CHAPTER FOUR DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introduction

4.2. Response Rate

A total of 96 questionnaires were given out to BOM committee for various schools to 32 head teachers 32 BOMs chairpersons and 32 Accountants. The DQASO and DEO were interviewed. Out of the issued questionnaire 81 questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 84.6%. Table 4.1 shows the response rate.

Table 4.1 Response Rate

The response rate was reasonable. The response rate was 84.6% was rated as very good to yield adequate data for the study.

4.3. General information

The general information included data on age, gender, level of education and academic qualification of the respondent and position held in the BOM chairs.

4.3.1 Age Distribution

The study sought to establish the age of principals, BOM and bursars and the results are presented in Table 4.3 Table 4.2: Age distribution

Table 4.2 shows that 40(48.2%) of the respondents ranged between 41-50 years, 26(31.3%) ranged between 31-40 years with only few of the respondents 10(12.1%) and 7(8.4%) ranging more than 50 years and under 30 years respectively. This implies that the school management and BOM chairs are in their maturity age and well experienced with the school project management.

4.3.2 Gender distribution

The respondents were asked to indicate their gender. This aimed at establishing whether the study was gender sensitive while seeking the views of BOM chairs, principals and schools bursars. The gender distribution was as indicated in Table 4.2

Table 4.3: Gender distribution

From the findings as indicated in Table 4.3, 57(68.7%) were male while 26 (31.3%) were female. This implies there were more males than female respondents. The dominance of males may mean that most of the duties and responsibilities in school management through Board of management chairs attract more males than females.

4.3.3. Academic qualification of the respondents

The study sought to establish the level of education of the respondents. The results are indicated in the Table 4.4.

Table 4.4 Academic qualification

Study findings shows, 53(63.9%) of the respondents had attained graduate degree qualification, 18(21.7%) had attained postgraduate qualification, and 12 (14.4%) had attained diploma qualification, none of the respondents had secondary certificate qualification as the highest.  This means that the BOM members had the required capability to manage secondary school projects professionally.

4.3.4 Nature and category of sampled schools

The study sought to establish the nature and category of the schools sampled. The results are indicated in the Table 4.5 and 4.6;

Table 4.5 nature of Schools Sampled

From Table 4.5, it is indicated that 2% of the schools sampled were national 37% were County schools while 61% were district schools. This means that the majority of secondary schools in Imenti north Sub County are categorised as district schools, the sub county also has very few national category of schools with relatively large number of county schools.

Table 4.6 Category of Schools Sampled

From Table 4.6, it is indicated that 23% of the schools sampled were boarding, 12% were Day schools while 65% were boarding and Day schools. This means that the Boarding and Day schools form most of secondary schools in Imenti North Sub County only few are boarding or Day schools. This can be associated with policy that directed that all boarding schools include a day wing in their schools.

4.3.5 Successfully completed secondary school projects 

Table 4.7 indicates, (26%) of the respondents were of the opinion that three projects were successfully completed in their schools. A significant number 13% told that none of the project in school had been successfully completed 12% said they don’t know, 18% indicated that only two projects had been completed successfully in their school while further 13% indicate that one project had been completed in their school. This could indicate probably that many projects are not successfully completed.

Table 4.8 Projects Initiated in School

When the respondents were further probed as to how many projects the school had initiated in the last five years, the results in Table 4.8 indicate that most schools 38% had between six and eight projects in the sampled schools. 12% said the school had initiated none, about 22% said their school had started between 3-5 projects. This shows that in spite of schools starting project few get completed and even very few gets completed successfully.

4.3.6 Work experience of respondents

The study sought to establish the number of years one has served in as a principal, BOM or school bursar according to respective specialization. The results are as indicated in Table 4.9.

Table 4.9 Work Experience

From Table 4.9, it is indicated that 39(47%) respondents had work experience of between 5-10 years 9.6% worked for the school for less than 5years, 35% had work experience of between 11-15 years, and only 8.4% had work experience of more than 15 years.  This means that the majority of secondary schools management had relatively long experience of school management and school projects in Imenti north Sub County.

4.3.7 Reasons for successful completion of school projects

The study sought to establish the main factors which could lead to school projects to be successfully completed from a list provided by the survey.

