EFFECT OF CHILD LABOUR ON ACCESS AND RETENTION OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN MBITA DISTRICT, HOMABAY COUNTY, KENYA BY OLOLTUAA LEKAKENY JOHN E55/CE/15196/08 A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF A DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION OF KENYATTA UNIVERSITY NOVEMBER, 2012 ii DECLARATION This research project is my original work and has not been presented for the award of a degree in any other University or any other award. _______________________________ Date __________________ OLOLTUAA LEKAKENY JOHN E55/CE/15196/08 SUPERVISORS This Research Project has been submitted for examination with our approval as University supervisors. ______________________________________ Date______________ DR. G.A ONYANGO Lecturer Department of Educational Management, Policy and Curriculum studies, Kenyatta University. ______________________________________ Date_____________ DR. W. ITOLONDO Lecturer Department of Educational Management, Policy and Curriculum studies, Kenyatta University. iii DEDICATION This piece of work is dedicated to God for His Grace and Love and to my beloved wife Nosurum together with our lovely Children Naasisho Narasha, Oramat, Naipasoi and Resiato for their unfading support and inspiration during the period of the study iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First, I thank God for His Love and protection. I also wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisors: Dr. Onyango and Dr. Itolondo and all the lecturers in the Department of Education Management, Policy and Curriculum Studies for their guidance and encouragement throughout the study period. May I also extend sincere appreciation to the typist who selflessly ensured this work was produced and also extend my appreciation to my colleagues in Kenyatta University and the officers I worked with in Mbita District for their support and encouragement. I would also wish to acknowledge my beloved wife, Nosurum for her moral support and my Children Naasisho, Narasha, Oramat, Naipasoi and Resiato for their humor, cheerfulness and moral support throughout the study period. The role played by the research assistants is also appreciated. Finally, thanks go to all those who may have helped in one way or another v TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE ....................................................................................................................... i DECLARATION ................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .....................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ........................................................................ xiv ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................1 1.0. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the Study ......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................ 7 1.4 Objectives of the Study ............................................................................................................ 7 1.5 Research Questions .................................................................................................................. 8 1.6 Assumptions of the Study ........................................................................................................ 8 1.7 Limitations of the Study .......................................................................................................... 9 1.8 Delimitations of the Study ....................................................................................................... 9 1.9 Significance of the Study ......................................................................................................... 9 vi 1.10 Theoretical Framework .......................................................................................................... 10 1.11 Conceptual Framework ...........................................................................................11 1.12 Operational Definition of Terms ............................................................................................ 14 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................15 2.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 15 2.2. Concept of Child Labour ........................................................................................................ 15 2.3. Definition of Access ............................................................................................................... 15 2.4. Definition of Retention ........................................................................................................... 16 2.5. Child Labour, Global Perspective ........................................................................................... 16 2.5.1. Causes of Child Labour ...................................................................................................... 17 2.5.2. Effects of Child Labour ...................................................................................................... 18 2.6. Child Labour in Kenya ............................................................................................................ 18 2.7. Government Policy Framework in Relation to Access and Retention. ................................... 20 2.8. Child Labour in Mbita District ............................................................................................... 21 2.9. Summary of Related Literature ............................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..............................................23 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 23 3.2. Research Design...................................................................................................................... 23 3.3. Locale of the Study ................................................................................................................. 23 3.4. Target Population .................................................................................................................... 24 3.4.1. Schools ................................................................................................................................. 24 3.4.2. Respondents ......................................................................................................................... 25 vii 3.5. Sampling and Sample Size ...................................................................................................... 26 3.5.1. Schools ................................................................................................................................. 26 3.5.2. Headteachers ........................................................................................................................ 26 3.5.3. Senior teachers ..................................................................................................................... 26 3.5.4. School Management Committees ........................................................................................ 27 3.5.5. Chiefs ................................................................................................................................... 27 3.5.6. Area Education Officers ...................................................................................................... 27 3.5.7. District Children officer ....................................................................................................... 27 3.5.8. Pupils ................................................................................................................................... 28 3.5.8.1. Pupils in school ................................................................................................................. 28 3.5.8.2. Pupils out of school ........................................................................................................... 28 3.6. Data Collection Instruments ................................................................................................... 28 3.7. Validity of the instruments ...................................................................................................... 29 3.8. Reliability of the instruments .................................................................................................. 30 3.9. Data Collection Procedure ...................................................................................................... 30 3.10. Logistical and Ethical Considerations................................................................................... 31 3.11. Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION....33 4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 33 4.2. Demographic Information of the Respondents ....................................................................... 33 4.2.1. Analysis of Respondents by Gender .................................................................................... 34 4.2.2. Age Distribution of the Respondents ................................................................................... 35 viii 4.2.3. Level of Education of the Respondents ............................................................................... 37 4.2.4. Experience of the Respondents ............................................................................................ 39 4.3. Factors Responsible for the Prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District ............................ 40 4.3.1. Meaning of Child Labour and Child Work as Reported by the Respondents ...................... 40 4.3.2. Home Based, School Based and Cultural Factors Responsible for Child Labour in Mbita District ................................................................................................................................ 41 4.3.3. Most Common Child Labour Activities/Forms of Child Labour in Mbita District ................ 46 4.4. Effect of Child Labour on Access to Education Among Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita District ................................................................................................................................... 48 4.4.1. Pupils’ Enrolment per Class (2012) ..................................................................................... 