Inclusive Education in Higher Education Institutions in Kenya

The sustainable development Goal 4 on Quality education aims to "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all." In pursuit of this goal it is necessary for education experts and institutions in Kenya to relook at the issue of inclusive education especially in the Higher education institutions. With the adoption of laws by various Governments to support free and compulsory basic education and the expansion of human rights and anti-discrimination laws in many countries, it is prudent that the children with special needs be supported to access education just like their normal counterparts. The aim of inclusive education is to remove the historical exclusion within and outside of the school through enactment or modification of legislation, policies and educational management practices in order to promote the reorganization of the educational systems and the acceptance of all students irrespective of their differences. The main challenges to inclusive education in Kenya are; lack of policy, attitude, inadequately trained staff, learner-based challenges and inadequate resources. Governments should invest in overcoming these challenges in order to ensure equal access to education among all learners. Keywords: Special needs education, Inclusive education, Children with disabilities, Higher education, Special education DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-3-0

EFFECT OF REWARD AND COMPENSATION STRATEGIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KENYA

This paper will examine the effect of reward and compensation strategies on the performance of commercial banks in Kenya. ABSTRACT During the last decade, the Human Resource Management (HRM) field has shifted from a micro focus on individual HRM practices to a debate on how HRM as a more holistic management approach may contribute to the competitive advantage of the organization. The shift from examining single HRM practices to systems of practices entails focusing on the interrelationship between the various elements of the HRM system. This has created a lot of interest on the specific effect of human resources management strategies on performance. However, review of available literature indicates a serious lack of empirical studies designed to investigate whether a good alignment between human resources management and firm strategy has a positive or negative effect on performance of commercial banks in Kenya. This has led to a high desire by bank managers to know the contribution of human resource strategies to performance. This study, therefore, sought to investigate the effect of reward and compensation strategies on the performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The research adopted a mixed method approach which consisted of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. This allowed the two approaches to complement each other for better results. Specifically the study adopted the survey method. The study targeted a population of 46 banks and 2,738 employees who included: the CEOs, HR managers, Operations managers and other employees. The Nairobi head office of each bank was purposively sampled since strategies and policies are made at the headquarters and then cascaded to the branches. To ensure representation of the various subgroups in the population a sample of 349 employees was selected using stratified random sampling. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires and interviews. Statistical data analysis involved first editing and coding the questionnaire and interview responses; : 2201-6333 (Print) ISSN: 2201-6740 (Online) www.ijern.com 2 tabulating the data; and then performing several statistical computations including averages and percentages. Statistical computer software (SPSS and Ms Excel) were also used in data analysis. Analyzed data was then presented using tables, pie charts and percentages. Analyzed data was interpreted to get the meanings. From this study it was found that reward and compensation strategies have a significant positive effect on performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The study established that banks are currently emphasizing on rewarding and compensating their employees. Therefore, bank performance is influenced by specific HRM related actions. From this study it is concluded that financial and non financial rewards can combine to enhance firm performance. Based on the findings, it is also concluded that there is a positive relationship between strategic reward and compensation and employee performance among commercial banks in Kenya. The study recommends that commercial banks should embrace the use of both financial and non financial rewards in addition to other incentives and performance related pay schemes. All this should be linked with the overall banks strategy. Banks also need to develop and document strategies for rewarding and compensating firm performance. ISS

Determinants of Expansion Strategies in Public Training Institutions: A Case Study of Kenya Medical Training College

This study set out to find out the determinants of expansion strategies in public training institutions: a case study of Kenya Medical Training College. The specific objectives of the study are to: examine the influence of uptake of courses on the success of expansion strategies in the public training institutions; establish the influence of devolution of health services on the success of expansion strategies in the public training institutions; determine the influence of politics on the success of expansion strategies in the public training institutions and; assess the influence of finances on the success of expansion strategies in the public traininginstitutions. It adopted a descriptive survey design. The study focused on 1943 persons (1900 KMTC employees from the 65 KMTC campuses in Kenya and 43 ministries of health employees in the 43 counties that have KMTC campuses). The sample size comprised 10% of the target population. In this regard, 194 persons were sampled. The study used stratified random samplingtechniques to obtain the study sample. In this regard, KMTC officials from 7 departments namely Finance; Procurement; Registrar (academic affairs); Principals of campuses; Human Resource; Administrative Services and Corporate Communications, Public Relations as well as Ministry of Health Officials were proportionately included in the study. Primary data was collected using a structured questionnaires and interviews. Data from questionnaires was cleaned and coded and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. The data was also illustrated using Tables, Charts, and graphs. The findings show that the four study variables influenced the uptake of expansion strategies at KMTC campuses. In this regard, Pearson Correlation shows that there was statistical significant relationship between uptake of courses (r=.090, p<0.001); devolution of health services (r=0.221, p<0.001); politics (r=0.079, p<0.001); and finances (r=0.075, p<0.001) and success of expansion strategies. These findings show that the devolution of health services was the strongest factor that influenced the success of expansion strategies. This was followed by the uptake of courses, politics, and finances in that order. As such, the expansion strategies can only be successful if the college put in place strategies aimed at enhancing the uptake of courses. When intakes of students were high, KMTC campuses could work within their capacities. This could go on to enhance the level of their success since enough finances were generated. Avoiding the negative influences of the devolution of health services and politics also enhanced the success of expansion strategies at KMTC. In this regard, efforts aimed at reducing political patronage as well as interferences of devolved governments in the running of KMTC campuses would enhance the performance of new campuses. Lastly effort aimed at ensuring that new campuses could generate enough financial resources contributed to the level of success of expansion strategies at KMTC