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European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu Volume 3 │ Issue 9 │ 2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.883736 CONFLICTS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF RELIGIOUS SPONSORED PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS. EXPERIENCE FROM KENYA Biutha Manwa Mosomi1i, Wanzare Zachariah2 School of Education, Department of Educational Administration 1 and Policy Studies, Moi University, Kenya Chairman, Educational Administration and Management, 2 Maseno University, Kenya Abstract: Religious sponsors have in the past contributed immensely to the growth of education in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to find out the factors that lead to the management conflicts between religious sponsors and other stakeholders in public secondary schools in Nandi South Sub-County. The purpose of this study was to find out the factors that lead to the emerging conflicts between religious sponsors and head teachers, education officials, parents and schools’ Boards of Governors in the management of public secondary schools in Nandi South Sub-County. The survey research design was adopted for this study. The study population comprised of all the 38 religious sponsored Public Secondary Schools in Nandi South Sub-County, 38 Board of Governors’ Chairmen, teachers and 8 Parents and Teachers’ Association Chairmen, 8 head teachers from the same schools, 6 education secretaries of the schools’ religious sponsors and 5 Assistant Education Officers. The saturated sampling technique was used by this study. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to collect data. These instruments were first tested for reliability through a pilot study and the use of the coefficient of internal consistency of the split-half reliability method. Validity was established through the application of face validity procedures. Quantitative data were analyzed critically in themes as guided by study objectives to establish relationships among responses. The findings of the study indicated that most of the conflicts involved religious sponsors on one hand and other stakeholders. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education sensitizes the public secondary schools’ church sponsors, head teachers, Board of Governors and its field officers with Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 286 Biutha Manwa Mosomi, Wanzare Zachariah CONFLICTS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF RELIGIOUS SPONSORED PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS. EXPERIENCE FROM KENYA regards to the correct interpretation of the Education Act as a tool in secondary schools’ management. The findings of this study would therefore provide a useful reference for educational administrators and managers. Keywords: secondary schools’ management, conflict, religious sponsors 1. Introduction 1.1 Background of the Study The success of every school depends on its management. This is also essential for the development of any education system and for education to achieve its stated goals for the benefits of a nation. Schools, whether public or private have a number of stakeholders in their activities. According to the Commonwealth Secretariat (2000), the governance of a school is done through a coalition of interests performing different functions all aimed at enabling the school to operate and achieve its aims. This is in line with the observation by Owens (1987) that people in organizations have definite roles to perform and many interactive factors help to determine precisely their particular performances. According to Government of Kenya (Republic of Kenya, 1968), the Education Act spells out the roles of sponsors in the management of Public Secondary Schools. However, reports indicate that all is not well as regards relations between religious sponsors and other stakeholders like head teachers, parents and education officers in the management of public secondary schools. The Report of the Committee reviewing the education system in Kenya chaired by Davy Koech (Republic of Kenya, 1999) reveals that there are a number of conflicts involving religious sponsors, parents and Parents and Teachers’ Association officials, head teachers and Boards of Governors. Several instances of conflicts in church sponsored schools have been reported. Matoke and Barasa (2001) for example reported an impasse that had arisen between the Catholic Church and the Ministry of Education over the closure of five Parochial Schools which had gone to a second week. The impasse was rooted on the grounds that Catholic Church Officials had complained about government violation of the provision of the Education Act which requires that they should be involved in most of the decision making processes on matters affecting the management of schools. For downloading the full article, please access the following link: https://oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejes/article/view/1006 European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 9 │ 2017 287