Influence of income level of parents on academic achievement of pupils in public primary schools in Kenya: a case study of Kisumu west sub County

The Government of Kenya provides trained teachers and free primary education funds for each pupil in public schools, disparities have continued to exist in academic performance in each school. Academic achievement of pupils in Kisumu West Sub County had remained low in comparison with other neighboring sub counties for the years 2011 to 2017 yet studies linking poor performance with socio economic status of parents in this particular area were limited. Between 2011 and 2014, Kisumu West’s mean was 243.17; Kisumu East 256.19; Kisumu Central 278.14, Nyando 248.66 and Muhoroni 258.46. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of parents’ income level on pupils’ academic achievement in public primary schools in Kisumu West Sub County. It was conceptualized in the study that pupils’ academic achievement depends on socio economic status of parents. The study established that parental level of income had positive influence on pupils’ academic achievement. The influence was moderate as signified by the r – value of .451 at a p-value of .000, accounting for 20% of the variation in pupils academic achievement. The study concluded that parental level of income influenced pupils academic achievement and recommended that parents should be encouraged to spend more of their income on the basic needs of their children in order to enhance their academic achievement in schools.