© 2023 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ijoe.2023v11i4.47688. Journal homepage: https://journals.innovareacademics.in/index.php/ijoe Acknowledgment: The authors acknowledge all students who cooperated in the research. Authors’ Contributions: All the authors equally contributed in research design, data collection, result and manuscript writing work. Conflict of Interest: There are no conflicts of interest. Funding Source: Authors sacrificed their savings to fund the study. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to C. I. Mackatiani, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya. Email: mackatianicaleb@gmail.com 65 Quality Education in Kenya: Perspectives for the Transition of Students from Secondary Schools to Universities Caleb Imbova Mackatiani and Ngaatu Angelina Kasuki Navin Imbova Mackatiani Sarah Naliaka Likoko University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya MMUST University, Kakamega, Kenya Kibabii University, Bungoma, Kenya Abstract Sustainable Development Goal Four (SDG 4) on education ensures inclusive and equitable quality education opportunities for all. United Nations (UN) member states had to adopt the SDGs protocol. Kenya, like any other country in Sub-Sahara Africa, domesticated the SDG. Consequently, this study investigated factors influencing students’ transition from day and boarding schools to University in Mutomo Sub- county, Kenya. The study was based on the system theory propounded by Scott (1987), who adopted a system perspective in analyzing organizations. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population for the study was 15 secondary schools, 15 Curriculum Support Officers (CSOs), 128 teachers, 15 principals, 15 chairmen of School Management Boards (CSMBs), and 925 Form four students. Random sampling was used to select 150 students and 45 teachers. Census sample of 15 Principals, Five CSOs. The total sample size was 230. This corresponded to a confidence interval of .05 and a confidence level of 95%, corresponding to a z-score of 1.96 and a standard deviation (SD) of .5. The study findings revealed that resources and institutionalization play a key role in the influence of transition rates of students. Also, the study concluded that the categorization of schools threatens the transition rates. The study suggested adequate capitation to schools be provided by the government regular in-service courses for teachers be held. The study also suggested staffing schools with adequate teachers. The study further recommended that stakeholders be sensitized to providing adequate infrastructure and instructional materials. Keywords: inefficiency, learning resources, physical infrastructure, transition Introduction The Kenya certificate of secondary education examination determines the transition to the university education level. Various scholars note that the Kenyan education system is exam-oriented (Mackatiani. 2012; Mackatiani, 2016; Mackatiani, 2017a; Mackatiani et al., 2016; Mackatiani et al., 2017; Mackatiani et al., 2022; United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF], 2009). Besides, Mackatiani et al. (2016) noted that the Kenyan education system limits students’ chances of transitioning to universities. Also, they note that school type influences the education selection process. Further, UNICEF (2010) argued that the transition from secondary to university occurs mainly on a meritocratic basis. Therefore, school type in Kenya influences students to select and secure schools for school leaving examination results. This, in turn, increases their chances of being admitted to Universities. According to Mel and Margarida (2006), learning and teaching materials are critical ingredients in learning and a curriculum cannot be easily implemented without them. Various studies have acknowledged that textbooks and instrumental materials are fundamental and essential because they are primary tools that schools use to provide students with the knowledge and skills were expected to learn (Imbova et al., 2018; Mackatiani, 2022a; Mackatiani & Likoko, 2021; Mackatiani et al., 2017; Mackatiani et al., 2018; Mackatiani et al., 2020; Mackatiani et al., 2021; Mackatiani et al., 2022; USAID, 2002). Hence they contributed to students’ academic achievement which determined the transition rate of students from secondary school to university. Students’ dropout phenomenon was prevalent in schools with ill- developed infrastructures. Students subsequently experienced multiple problems with adolescence and peer influence (Eisenmon, 1997; Mackatiani, 2020; Mackatiani et al., 2022). Upon completing secondary school education, students chose to go to colleges to pursue vocational courses (Mackatiani, 2022b; Mackatiani & Ejore, 2023). The secondary school education program is geared towards meeting the needs of both the students who terminate their education after secondary school and those who proceed to higher education. According to Mackatiani (2017a), the Kenyan education system was examination results-oriented. Thus, it limited students’ chances of transition to universities, and learners were made to understand that success only came when one competitively passed national examinations. This has been evidenced in the current Kenyan education system. In light of this, Mackatiani et al. (2016) noted that the education system was designed for transitional determination after national examinations had been done at the end of each level of education. Various studies (Mackatiani, 2017a; Mackatiani et al., 2018; Mackatiani et al., 2022; Verspoor, 2005) revealed that Kenyan schools drilled students to pass examinations as that was the only criteria for selection into jobs, further courses of studies, or vocational training. Those who fail to post impressive results are Vol 11, Issue 4, 2023, 65-69 ISSN: 2347-5528 Research Article