48 4.4.2. Contribution of Child Labour to Low Access to Education Among Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita District. ................................................................................................... 50 4.5. Effect of Child Labour on Retention of Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita District ............ 55 4.5.1. Most Predominant Causes of School Dropout as reported by the Respondents .................. 55 4.5.2 Extent of Child Labour Responsibility for Low Retention of Primary School Pupils in Mbita District ................................................................................................................................ 59 4.6. Measures to Mitigate Against Child Labour in Mbita District as Reported by the Respondents. .......................................................................................................................... 61 4.6.1. Measures to Mitigate Against Child Labour in School as reported by Head teachers and Senior Teachers .................................................................................................................. 61 4.6.2 Measures to Mitigate Against Child Labour as Reported by SMC Chairmen and A.E.Os...62 4.6.3 Measures to Mitigate Against Child Labour as Reported by Pupils in School and Children who Dropped out of School. ............................................................................................... 63 4.6.4 Measures to Mitigate Against Child Labour as Reported by the District Children Officer and the Chiefs. ........................................................................................................................... 63 4.7. Discussion of the Findings ...................................................................................................... 65 ix 4.7.1. Factors Responsible for the Prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District. ........................ 65 4.7.2 Effect of Child Labour on Access to Education among Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita67 4.7.3 Effect of Child Labour on Retention of Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita District. ....... 68 4.7.4 Measures that would Mitigate Against Child Labour Among Primary School Children in Mbita District. .................................................................................................................... 70 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...73 5.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 73 5.2. Summary of Findings .............................................................................................................. 73 5.2.1 Factors Responsible for the Prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District .......................... 73 5.2.2 Effect of Child Labour on Access to Education Among Primary School Pupils in Mbita District .... 75 5.2.3 Effect of Child Labour on Retention of Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita District. ...................... 75 5.2.4 Measures that Would Mitigate Against Child Labour Among Primary School Pupils in Mbita District ..................................................................................................................... 76 5.3 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................. 78 5.4 Recommendations .................................................................................................................... 80 5.4.1 Suggestions for Further Research ......................................................................................... 83 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................84 APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................88 APPENDIX I: Head teacher’s questionnaire .....................................................................88 APPENDIX II: Questionnaire for Senior Teachers ...........................................................96 APPENDIX III: Questionnaire for school management committee chairmen ................103 APPENDIX IV: Interview Schedule for Chiefs ..............................................................106 APPENDIX V: Interview Schedule for A.E.O’S ............................................................111 x APPENDIX VI: Interview Schedule for District Children Officer .................................115 APPENDIX VII: Interview Schedule for Children out Of School ..................................118 APPENDIX VIII: Focus Group Discussion Guide ..........................................................121 APPENDIX XI: Approval of Research Proposal ............................................................124 APPENDIX XII: Copy of Research Authorization .........................................................125 APPENDIX XIII: Research Authorization by National Council for Science and Technology ......................................................................................................................126 APPENDIX XIV: Copy of Research Permit ...................................................................126 APPENDIX XIV: Copy of Research Permit ...................................................................127 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure1.1 Conceptual Framework for Effect of Child Labour on Access And ....... Retention of Primary School Pupils . …………………………………11 Figure 4.1: Highest Education Levels Attained by the Head Teachers.............................................................................................. 31 Figure 4.2: Number of SMC Chairmen Aware of Children in the Village Who Assist Their Parents at Home and as a Result do not go to School…………………………………………………………..……62 xii LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Enrolment Data Trends for Primary school Pupils in Suba District 2002-2009…………………………………………………………………………………4 Table 1.2: Enrolment Data Trends for Primary schools in Mbita District 2010- 2011………………………………………………………………………………………..4 Table 1.3: Pupils Dropout in Mbita District per Class: The Year 2006- 2010………………………………………………………………..………………………5 Table 4.1: Age Distribution of the Headteachers and Senior Teachers…………...……..37 Table 4.2: Age of the School Management Committee Chairman………………...…….38 Table 4.3: Demographic Information of the A.E.Os……………………………..….…..39 Table 4.4: Demographic Information of Children who Dropped out of School…………39 Table 4.5: Respondents Experience as a Headteacher and as a Senior Teacher………...42 Table 4:6: Headteachers and Senior Teachers Definition of Child work……………......43 Table 4.7: School Based Factors Indicated by the Headteachers and Senior Teachers to be Responsible for Child Labour…………………..……….......45 Table 4.8: Home Based Factors Indicated by the Headteacher and Senior Teachers to be Responsible for Child Labour……………………………...…46 Table 4.9: Cultural Practices Considered Responsible for Child Labour…..............……47 Table 4.10: Reasons Indicated by the Children out of School which drive them to Child Labour……………………………………..……………...…48 Table 4.11: Most Common Child Labour Activities in Mbita District as Reported by the Headteachers……………………………………………....51 Table 4.12: Activities Carried out by Children who had Dropped out of School xiii 2005-2010…………………………………………………………...………52 Table 4.13: Average Number of Boys and Girls in the Classes……………...……….....54 Table 4.14: Headteachers Views on the Extend of Child Labour Contribution to Low Access to Education……………………………...…..56 Table 4.15: The Number of Children who have Dropped out of School Per Location Reported by Chiefs………………………………………...…59 Table 4.16: Number of Children per Location who Assist their Parents at Home and do not go to School…………………………………………...…..60 Table 4.17: The Predominant Causes of School Dropout as Reported by the Respondents…………………………………………………………………61 Table 4.18: Number of Boys and Girls Dropping out of School in 2006-2010 And Reasons for Dropping out………………………………..............…….62 Table 4.19: SMC Chairmen Reported Reasons for Children Dropping out of School in the Village……………………………………………...................65 Table 4.20: Headteachers Views on the Extend of Child Labour Responsibility for Low Retention of Primary School Pupils in Mbita District…..............…66 Table 4.21: Responsibility of Child Labour for Retention of Pupils in Primary Schools as Reported by Senior Teachers………………………..……….....67 xiv ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AEO Area Education Officer AIDS Acquired Immune-Deficiency Syndrome ANPPCAN African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse. ASAL Arid and Semi-Arid Lands CBF Constituency Bursary Fund CBS Central Bureau of Statistics CDF Constituency Development Fund DCLC District Child Labour Committee DEO District Education of Officer EFA Education for All. FGD Focus Group Discussion FPE Free Primary Education GER Gross Enrolment Rate HIV Human Immuno – Deficiency Virus ILO International Labour Organization IPEC International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour KNUT Kenya National Union of Teachers MDG Millennium Development Goals xv MOE Ministry of Education MVC Most Vulnerable Children NER Net Enrolment Rate NGO Non – Governmental Organization OVC Orphans and Vulnerable Children SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences SMC School Management Committee TBP Time Bound Programme UNCRC United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child UN United Nations UPE Universal Primary Education UNICEF United Nations Children Fund USA United States of America WFCL Worst Forms of Child Labour xvi ABSTRACT The central problem of this study was that in spite of the aggressive campaigns against Child Labour by the International Community, through international conventions such as the ILO minimum age convention No. 138, ILO recommendations 146, ILO convention 182, UN convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Kenya Government efforts to combat Child Labour by enacting Laws such as the Children’s Act 2001 among others, Child Labour still remains a threat not only to access and retention of Children but even their physical and psychological well-being. The effect of child labor on access and retention has not been exhaustively investigated and documented thereby hindering efforts towards increasing access and retention of children in school. This study examined the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District, Homa- Bay County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were: to establish factors responsible for prevalence of Child Labour, effect of Child Labour on access to education among pupils in primary schools, effect of child Labour on retention of primary school pupils and measures to mitigate against Child Labour in Mbita District. