Availability and the Level of Implementation of Strategic Plans in Secondary Schools in Nandi County, Kenya

The need for performance-based management in Kenya has brought initself changes in the approach of management of institutions. Strategic planning is verycrucial in realization of this important management outlook. The purpose of this studywas to establish availability and the level of implementation of strategic plans inschools in Nandi County. The study adopted a mixed-method design. The target populationincluded district education officials, senior teachers, and principals of secondaryschools. A sample of 322 respondents which form 16% of the population arrived at usingKrejcie and Morgan Formula was used. The study sample comprised of 85 secondary schoolprincipals out of a population of 152 and 234 senior teachers out of 1,900, and all the5 district education officers. The respondents were selected using purposive,proportionate, and simple random sampling technique, and the instruments for datacollection were questionnaires and interview schedule. Data were analyzed usingdescriptive statistics such as measures of central tendencies. The findings of thisstudy revealed that majority of the secondary schools in Nandi County had no functionalstrategic plans to guide their respective schools to achieve their desired mission andvision; most of the plans in place are used in academic purposes, planning, andinfrastructure development. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education shouldtrain well all school managers in public secondary schools on strategic planningprocess. The study therefore amplifies the need for the government to streamline thestrategic plan policy in view of expectations of Ministry of Education circular instrategic planning of 2003