptively and in tables. The findings of the study showed that cost of programs had statistically significant effect on the type of program of study by students in National Polytechnics in Kenya. The findings further showed that sex was statistically insignificant when it came to choosing programs in National polytechnics in Kenya. Finally, it was revealed that SES had statistically significant effect on the program type by students in National Polytechnics in Kenya. Consequently, the study recommends that the government increases the capitation in National polytechnics depending on the nature of the program. Female students to be lured in STEM subjects.