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with the target population being 100 public primary schools. The sample size was 50 public primary school Head teachers, 50 senior teachers, 50 SMC Chairpersons in the same schools, 3 A.E.O’s, District Children Officer, 11 chiefs, and 500 pupils in school. Data was collected using questionnaires for the head teachers, senior teachers & SMC chairpersons, interview schedules for chiefs, Area Education Officers, pupils out of school and District Children Officer and focus group discussion with pupils in school. Validity of research instruments was determined through a pilot study and test-retest method was used to test the reliability of the instruments. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences program was used to produce the mean frequency tables and charts that were used in the presentation of the results. The results were presented according to the objectives of the study. The findings of the study established that the main factors driving children to Child Labour were orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS, poverty, teenage pregnancy and fishing. It was also established that Child Labour contributed to low access and low retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District. Child Labour denied children access to education and led to school dropout. The major recommendations of this study were: strengthen awareness creation, strict enforcement of child protection laws, banning of school levies, intensifying the fight against HIV/AIDS. Parental responsibility in child care, collective responsibility in child care and protection. Ministry of Education to provide adequate funding to schools under the FPE program. Significantly, the study findings underscore the importance of coming up with strategies to eliminate Child Labour and improve access and retention in primary schools. 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0. Introduction This chapter presents the background of the study, the statement of the problem, purpose of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, assumptions of the study, limitation of the study, delimitation of the study, significance of the study, theoretical frame work, conceptual framework and operational definition of terms. 1.1 Background to the Study Education has been and will always be the most powerful tool that can be used to bring about individual and national development. This explains why since independence, the government, through various policy documents has reiterated the importance of education in eliminating poverty, disease and ignorance. (Republic of Kenya, 2005). The Government of Kenya, in A Policy Framework for Education, Training and Research is fully committed to an education system that guarantees the right of every learner to quality and relevant education. Its long term objective is to provide every Kenyan with basic quality education, in addition to the realization of universal access to basic education and training for children, including disadvantaged and vulnerable groups (Republic of Kenya, 2005). The Ministry of Education in Sessional Paper No 1.of 2005 underscored the fact that attaining universal primary education will ensure that all Kenyan children eligible for primary schooling have opportunity to enroll and remain in school to learn and acquire quality basic education and skills training.. (Republic of Kenya, 2005). Child Labour has been identified as a major problem facing all societies in the world. It has continued to deny many children access to education and retention in school. International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 218 million children are engaged in worst forms of Child Labour (ILO, 2006). According to United Nations Children Fund 2 (UNICEF, 2011), there were an estimated 158 million children aged between 5 to 14 years in Child Labour in the world. Child Labour accounts for 22% of the workforce in Asia, 32% in Africa, 17% in Latin America and 1% in U.S.A, Canada, Europe and other wealthy nations. ILO/IPEC reports indicated that Africa has the largest incidents with estimated (40%) forty percent of all children between 5 and 14 years of age regularly engaged in work. ILO estimates that there are more than 23 million child workers in Africa. The report further indicated that the issue of Child Labour has continued to remain a great challenge globally. Great effort has been made towards its elimination. One of such effort was when International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted an international standard aimed at eliminating Child Labour at its first conference in 1999 (ILO et. al, 2006). In Kenya, Child Labour continues to be a problem; it is rampant in agriculture, domestic service, quarries and fishery. It is also rampant among street children and in child prostitution (ILO/IPEC, 2007). It is estimated that approximately 2 million children are working in various sectors of domestic work, fishing, prostitution, mining, quarrying and transport. These are the children who constitute part of the 3.5 million who were estimated to be out of school, (ANPPCAN, 2005). It is important to note that the Kenya government recognizes Child Labour as an indicator of poverty and has therefore included this in its poverty reduction strategy. In addition the government has ratified convention number 138 and number 182 on the worst forms of child labor. A need assessment carried out by Concern (2004) indicated that Mbita District is a hot bed of Child Labour. Children provide a substantial amount of labour that is used at the household level; these activities often take precedence over school because parents perceive the chores to be more important than schooling. Child Labour is also common in the form of fishing, charcoal burning, collecting sand, cattle rearing, collection of water and firewood, land tilling, weeding, harvesting, and taking care of children and commercial sex. These activities affect access and retention of pupils in school. Moreover enrolment data trends for primary school pupils in Suba District (current Suba/Mbita Districts) between the years 2002-2009, table 1.1 and enrolment data trends for primary school pupils in Mbita District,2010-2011,table 1.2 3 indicated that dropout was 2.5 and 3.9 for boys and girls respectively.Net enrolment rates, transition rates and completion rates had not been completely achieved. Table 1.1: Enrolment Data Trends for Primary School Pupils in Suba District, 2002- 2009. Year No. of Schools Gross Enrolment GER NER Staffing 2002 170 38,251 105.5 93.8 1124 2003 170 44,957 118.4 95.0 1110 2004 170 45,210 118.3 94.1 1172 2005 170 48,282 129.4 98.6 1109 2006 171 49,648 129.8 98.8 1109 2007 171 51,985 128.9 98.6 1129 2008 186 53130 118.07 97.05 1144 2009 191 54038 121.20 96.60 1142 Source: Ministry of Education, 2009. Table 1.2: Enrolment Data Trends for Primary Schools in Mbita District, 2010- 2011. BOYS GIRLS TOTAL Enrolment 13,448 12,398 25,513 Dropout rate 2.5% 3.9% 3.2% Gross Enrolment Rate 102% 99% 100% Net Enrolment Rate 78% 79% 78.5% Transition Rate 71% 63% 70% Completion Rate 94% 65% 90% Source: Ministry of Education, 2011. In addressing the challenges possed by Child Labour to children access to education the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse (ANPPCAN) in collaboration with Mbita District Education Office managed to withdraw a total of 1700 4 children from Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL). These children were enrolled in primary schools and youth polytechnics. This was an indicator that Child Labour was prevalent in the district (Mbita District Education Brief, 2009). The Ministry of Education in its strategic plan, 2006 – 2011 notes that various efforts have been made to address the issue of access and retention of children in school. A good example is the introduction of Free Primary Education (FPE). Following the introduction of FPE in January 2003, the enrolment of children increased from 5.7 million in 2002 to 7.4 million in 2004 (Republic of Kenya, 2005). The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) for 2004 stood at 108.0% (for boys) and 101.6% (for girls), giving an overall GER of 104.8% at this level. This was an improvement over the GER figures for 2002, which stood at 88.2%. In spite of the achievements, there are a number of challenges related to Child Labour activities which force children to drop out of school. These need to be addressed if access and retention of children in school is to be realized (Republic of Kenya, 2006). In spite of these tremendous efforts, Child Labour and other related factors such as increased number of orphans in and out of school as a result of HIV/AIDS, poverty, teenage pregnancy and early marriages still remained a challenge in Mbita District as illustrated in Table 1.3 (Mbita District Education Brief, 2010). 5 Table 1.3: Pupils Dropout rate trend in Mbita District per Class: The Year (2006- 2010) Source: Ministry of Education, 2012 Table 1.3 indicates that between the years 2006 - 2010, a total of 843 boys and 785 girls dropped out of primary schools in Mbita District due to factors such as early marriages, teenage pregnancies, Impact of HIV/AIDs, Child Labour, poverty, poor parenting, poor performance in schools, peer influence and negative attitude of some parents and pupils towards education. The goals of universal education and elimination of Child Labour are inextricably linked. Quality Free and compulsory Education secured before the minimum age of entry into employment is a critical factor in the struggle against exploitation of children. Child Labour is as such a fundamental obstacle to the implementation of compulsory education strategies. Therefore, there is urgent need to fully mainstream the issues relating to Child Labour into education policies, programmes and strategies. (Republic of Kenya, 2005). YEAR 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 TOTAL B G T B G T B G T B G T B G T B G T STD 1 15 11 26 16 10 26 18 12 30 20 15 35 26 6 32 95 54 149 STD 2 20 14 34 14 12 26 14 15 29 13 14 27 11 14 25 72 69 141 STD 3 25 27 52 13 28 41 29 19 48 16 17 33 21 13 34 104 104 208 STD 4 23 22 45 16 28 44 27 28 55 18 20 38 30 25 55 114 123 237 STD 5 29 43 72 18 18 36 28 20 48 16 22 38 18 22 40 109 125 234 STD 6 39 28 67 44 25 69 29 23 52 38 22 60 25 30 55 175 128 303 STD 7 25 31 56 31 26 57 29 24 53 28 30 58 25 26 51 138 137 275 STD 8 7 6 13 4 9 13 7 6 13 6 13 19 12 11 23 36 45 81 TOTAL 183 182 365 156 156 312 181 147 328 155 153 308 168 147 315 843 785 1628 6 This study therefore examined the extent to which Child Labour had affected access to education and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District, Homa-Bay County. 