Factors influencing pupils’ participation in primary education in Naka internally displaced persons camp Uasin Gishu, Kenya

Abstract

After the 2007/2008 presidential and parliamentary general elections in Kenya were conducted, violence broke out of the country as a result of disputed presidential election results. Many people lost lives, property worth millions of shillings was destroyed and thousands of people were displaced from their original settlements. These people were resettled in internally displaced people’s camps in different parts of the country. Most camps were closed down but Naka IDP camp still exists. The purpose of the study was to investigate factors influencing pupil’s participation in primary education in Naka IDP camp in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. The study had four objectives; to establish the extent to which availability of trained teachers influence pupils participation in primary education in Naka IDP camp, to determine the extend to which teaching and learning materials influence pupils participation in primary education in Naka IDP camp, to determine the extent to which teaching and learning materials influence pupils participation in primary education in Naka IDP camp and to determine whether insecurity in the camp influence pupils participation in primary education in Naka IDP camp. The study reviewed both theoretical and empirical literature where factors influencing pupil’s participation were discussed. The research employed case study design and the target population comprised of teachers, pupils in the school, the head teacher and the camp managers. There were 23 teachers in the school, 1101 pupils, 1 head teacher and the camp had 4 camp managers comprising a total of 1129 respondents. The study employed purposive sampling to select a sample size of 138 respondents. The sample comprised 23 teachers, 1 headteacher, 110 pupils and 4 camp managers. Questionnaires and interviews were used as the main data collection instruments and included both closed and open-ended questionnaires. Pre-testing of the questionnaire was undertaken to determine validity and reliability of the instruments. Data was analysed through descriptive statistics using SPSS. The analysed results were presented through tables. It was established that the available trained and qualified teachers were inadequate. Also the available physical facilities and learning and teaching resources were inadequate. It was concluded that inadequate classrooms and lack of a school library influenced pupils participation negatively. The researcher recommended that the government to ensure recruitment of more teachers and provide enough physical facilities. The researcher suggested that other studies be carried out across other institutions of learning such as secondary schools, tertiary institutions and even institutions of higher learning.