Table 4.10 Main Reasons for completing a school project successfully

4.4 Findings on the Research objectives

Details of the construction projects success in secondary schools in Imenti north Sub County under different critical statements were obtained from the respondents. The words were ranked in terms of Likert scale of strongly agree to strongly disagree so as to deduce meaning out of the results. Therefore, the details of the tables are discussed under sub headings of the corresponding statements tested.

4.4.1 Financial Resources

From Table 4.11, respondents indicated that primary source of finance to fund secondary schools construction projects were from CDF and school fees which had an equal number of responses i.e. 36.1% of the respondents. Fundraising received 19.3% as the primary source of funding for construction projects. While other which included donors and other sources of funds got 8.4% as the primary source of finance.

Table 4.11: Responses on primary source of finance to fund school construction projects

Results in Table 4.12 shows that, 55% of the respondents agreed that the primary source of funds for school construction projects come from CDF, and 16% strongly agreed, only 8% disagreed. On whether Periodicity of disbursement of funds was a significant challenge to project completion, 51% strongly agreed, with 25% also agreeing that it was a challenge to project completion. Methods of payment was indicated as not influencing projects completion with majority 48% disagreeing.

Finally on financial institutions availability, it was indicated as somewhat crucial in achieving project completion where 4% strongly agreed and 29% agreed that it influenced project completion, 31% were uncertain while 30% disagreed that financial institutions accessibility determined economic availability thus affecting successful completion of construction projects in secondary schools in Imenti North Sub County.

Table 4.12: Responses on availability of funds aspects to achieve construction projects completion in secondary schools

4.4.2 Project Communication

The study sought to establish the projects communication aspects which could lead to school projects to be successfully completed from a list provided by the survey. Results in Table 4.13 show that 37.3% of the respondents indicated that letters were the most frequently used type of communication during project implementation.  E-mail and posters were the least used methods of communication during implementation of construction projects. Telephone was the second most utilised method of communication with 28.9% while oral communication was indicated by 22.9% as the most frequently used communication type. This is as presented in Table 4.13.

Table 4.13: Responses on primary type of communication used in completion of school construction projects

The study also wanted to understand the effect of various statements and responses by the respondent on communication process aspect on projects completion in schools. Respondents were asked the frequency and consistency of communication during project implementation among stakeholders the results are depicted in Table 4.14.

Table 4.14: Responses on whether there is consistency of communication during school project implementation

From the findings about 70% indicated that communication during project implementation was not consistent and frequent, this could be attributed to the fact that most of the projects are undertaken with Design-build form of project delivery with few parties involved.

Table 4.15: Responses on complexity of communication that enhances project completion

On the aspects that enhance project communication for school construction projects, respondents were asked to tick the element that mostly would enhance project completion among the factors given; the results are presented in Table 4.15. From the results, 55.4% of the respondents indicated that a project completion is achieved when all communication was known by all project team and management. An equal number, 21.7% of the respondents noted that freedom of communication and managing project gossip enhanced project completion. 1.2% said an excellent structure of communication enhances project completion. From these finding it is clear that knowledge of by all project team and management about what is going on that is communicating effectively and getting all involved to know about the project progress, greatly enhances project success.

Table 4.16: Responses on complexity of communication used in school construction projects

From Table 4.16 it was indicated that complexity of project communication was high with 44.6% indicating communication in schools projects was somewhat complex, 33.7% indicated it was very complex while 16.9% indicated that it was simple and 4.8% said it was very simple, this show that communication in project is a complex aspect and that it needs to be handled carefully to fully be utilised by project team as required. The study also sought to inquire various issues concerning project communication while implementing school construction project and all projects in general. From Table 4.16 respondents had varying levels of agreement on the aspects.   

Table 4.17 Level of agreeableness various issues of project communications are a challenge for completion of school construction projects

Results in Table 4.17 show that Dysfunctional project communication does not influence project completion in secondary schools, where 44.6% of the respondents disagreed, with further 15.7% strongly disagreeing, only about 15% of the respondents agreed with about a quarter (24.1%) being undecided, on simplification of communication process, an equal number 37.3% either agreed or were undecided, about 16.9% disagreed, with about 4.8% strongly disagreeing. Respondents were of the opinion that consistency of project communication helped project to succeed, where 47% agreed with a further 16.9% strongly agreeing to that aspect. About 9.6% disagreed and 25.3% were undecided. Finally, the type of communication used does not plays an important role to ensure completion of project since majority 42.2% of the respondents disagreed with further

31.3% strongly disagreed only 7.2% agreed while 19.3% were uncertain.