1.2 Statement of the Problem The overall research problem addressed in this research was that despite an increase in the number of children who did not attend school or dropped out of primary schools in Mbita to engage in Child Labour activities, little has been done to analyze the magnitude and effect of Child Labour on access to education and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District. Data available specifically showing the number of pupils out of school due to child labour was inadequate.(Concern, 2004). The study by Concern in 2004 further indicated that Child Labour was one of the major causes of low access and retention in Mbita. The Ministry of Education in the School Mapping Report (2011) indicated that public primary schools in Nyanza province had an average school enrolment of 341 pupils compared to the national average of 385. At the district level, Migori District had the largest average public primary enrolment of 401 pupils while Suba District (currently Suba/Mbita Districts) had the lowest average public primary pupil enrolment at 280 pupils. The dropout rate for boys was 1.5% while that of girls was 1.7%. Transition rate for boys was 71% while that of girls was 63%. This was an indicator that some children were not transiting from primary to secondary, hence the need to find out why. (Mbita District Education Brief, 2011). ANPPCAN et al (2005) in its Quarterly Magazine; “Child Watch” No.41, indicated that Suba District is one of the districts targeted by ANPPCAN for strengthening the fight against Child Labour and enhancing access to education. It adds that easy fish money and the moral decadence of the beach communities have directly and indirectly sucked large numbers of children from the class room. 7 According to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Status Report for Kenya 2005, there is urgent need to address the effect of Child Labour on access and retention because if the issue of Child Labour was not addressed urgently and its prevalence curbed, educational opportunities that would have been available for such children would be lost, which ultimately will make it difficult to achieve the MDG goal No. 2 - Achieve Universal Primary Education. (Republic of Kenya, 2005). Despite efforts by the Government of Kenya and other stakeholders in education, available literature revealed that many children were still out of school and many more continued to drop out of school as a result of Child Labour and other related factors.(Concern et al, 2005). However, available literature did not specifically reveal the effect of Child Labour on access and retention in Mbita District. This study therefore addressed this gap and gave recommendations on what should be done to address the problem of Child Labour and ensure access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District. 1.3 Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District, Homa-Bay County, Kenya. The findings of this study would be useful in understanding the causes; extent, and effect of Child Labour on access and retention of primary school pupils, and recommend ways of addressing the problem. 1.4 Objectives of the Study The specific objectives of the study were to: i). Find out the factors responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District. ii). Determine the effect of Child Labour on access to education among pupils in primary schools in Mbita District 8 iii) Determine the effect of Child Labour on retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District iv). Recommend appropriate measures that would mitigate against Child Labour among primary school children in Mbita District. 1.5 Research Questions The study was guided by the following research questions: i) What are the home based factors responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District? ii) What are the cultural factors responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District? iii) What are the schools based factors responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District? iv) How many primary school pupils have dropped out of school in the last five years as a result of Child Labour? v) To what extent is Child Labour responsible for low access to education among primary school pupils Mbita District? vi) To what extent is Child Labour responsible for low retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District? vii) What measures should parents, the community and other stake holders take to mitigate against Child Labour in Mbita District. 1.6 Assumptions of the Study The assumptions of this study were: i) Primary school Head teachers, teachers, pupils and parents of Mbita District understood the meaning of Child Labour. 9 ii) Primary school Head teachers provided accurate data of all the children who dropped out of school and the reasons for dropping out. iii) All respondents provided reliable information. iv) Data obtained from the study would inform the Ministry of Education and other government agencies in drafting guide lines on pupil access to education and retention. 1.7 Limitations of the Study Due to limited time and financial constraints not all public primary schools were studied. Other logistical constraints such as poor terrain and inaccessibility of some Schools especially in the islands which could only be accessed by use of motor boats and sometimes the waves were very turbulent in the lake. 1.8 Delimitations of the Study i) Child Labour is a complex concept, yet the study only focused on the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of primary school pupils leaving out other equally important aspects such as psychological effects, impact on learning outcomes and physical health of children. ii) The pupils interviewed were mainly those in the respective schools at the time of the study. Only a small percentage of pupils who were absent and who had dropped out of school were included because it was difficult and time consuming tracing them. 1.9 Significance of the Study The study was significant to stakeholders in education in the following ways; i) Ministry of Education/Government 10 The study provided the government useful information for drafting laws, policies, programmes, strategies and initiatives to curb Child Labour. ii) Development partners, Parents and Teachers By documenting data on the number of primary school pupils who had dropped out of school or never attended school due to Child Labour, the study created awareness on the urgent need to collectively find solutions to the problem of Child Labour. In addition, the study contributed to knowledge and may act as a precedent to scholars who wish to carry out further research on the subject of Child Labour. 1.10 Theoretical Framework This study was guided by the classical Liberal Theory of Equal opportunity and social Darwinism. According to these theories, each person is born with a given amount of capacity, which to a large extent is inherited. Therefore, educational systems should be designed so as to remove barriers of any nature that prevent bright children from poor economic backgrounds from taking advantage of in-born talents. In essence, the classical liberal theory states that social mobility will be promoted by equal opportunities to education (Orodho, 2008). Social Darwinism emphasizes that every citizen should be given, through education, the social status he/she entitles to inherit aptitudes. This theory therefore, observes that provision of formal equity of access to education by putting everybody on the scratch guarantees that the ensuring ran is just. This theory is applicable to this study in the sense that children involved in Child Labour are denied access to educational opportunities, hence cannot exploit their in-born talents. Child Labour is thus a barrier to access and retention of children in school. It also means that the government cannot achieve the MDGs and the provision of UPE when some children are out of school due to Child Labour, hence the need to address the problem in order to ensure increased access to education and retention of pupils in school. 11 1.11 Conceptual Framework According to Orodho (2008) a Conceptual Framework is a model of presentation where a researcher conceptualizes or represents the relationship between variables in the study and show the relationship graphically or diagrammatically. Figure1.1 Conceptual Framework for Effect of Child Labour on Access and Retention of Primary School Pupils Positive factors Source: Researcher, 2012 Figure 1.1 shows how positive and negative factors affect access and retention of pupils in schools. The dependent variable in this model is access and retention while the Negative factors Negative factors  School feeding programmes  Free Primary Education  Targeting OVCS  Child help desks  Awareness creation  Child labour laws and Policies  Poverty  Orphanage/HIV/AI DS  Beach influence  Peer influence  Parental neglect/ignorance  Ineffective law enforcement  Early pregnancies High access And Retention Low access And Retention Access And Retention Outcome Outcome Independent variables Dependent variable 12 independent variables include factors such as poverty, orphanage, early pregnancies, peer influence and parental neglect. These factors negatively affect access and retention by denying pupils the opportunity to either enroll or be retained in school. Each of these factors affects access and retention in schools in the following ways: Poverty made parents to engage their children in labour activities for purposes of earning a living. In the process, children either failed to attend school completely or attended rarely due to involvement in Child Labour activities, hence low access. Orphanage was a contributing factor because orphans who lack parental support ended up performing adult responsibilities of providing for their younger siblings (child-headed families). These children end up not going to school and even those attending school, end up dropping out for lack of basic needs, hence low access and retention.