Influence of transparency on quality of education in institutions of higher learning

Abstract

The study made a comparative analysis of the influence of transparency on quality of education in institutions of higher learning in Kenya, focusing on two public and two private universities. It adopted an explanatory survey research design with 380 respondents formed of senior management academic staff, academic staff without administrative responsibilities, universities’ management board and student leaders. Questionnaire and interview schedule were used to collect data. Analysis was done using SPSS and thematic analysis for qualitative data. Hypothesis was tested using GLM method of multiple regression. Findings revealed that public universities have a better transparency framework than their private counterparts and that in private universities transparency has no significant influence on quality of education as opposed to public universities where it has a significant influence on quality of education with p-value = 0.387>0.05 and p-value = 0.019<0.05 respectively. The study concludes that transparency is not an essential ingredient for realization of quality university education in private universities but is a key requirement in the achievement of quality education in public universities in Kenya. Public universities in Kenya should therefore endeavor to invest in creating transparent systems that effectively support their operations and processes.