4.4.3 Project Management Skills

On this variable, the study sought to establish its influence on construction project completion in secondary schools, the respondents were asked about project management skills they possessed and the kind of training they had undergone. From the results in Table 4.18 show that 57.8% of the respondents indicated that they had not undertaken training in project Management in the past five years, while 42.2% indicated that they had undertaken training in Project management. This shows that majority of school administrators are lacking essential skills in undertaking projects in schools since they don’t have training on how to manage projects.

Table 4.18: Responses on whether respondents had undertaken training in project management

Table 4.19 depicts that 56.6% of the respondents agreed that they had other skills and competencies that they used during project implementation. From analysis most skills indicated were accountancy, communication and general management skills about 43.4% indicated that they did not have other skills necessary for project implementation this points to the fact that they feel they lack some competencies that would be crucial for project completion.

Table 4.19: Responses on whether respondents have other skills to undertake project completion

Results in the Table 4.20 show that (44) 53% of the respondents strongly agreed that good leadership skills is critical to achieving project completion. About (28) 33.7% of the respondents agreed while 10.9% were uncertain that good leadership skills were crucial to project completion, only (2) 2.4% disagreed, this can be deduced that good leadership skills was very crucial to project completion and hence is needed if school project are to be completed successfully.

Table 4.20: Responses on whether good leadership kills is critical to project completion

From Table 4.21, 35 (42.2%) disagreed, with 14(16.9 %) strongly disagreeing this collectively is more than 50% of the total respondents disagreeing that project proposal writing skills are very crucial for project completion. only 8(9.6%) agree while a significant number 26(31.3%) were uncertain i.e. neither agreed nor disagreed.

Table 4.21: Level of agreeableness on whether Project proposal writing skills are very essential to projects completion

The study set out to examine if the financial accounting skills was very important in ensuring projects are completed in secondary schools. The details of the results are presented in the Table 4.22. From the table it is clear that 37(44.6%) of the respondents disagreed that financial accounting skills were very important in ensuring projects succeed in secondary schools. Only 10 respondents said that it was important, with 1(1.2%) strongly agreeing and 9(10.8%) agreeing. About 27(32.5%) were uncertain about importance of financial accounting skills.  

Table 4.22: Financial Accounting skills is very important in ensuring projects completion in secondary schools

From the results in Table 4.23, it is clearly evident that respondent agreed that Principals did not have adequate project management skills as reflected by 37(44.6%) disagreeing, 13(15.7%) strongly Disagreed. A large percentage 24(28.9%) were uncertain whether adequacy in project management skills was necessary for all school projects to succeed.

Table 4.23: principals’ adequacy of project management skills necessary to ensure all school projects completion

The study show that 2 (2.4%) and 7(8.4%) strongly agreed and agreed respectively that school Principals had adequate project management skills necessary to ensure all school projects succeed. This indicates that respondents were of the opinion that principals needed to be trained or acquire project management skills for projects completion in efficient and effective manner.

Table 4.24: Other skills essential in project management necessary to ensure all school projects completion

From Table 4.24, 36(43.4%) of the respondents, indicated that consultancy skills was most essential skill in project management for completion of school projects, 10(12%) said report writing skill was essential, 20(24.1%) were of the opinion that general management skills was most essential, while 15(18.1%) said public relations and political science skills are most essential in project management. Only 2(2.4%) suggested other skills not indicated are more essential in project management.

4.4.4 Stakeholders Involvement

The study sought to establish the influence of stakeholders’ involvement on successful implementation of construction project in secondary schools. The respondents were asked about the number on average of stakeholders involved while implementing any particular project at school. From the results in Table 4.25, respondents indicated that most schools involved three stakeholders while undertaking construction projects. This was revealed by 38(45.8%) of respondents who indicated three stakeholders were involved. Those who indicated involvement of more than four stakeholders were 13(15.7%), while those who pointed out as to involve only one stakeholder were the least 4(4.8%). This indicated that schools involve various stakeholders while implementing construction projects.

