Does Higher Education Loan Amount affect Students’ Class Attendance? Evidence from Privately Sponsored Undergraduate Students in Kenyan Public Universities

This study sought to determine the effect of higher education loan amount awarded to privately sponsored undergraduate students on their frequency of class attendance in Kenyan public universities. The research was conducted with the aid of a representative sample of 517 respondents proportionately drawn from the 2012/2013 cohort of privately sponsored higher education loan recipients in three public universities. Logistic regression analysis was used to model the relationship between loan amount awarded to privately sponsored undergraduate students and their frequency of class attendance while controlling for respondent and university characteristics. The study established that majority of the privately sponsored loan recipients missed classes on weekly basis. However, the findings of the study revealed that higher education loan amount had no significant effect on frequency of class attendance. This was attributed to the loan award which was found to be inadequate for sustenance of privately sponsored higher education loan recipients. This study recommends that Higher Education Loans Board should raise the minimum amount of loan awarded to privately sponsored undergraduate students to match with the general cost of private higher education so that they can adequately participate in higher education without much personal sacrifices that would compromise their academics

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