(Republic of Kenya,2005). Teenage pregnancies also force some girls to drop out of school due to pressure from school, parents and society in general. Such girls may engage in Child Labour as a way of supporting themselves and their siblings. Peer pressure and beach influence made some boys and girls to drop out of school to engage in fishing because of the money they get out of it. This certainly negatively affects access and retention. Due to parental neglect some parents fail to provide for basic needs to their children. Some even harshly mistreat the children. This often led to children not going to school or dropping out. On the other hand, programmes such as school feeding, free primary education, targeting OVCs, establishment of child help desks, awareness creation and enforcement of Child Labour laws and policies are also independent variables which positively affect access and retention of pupils in schools in the following ways: School feeding programmes would increase access and retention as pupils would be provided with meals which they hardly get at home. This is because of extreme poverty 13 and high number of orphans due to HIV/AIDS pandemic. Free Primary Education enhances access and retention of pupils in school as needy children get an opportunity to access education. Targeting OVCS through intervention measures such as CBF, CDF, MVC Fund and Cash Transfer Fund, provide conducive environment for learning purposes and enhances access and retention. (Republic of Kenya, 2006). Establishment of child help desks would be instrumental in assisting children who are at risk of joining Child Labour as identification and documentation of such cases is done and appropriate intervention measures taken. Besides, awareness creation about the importance of education and how Child Labour denies children educational opportunities make communities take children to school and ensure that they are retained in school. Enforcing existing laws and policies on Child Labour helps reduce or eliminate Child Labour cases in the district, thereby promoting access and retention of pupils. The conceptual model therefore, illustrates the dependent and independent variables of the study and shows how access and retention of pupils in school is largely dependent on various factors. 14 1.12 Operational Definition of Terms Child Any person aged between 5 and 17 years. Child Labour The engagement of children in paid or unpaid work employment at the expense of schooling and in contravention of international conventions which provide for their protection against abuse, economic exploitation and the right to basic education. Access The right to education and the opportunities available for all eligible children to enroll in school. Retention Opportunity and ability for pupils to remain and progress with schooling until they complete their primary cycle of education. Pupil A child who has enrolled to learn in a primary school from standard one to standard eight. Primary School A formal institution where teaching and learning takes place from class one to class eight. Effect The outcome, result or consequences of Child Labour on access and retention. 15 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Introduction This section covered the following thematic areas: definition of the terms Child Labour, access and retention, government policy framework in relation to access and retention, causes of Child Labour, effects of Child Labour and summary of related literature globally, in Kenya and Mbita District. 2.2. Concept of Child Labour The concept of Child Labour has been exposed to different definitions: According to ILO convention 138, Child Labour refers to children prematurely leading adult lives, normally working long hours for low wages under conditions damaging to their health and to their physical and mental development, sometimes separated from their families, frequently deprived of meaningful educational training opportunities that could open up for them a better future (ILO, 2002). Kamwaria, (2001) says that Child Labour can be considered to include both paid and unpaid work and activities that comprise physical, psychological, social and moral development of children. It is work that deprives children the opportunity for schooling. 2.3. Definition of Access According to Rockhampton Regional Council (2011), access is about removing barriers to open up opportunities for people. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, universal access to education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, ethnicity, background or physical disabilities. 16 Concern and CRADLE (2005), note that access refers to the degree of responsibility that especially targets discrimination with a view of eliminating barriers that inhibit education for all. It entails eliminating discrimination and marginalization based on internationally prohibited grounds for discrimination such us disability, sex, social status, religion, race or origin. 2.4. Definition of Retention From Gale Encyclopedia of Education (2011), student’s retention occurs when a student enrolls each semester until graduation, studies full-time, and graduates in about four years. A dropout is a student who enters college but leaves before graduating and never returns to that or any other school. In reference to primary schools, pupil retention would therefore refer to pupils being retained in school up to the end of the eight years of primary education. 2.5. Child Labour, Global Perspective Previous studies indicated that Child Labour cuts across all nations in the world. In the industrialized world, there are indeed many cases of Child Labour: In Netherlands, 74% of youths between 12 and 18, work regularly in agriculture, shops and domestic service. Recent reports also indicated that 50 to 75% of European children perform outside school hours, with their parents’ approval, a wide range of unskilled, underpaid, irregular and unprotected work (Neuwenhuys, 1994). ILO estimated that of the 211 million children aged between 5 and 14 years old engaged in some economic activities worldwide, 186 million are engaged in worst forms of Child Labour. Almost half (48 percent) of working children are engaged in work on full time basis (ILO/ IPEC, 2004). Sakuria (2006) noted that almost all out of school children are in developing countries, especially in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa where Child Labour is a serious problem. 17 A huge number of out-of-school children are child laborers, most of whom work out of poverty. Africa has the highest incidence of Child Labour in the world due to economic decline, war, famine and HIV/AIDS. There are more than 23 million child workers in Africa. An estimated 250,000 children are in military service in countries such as Burma, Darfur, Chad, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Nepal and Philippines. An estimated 10% of all children orphaned by HIV/AIDs in Africa are heads of households, compelled to provide siblings. Poverty is also seen as the seed – bed of Child Labour. Poor parents send their children to work for reasons of economic expediency, the consequent denial of education setting in motion a mutually reinforcing cycle pass down the generations, (ILO et al, 2006). Great effort has been made by the international community to fight against Child Labour, for example the Declaration of the Right of the Child, proclaimed by the UN Assembly on 29th November, 1959, ILO’s Minimum age convention 138, and ILO convention 182 just to mention a few. An international joint – agency group established in 2005, the Global Task Force in Child Labour and Education, explicitly aims to achieve Education for All through the elimination of Child Labour. The World Day against Child Labour, celebrated on June 12 each year, calls the world attention to the plight of millions of girls and boys around the world who are victims of Child Labour. In 2009, the World Day marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the landmark ILO convention No. 182, which calls for immediate action to abolish the worst forms of Child Labour. 2.5.1. Causes of Child Labour ILO/IPEC (2004) report indicated that poverty was a major cause of Child Labour. It indicated that 37 percent of children interviewed said that they worked so that they could buy school books and pay for other school activities. Nyanza Provincial Children Officer noted that poverty was the main cause of Child Labour in the region, reiterating that the problem was that some parents or guardians did not understand what Child Labour is. 18 ILO/IPEC (2007) report cites the impact of HIV/AIDs pandemic as a major cause of Child Labour. It notes that an estimated 1.1 million children are without parents and the number is still rising. Hunt (2008) says that girl children frequently drop out of school to look after younger siblings. He also made reference to interviews with street children in Tanzania where some respondents described how changes in household circumstances such as death of a parent and abandonment by a parent had forced children to leave school and earn some sort of a living. Orphans living without their surviving parent were more involved in work and less in school than orphans not separated from their surviving parent. Hunt (2008) therefore concluded that a number of factors seem to interact to influence whether children become vulnerable to dropout or actually drop out of school because of Child Labour. These include the location (urban/rural); gender; type of work; opportunity cost; household contexts and income; length of work commitments and age. Republic of Kenya (2005) in the Sessional Paper No.5, indicated that HIV/AIDS contributed to Child Labour. The number of orphans in schools increase as parents die from HIV/AIDS and without appropriate interventions, the orphans were most likely to drop out of school and some children were likely to stay at home to care for sick family members. Similarly, poverty was also identified as a cause of Child Labour. 