Table 4.25: Number of stakeholders involved while implementing school project

The results of the study as reflected by Table 4.9 indicate that 38(45.8%) of the respondents were of the opinion that most of time three stakeholders are normally involved in construction projects, further, they pointed out that the school BOMs, the government and the financier were the main stakeholders involved other included the community and the church sponsoring the institution. 17(20.5%) said only two stakeholders were normally involved while about 13(15.7%) said more than four stakeholders were involved. This shows that stakeholder’s involvement was varied in schools but most schools involved three stakeholders.

Results of the study as reflected in Table 4.26 indicate that 36 (44.6%) of the respondents agreed that the there was high level of involvement of stakeholders in projects in secondary schools. But 34 (40.9%) disagreed that the frequency of involvement was not high throughout the projects life cycle. The high level of involvement to key stakeholders can be attributed to hiccups and various blocks at the initiation of any project but once the project has began and everything is in place, the level of involvement goes down. 39(47.0%) of the respondents also agreed that there are many stages of involvement of stakeholders to projects – probed further they indicated that stakeholders should be involved in basically all stages from initiation to termination of the projects.

Table 4.26 level of agreeableness various issues of stakeholders’ involvement in completion of school construction projects

The study also found out that most respondents said that key stakeholders to a project should be involved in all policy and decision making for any project.  If implementation strategies are developed at the district or school level, local stakeholder groups may be more inclined to become involved than if implementation is intended at the district or provincial level. The survey revealed that about 36.7 percent of the responses indicated that non-enforcement of laws regarding stakeholders’ involvement in the country, lack of political and personal commitments as well as low level of information available to stakeholders for participation were the key barriers for effective stakeholder involvement in project implementation among secondary school construction projects in Imenti north Sub County.

4.5 Regression Analysis

The study undertook a regression analysis to establish the association between the independent variables with the dependent one. Table 4.27 shows the coefficients on the influence of the individual independent variables on the dependent variable. The Beta coefficients indicated the extent to which Successful Completion changes due to a unit change in the independent variable. The positive Beta coefficients indicate that a unit change in the independent variable leads to a positive change in successful completion of projects; a negative Beta coefficient indicates an inverse effect between the variables in that a unit change in the independent variable leads to a negative change in successful completion of projects.

Table 4.27: Regression Coefficients –Completion of Secondary School Construction Projects in Imenti North Sub County

Table 4.27 presents the level of significance at p-value of 0.05. This is the coefficient that was used to research questions and the significance of the independent variables. The pvalue of availability of funds, project management skills and stakeholders’ involvement are each below 0.05. This means all these variables are significant in influencing the completion of secondary school construction projects. Project communication had p- value of 0.285 this shows that it was insignificant indicator of project completion. Three variables availability of funds, stakeholders’ involvement and project management skills are the most significant variables in explaining completion of secondary school projects in Imenti north Sub County, they are positively co-varied. Detailed analysis is presented in appendices IV and V.  The R² value was indicated as 0.66 or 66%.

4.6 Qualitative Analysis

From the qualitative data collected and analyzed, it was found out that most key interviewed respondents indicated that the type of projects approach applied in the subcounty was Design Build (D-B). It was also pointed out that most projects in secondary schools in Imenti north sub-county had been implemented but not successfully as per customers’ requirements. The respondents seemed to agree that the Stakeholder involvement can use some methods to identify, recruit and structure the involvement of diverse stakeholders throughout the school project planning process. The methods pointed out include: Recruit Stakeholders; Educate Stakeholders; Refine Local Vision, Goals and Objectives; Manage Stakeholder Meetings; Hold Neighborhood Consultation Meetings and, Incorporate External Plan Review. These methods can help align the resources of stakeholders toward common goals and are essential in adopting and implementing any school construction plan. Stakeholder involvement helps ensure that the project plan is realistic and scientifically sound, and that it reflects community values and desires. The goal is to progressively transform stakeholders into partners that support and implement the plan.  Respondents rated the frequency of disbursement of finances to the project as a major barrier to their implementation this in turn led to project stoppage rate to be high and thus their completion time and quality becomes an issue to the customers.

The respondents interviewed also pointed out that they have some training in project management but not as a core course. They said the training was actually very useful in utilizing its skills in guiding the key stakeholders on project implementation. They said that all principals in secondary school needed a refresher course or a course in project management for project to be implemented successfully in the schools.