Dissertation (Master of Public Administration)This study was conducted at Kibaha District in Coast Region. The objective of the study was to make an assessment of the contribution of decentralization on community participation in secondary education in Kibaha district in Coast region using quantitative and qualitative methodology. The specific objectives included providing an overview of decentralization and community participation initiatives in Kibaha district in the wards of Tumbi, Mailimoja and Mkuza, to assess the contribution of decentralization on community participation in school in Kibaha District, to explore the effectiveness of decentralization measures on community participation in construction of secondary schools at ward level in Kibaha district and finally to explore challenges facing the decentralization process in enhancing community participation in secondary education. A total number of 73 respondents were involved in the study. The methods used in data collection were interview, questionnaires and documentary review. The findings of the study revealed that there is a lack of community participation from the local residents of the area where decision and management of the schools are mainly done by the school management. Field results further indicated that most of the community members are not even aware of the things, which are happening in the school. The study, therefore, recommends that the community should be more actively involved in the management of the school for decentralization to be fully effective.