2.5.2. Effects of Child Labour According to ILO/IPEC, the consequences of Child Labour are: denied education, normal social interaction personal development and emotional support from their family. Other consequences are physical injuries, growth deficiency and long-term health problems. 2.6. Child Labour in Kenya The Republic of Kenya (1999) reported in the Commission of Inquiry into the Education system of Kenya that Child Labour is a rampant practice that continues to keep children out of school, especially in the prevailing situation of poverty at the household level. Children 19 in different parts of the country were involved in activities such as fishing, picking of coffee, tea and Miraa, hawking and petty trading. All these forms of labour whether paid or unpaid, interfered with children's participation in education, either denying them access or hindering their effective participation by causing drop -out and absenteeism. KNUT-ILO/IPEC (1999) project aimed to ensure that all Kenyan children of school-going age are in school. The report said that out of the 3.5 million children who are out of school, at least 1.9 million have been reported to be in Child Labour situation. The report further says that in Kenya Child Labour persists despite numerous efforts by governments, development partners and civil society organizations. The problem is further worsened by lack of comprehensive and accurate data which would assist in designing viable interventions. It is still prevalent in spite of the introduction of FPE, interventions targeting the OVCs such as CDF, CBF bursaries, MVC support in targeted schools and cash transfer fund to targeted families. Odundo and Owino (2004) in their study in Nyanza Province indicated that Poverty and orphan hood have reduced the rates of school enrolment and completion. Many children resort to Child Labour to fend for themselves and siblings and in some cases, the elderly grandparents, whom most of them stay with. The study identified several factors that contributed to pupil's non-enrolment, repetition and drop out from schools, thereby rendering the implementation of UPE ineffective. The factors were: parental ignorance and negligence of education, poor economic growth and increased poverty, Child Labour, the effects of HIV/AIDS pandemic, teenage pregnancies and early marriage. Tietjen (2007) in a study of street children done under the auspices of ANPPCAN on request by the Attorney General's Chambers, conducted between 1990 and 1991 by a team of researchers from the University of Nairobi., the study revealed that many children are working in different sectors, predominantly in agriculture and in the domestic sector. The findings showed that these children tend to come from certain communities, namely, Kiambu and Murang'a districts for agriculture. Many children 20 from Siaya and South Nyanza (now divided into Homa Bay, Suba and Rachuonyo districts) were in domestic service. Moyle, (2010) in a study that involved examining the magnitude of Child Labour in Kenya says that the need to research more on Child Labour has been hampered by its complexity. He reports that children are reported to be working for three main reasons: Augment household income, assist in household chores and parents suggestion. Thus over 70% of children assist in work in the household. He further reported that Child Labour rates among elder children, rural dwellers and those of lower households socio-economic status. The years of education of the head of household and wealth have an impact on Child Labour. Poor children have a higher probability of working than richer children. Werunga and Kikechi (2012) on the study about factors affecting access to F.P.E indicated that in Matate Division the pupils cited poverty (26.8%) and being orphaned (12.4%) as the reasons why some children were unable to access primary school education, while in Lugari division the reasons given by pupils were poverty (23.5%) and child labour (18.4%). The Standard News Paper (May 7, 2011), reported that in many homes in Kenya, especially where poverty is rampant or children have been orphaned, children of tender age are forced to work to earn a living. It added that Children stop going to school to engage in economic activities to raise money for survival, on the beaches along the Lake Victoria region and even on the Islands, many children have dropped out of school to engage in fishing. 2.7. Government Policy Framework in Relation to Access and Retention. According to the Republic of Kenya (2005) Sessional paper No. 1 of 2005; recent policy initiatives have focused on the attainment of EFA and, in particular UPE. The key concerns are access, retention, equity quality and relevance and internal and external 21 efficiencies within the education system. Every effort is therefore required to sustain the current enrolment and address the key issues of improved access, equity and quality. Some of the policies and strategies put in place by the government include the implementation of FPE, mobilizing parents and communities through awareness creation, infrastructure support providing additional support to low cost boarding schools in Arid and semi-Arid Lands (ASAL’s) and taking affirmative action. Since the provision of education to all Kenyans is fundamental to the success to the governments overall development strategy and its long term objective of providing every Kenyan with basic quality education, every effort is, therefore, required to sustain the current enrolment and address the key issues of access, equity and quality. (Republic of Kenya, 2005). 2.8. Child Labour in Mbita District Concern (2004) carried out a baseline survey of 170 public primary schools in Suba District, and found out that the average dropout rates in the district were higher than the national average which stood at 4.9%. Some of the factors identified as limiting accessibility include poor parenting, high number of orphans lacking care and exploitative Child Labour among others. In 2005, Concern and CRADLE again conducted an assessment of out of school children and identified among other factors, exploitative Child Labour as affecting access and retention of primary school pupils. It noted that a common reason reported for lateness or absence from school was that children had to attend to domestic or household chores before they could be allowed by parents to go to school and at times they missed school altogether. It recommends that Child Labour must be contained and brought to a stop if all children are to participate in free primary education. However, the report noted that there is not enough information on the number of children who are out of school and their characteristics, and that this information is necessary and should be continuously collected to assist in the continuous monitoring of the numbers for effective action. 22 Besides, the report mainly touched on the causes and types of labour undertaken by children. (Concern and CRADLE, 2005). In addition the Director, Devlink, a gender rights NGO in Mbita District said that it is apathetic situation that needs urgent intervention, (The Standard Newspaper May 7, 2011). The effect of Child Labour on access and retention of pupils has not been researched extensively hence the justification for this research. This study therefore, investigated the effect of Child Labour on access and retention by compiling and interpreting data of children who have not gone to school or who have dropped out of school due to Child Labour. 2.9. Summary of Related Literature This study presented an in-depth analysis of literature on the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District. It focused on children who had not gained access to schooling and those who had gained access but dropped out of school. The study examined available literature on the prevalence of Child Labour, globally, in Kenya and Mbita District, causes and effects of Child Labour in relation to school-based factors, home-based factors and cultural factors. The underlying question that this study addressed was the extent Child Labour was responsible for low access to education and low retention of children in primary schools in Mbita district Homa-Bay County, Kenya. The study gave recommendations on how to curb the prevalence of Child Labour in order to increase access to education for school age going children and to ensure retention of those already in primary schools in Mbita District. 23 CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1. Introduction The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita district, Homa-Bay County. This chapter presents the research design, locale of the study, target population, sampling design, research instruments, methods of data collection, Data analysis and ethical and logistical considerations. 3.2. Research Design Orodho (2009) defines research design as a programme to guide the researcher in collecting, analyzing and interpreting observed facts. The research design used in this study was descriptive survey. The design was deemed appropriate because it allows the researcher to collect information, summarize, present and interpret for purposes of clarification. It also allows gathering of information by use of questionnaire and interview schedules and collection of information about people’s opinion and attitude about effect of Child Labour on access and retention of pupils. This design agrees with the views of Gay (1992) who states that it is used to assess attitudes and opinions about events, individuals or procedures. Data was collected from a sample of respondents on the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita district, Homa-Bay County. 3.3. Locale of the Study The study was carried out in Mbita District, which is one of the districts in Homa-Bay County. Mbita District was curved out of the greater Suba District in the year 2009 and has only one constituency, Mbita. The District lies on the Shores of Lake Victoria and boarders Suba District to the South and Homa Bay District to the East. It occupies an area 24 of about 801.8 sq. kilometers of which 428.8sq.kilometres is land and 381sq. km is water mass. The District is divided into 11 Locations, 27 Sub-locations and three Divisions namely; Mbita, Lambwe and Mfangano. The District had 100 registered public primary schools with a total enrollment of 12,432 pupils. Mbita was chosen for the study because it has many islands and beaches which are perceived to be attractive sites for Child Labor. A report by UNICEF, (2011) indicated that of the total child population working in Suba District, 4 out of 5 starts working at the age of 15years. Fishing is the main commercial activity and fishermen employed children, paying them minimal wages. Many young girls resort to commercial sex for survival. Child Labour prevents children from going to school, is exploitative hazardous and inappropriate for their age. 3.4. Target Population The target population in this study consisted of 100 Public Primary Schools, 100 Head teachers, 100 senior teachers, 100 Chairpersons of School Management Committees, 3 Area Education officers, 11 Chiefs, 1 District Children Officer 12, 432 Pupils in School and pupils who have dropped out of school in Mbita District. 3.4.1. Schools Because of limited time and other logistical reasons, only public primary schools in Mbita District were targeted. Out of the 100 registered public primary schools, 50 of them were targeted. 25 3.4.2. Respondents i) Head teachers There were 100 public primary school Head teachers. The researcher targeted 50% who were 50 in number. This target population was representative enough to make estimate of the characteristics being investigated. ii) Teachers Mbita District had a total of 709 primary School teachers (455 male and 254 female). The researcher targeted only one senior teacher in each of the selected primary schools giving a total of 50 senior teachers. iii) School Management Committee Members (SMC) The membership of the school management committee in the 100 primary schools was 1500. One member (chairman) was targeted in each of the selected 50 schools. iv) Chiefs All the 11 chiefs (100 percent) were interviewed. v) Pupils in school and school dropouts Focus group discussion was held with ten pupils in each of the targeted 50 public primary schools, hence a total of 500 pupils were targeted while 25 children who dropped out of school were interviewed. According to data available at the Mbita District Education office (2011), the total number of pupils who dropped out of school due to various reasons was 1628, of which 843 were boys and 785 were girls. The Head teachers indicated reasons for the pupils drop out as child labour, teenage pregnancies, impact of HIV/AIDS, early marriages, poverty and poor performance in schools. The researcher isolated those who had dropped out due to child labour using responses from data collection instruments. vi) Area Education Officers and District Children Officer Three AEOs and the District Children Officer were interviewed. 26 3.5. Sampling and Sample Size According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) a sample is a small group obtained from the accessible population. Out of the 100 public primary schools in Mbita District 50 schools were sampled. This represented 50% of the total population. The point of reference for the sampled respondents was the 50 sampled schools thus 50 Headteachers, 50 senior teachers and 50 school management committee chairpersons were sampled. The other respondents sampled in the study were all the 11 chiefs in Mbita District, the District children officer, pupils in and out of school. 3.5.1. Schools Simple Random Sampling was used to select public primary schools, the sample size of 50 schools, out of the 100 public primary schools were sampled. In this case, lottery technique was used to select the targeted schools. The procedure involved assigning numbers to every subject, placing them in a container and picking any number at random until the desired number was realized. 3.5.2. Headteachers Purposive sampling was used to select Head teachers. In this case, 50 Head teachers (42 male and 8 female) from the targeted 50 public primary schools were included in the study. Head teachers were included because the researcher believed that as administrators and custodians of all school data, they gave relevant and reliable information for the study. 3.5.3. Senior teachers Purposive sampling was used to select one senior teacher in each of the targeted 50 schools. In total, 50 Senior teachers (29 male and 21 female) were targeted. Senior 27 teachers play an important role in the management of pupil personnel; hence the researcher believed that they gave relevant and reliable information for the study. 3.5.4. School Management Committees The chairmen of the school management committees of the 50 targeted schools were included in the study. The chairmen are authoritatively mandated to speak on behalf of the SMC and directly interact with parents and the community; hence the researcher believed that they were better placed to give reliable information. 3.5.5. Chiefs Amongst the community leaders chiefs were selected because of the critical role they play in the community especially in Law enforcement. All the 11 chiefs (8 male, 3 female) were interviewed. 3.5.6. Area Education Officers There were 3 A.E.O’s in the District and all of them were included in the study. The rationale for this was that they are directly in charge of all schools at the divisional level and are custodians of management of educational data at this level. All the AEOs interviewed were male. 3.5.7. District Children officer The District Children’s Officer was interviewed because complaints related to child welfare are normally forwarded to him, hence the researcher gathered reliable data from the officer. 28 3.5.8. Pupils Stratified sampling was used to select two groups of pupils for the study, namely pupils in school and pupils who dropped out or never attended school. For pupils in school, the study population comprised of 500 pupils from a target population of 12,432 pupils, being the total enrolment in the 100 public primary schools in Mbita District. 3.5.8.1. Pupils in school Stratified Random Sampling was used to select the classes and systematic sampling to select the number of boys and girls required from the targeted classes. 5 boys and 5 girls were sampled which implied that 10 pupils per school were included in the study in the targeted 50 primary schools. This resulted in to a total of 500 pupils. 3.5.8.2. Pupils out of school Snowball or network sampling was used to identify pupils who had dropped out of school and those who had not enrolled in school. The initial subjects were identified using purposive sampling technique. In this case, one pupil who had dropped out of school in each of the 50 targeted primary schools was traced and interviewed, however only 25 pupils were traced and interviewed, Likewise children who had not enrolled in school were also traced and interviewed. These children mentioned new contacts and this gradually increased the sample size. 3.6. Data Collection Instruments The data collection instruments used in this study included: i. Questionnaires The researcher used questionnaires to collect quantitative data from the Head teachers, senior teachers and the SMC chairmen. The questionnaire method is advantageous 29 because it can capture information from a large number of respondents and the respondent remains anonymous, can be more truthful and permits use of standardized questions. Questionnaires are also easier to fill and have uniform procedures (Orodho, 2009). The questionnaires were used to elicit information on the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of Primary School Pupils in Mbita District. ii. Interview schedules Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) points out that an interview is an oral administration of a questionnaire or an interview schedule. An interview schedule is a set of questions that the interviewer asks when interviewing. Qualitative data was collected through interview schedules that were administered to the A.E.O’s, District Children officer, the chiefs and pupils who have dropped out of school. Interview method was appropriate as more information can be accessed in contrast to the questionnaire, and the researcher had time to clarify issues in the process of the interview. The interviews were used to seek information about the effect of child labour on access to education and retention of pupils in school. iii. Focus Group Discussion Focus group discussion was conducted with pupils in the 50 targeted schools. The FGD enabled pupils to discuss issues that were related to their welfare freely. 3.7. Validity of the instruments Mugenda (2008) defines validity as the degree to which an instrument measures what it purports to measure. In this case content validity method was used to test language clarity, grammatical errors and to ascertain that the subject matter was relevant in generating meaningful data. The researcher established content validity by seeking guidance from the supervisors and revising the research the research instruments. 30 A pilot study was carried out in three schools with similar characteristics with those that were sampled. The schools were randomly selected and were not included in the study. Stachowick (2008) defines pilot study as a small version of a larger study that is conducted to prepare for that study. The pilot study helped in checking the reliability and validity of instruments and detecting unforeseen mistakes. It assisted the researcher familiarize with the study population and ensured classification and improvement of content in the instruments for the study. 3.8. Reliability of the instruments Best and Khan (2001) define reliability as the level of internal consistency or stability over time of measuring research instruments. Thus instrument reliability is the degree of consistency that instruments or procedures demonstrate. Reliability is a measure of how consistent the results from the test are (Kombo, Delno, 2006). Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), also defines reliability as a measure of the degree to which a research instrument yields consistent results or data after repeated trials. Reliability was assessed using test – retest method, whereby the questionnaires were administered more than once to the same sample and test results compared to determine the degree of which the same results could be obtained with a repeated measure of accuracy of the same concept. This was done to three primary schools which were not included in the study. According to Orodho (2009) a correlation co efficient (r) of about 0.75 should be considered high enough to judge the rehabilitee of an instrument. In this case pearsons product moment formula was used to calculate correlation co-efficient to establish consistency. 3.9. Data Collection Procedure Before the researcher embarked on actual data collection, the respondents were contacted and clearly informed of the purpose and confidentiality of the research. 31 Consent of the respondents was sought and they participated voluntarily. The data collection methods used was questionnaires, interview schedules and focus group discussions. Questionnaires were administered to the respondents and on mutual agreement the questionnaires were collected after one week by the researcher and research assistants and that ensured good return ratio. The researcher interviewed the Chiefs, the District Children Officer and the Education officers in their offices on the agreed dates and conducted focus group discussions with Pupils in school. 3.10. Logistical and Ethical Considerations Before carrying out the research, the researcher sought for research authorization from the Ministry of Higher Education Science and Technology through Kenyatta University Graduate School. The researcher reported to the District Commissioner and the District Education Officer, Mbita District before conducting the research. The researcher conducted the research after receiving introductory letter from the District Commissioner and the District Education Officer Mbita and after consulting with the various respondents who were assured that the data collected was purposely for this study and the information given was treated with confidentiality. For pupils in schools, oral consent was granted by the Head teachers while the oral consent to interview children out of school was granted by the chiefs. 32 3.11. Data Analysis According to Orodho (2008), data analysis explains how classification, editing and tabulation of data are done while Kerlinger (1973) defines data analysis as categorization, ordering, manipulation and summarizing of data to obtain answers to research questions. The researcher subjected the data collected from all the respondents to statistical analysis to establish the means, frequencies and percentages. The data was analyzed using statistical package for social science and presented in tables and figures. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically using coding categories as per the research questions. 33 CHAPTER FOUR DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION 4.1. Introduction This study was conducted mainly to establish the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita district, Homa Bay County, Kenya. In this chapter, the results of the study were based on the following thematic areas: i. Demographic information of the respondents ii. Factors responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita district. iii. Effect of Child Labour on access to education among pupils in primary schools in Mbita District iv. Effect of Child Labour on retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District v. Measures that would mitigate against Child Labour in Mbita District. A total of 50 Head teachers, 50 senior teachers, 50 school management committee chairmen, 11 chiefs, 3 A.E.O, s and 500 pupils in school and 25 children who dropped out of school participated in this study. In this chapter, data collected by use of questionnaires and interview schedules from all the respondents was subjected to statistical analysis to establish descriptive statistics (Mean, percentage, frequency). The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented in figures, charts and tables. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically using coding categories as per the research questions. 4.2. Demographic Information of the Respondents The respondents in this study were Head teachers, senior teachers, SMC chairmen, A.E.O’s, District Children Officer, Chiefs and pupils. 34 A total of 50 Head teachers, 50 senior teachers and 50 SMC Chairmen in the schools in Mbita District participated in the Study. A total of 50 primary schools were visited and focus group discussions held with 10 pupils in each of the schools, hence 500 pupils participated in the focus group discussions. Children who had dropped out of school were traced and 25 of them were interviewed. Interviews were also carried out with the Chiefs in 10 locations in the District and with the District Children Officer. 4.2.1. Analysis of Respondents by Gender Both male and female head teachers were involved in the study. Female head teachers accounted for 16.0% (8) while the male head teachers were 84.0% (42). Senior teachers were also involved and of the 50 sampled, 42% (21) were female while 58% (29) were male teachers. Majority of the committee chairmen were established to be males (86.0%) while females were only 14.0%. Out of the 11 Chiefs who were interviewed, 8 were male while 3 were female. From these findings, there was gender imbalance in leadership positions within the school system as reflected in the high percentages of men who were Head teachers, senior teachers, SMC chairmen and Chiefs. It is imperative that female teachers and females in general be encouraged to compete for leadership positions and in some cases affirmative action be applied as this would provide a platform for girl child related challenges to be addressed effectively and for role modeling. The researcher traced the children who had left school and conducted an interview with them. The results indicated that out of the 25 children interviewed, there were 15 boys and 10 girls. 35 4.2.2. Age Distribution of the Respondents Table 4.1: Age Distribution of the Head Teachers and Senior Teachers Head teachers f % Senior teachers F % Below 35 - - 12 24 35 – 40 8 16 13 26 41 – 45 16 32 10 20 46 – 50 16 32 8 16 51 – 55 8 16 4 8 56 – 60 2 4 3 6 Total 50 100 50 100 Table 4.1 shows that the Head teachers were in the age bracket of 35 – 60 years. However, majority (32%) of the Head teachers were in the age bracket of 41 – 45 years. Majority (50%) of the senior teachers were below 40 years, 24% were below 35 years whereas 26% were between 35 – 40 years. 36 Table 4.2: Age of the School Management Committee Chairmen Ages (years) F % 30 – 40 7 14.0 41 – 50 20 40.0 51 – 60 11 22.0 Above 60 years 9 18.0 None committal 3 6.0 Total 50 100 Table 4.2 Indicates that all the school committee chairmen were adults aged between 30 years to above 60 years: However, 3(6%) of the SMC chairman did not indicate their age. Table 4.3: Demographic Information of the A.E.Os Division Age of the A.E.O Gender Level of Education Professional training Experience Mbita 54 Male College P1 cert. 10 and above Mfangano 48 Male University Bed. 5 – 9 years Lambwe 53 Male College P1 5 -9 years Table 4.3 indicates that the AEOs from Mbita, Mfangano and Lambwe were all male aged 54, 48 and 53 years respectively. Two of them had college education while one had university degree. In their professional training two had P1 certificates while one had Bachelor of education degree. In their work experience two had experience of 5 to 9 years while one had 10 years experience. This implied that they possessed the necessary leadership experience to guide teachers parents and pupils in addressing challenges related to access and retention and the effect of Child Labour. 37 Table 4.4: Demographic Information of Children who Dropped out of School Ages (years) F % Below 15 1 4.0 15 – 17 18 72.0 18 – 20 6 24.0 Totals 25 100 Table 4.4 shows that majority of the children (72%) were in the age bracket of 15-17 years while those in the age bracket were 18-20 were 6 (24%) and below 15 and only 1 (4%) was below 15 years. 4.2.3. Level of Education of the Respondents The study sought to show the highest level of education attained by the respondents who were sampled in the study as the responses shown in figure 4.1 for Head teachers and consequent responses from the other respondents indicate. 38 Figure 4.1: Highest Education Levels Attained by the Head Teachers Figure 4.1 indicates that majority (68%) of the Head teachers had college education while those with University education were only 16%. Those with secondary education were 8% and those with other levels of education were also 8%. In their professional training, 38% (19) of the Head teachers had P1 certificates while those with Diploma in education were 40.0% (20).Those with bachelors of education were 14.0% (7) and only 2.0% (1) had masters training. Head teachers having other levels of education were 6% (3). The highest level of education attained by the senior teachers indicated that, 72.0% (36) of the senior teachers had college education, 18.0% (9) had University education while 10.0% (5) of the teachers had secondary level of education. Senior teachers were trained professional teachers. Majority, 58.0% (29) were P1 teachers, 22.0% (11) were trained in Diploma in education and 20.0% (10) of the teachers had Bachelor of Education Degree. Regarding the level of education, 80% of the chiefs had secondary education, 10% had college education while 10% had a University degree. From the findings majority of the Head teachers and senior teachers had college education but few had university education .This was not a good trend considering the 16% 68% 8% 8% 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Degree College Secondary Others Education level % respondents 39 higher qualifications required currently in the public service. There is need for teachers to enroll for degree courses in order to enhance their skills. This would motivate them and improve performance in all aspects of the school system as well as encourage parents to enroll their children in school and ensure they complete their basic education. 4.2.4. Experience of the Respondents The study sought to show responses on how long respondents had served as Head teachers and senior teachers in various schools. Table 4.5 shows the results of the findings. Table 4.5: Respondents Experience as a Head Teacher and as a Senior Teacher Experience (Years) Head teacher f % Senior teacher F % 0 – 3 9 18.0 16 32 4 – 9 11 22.0 19 38 10 and above 28 56.0 11 22 None committal 2 4.0 4 8 Total 50 100% 50 100% From table 4.5, 56.0% (28) of the Head teachers had 10 years and above while 18.0% (9) had 0 – 3 years as Head teachers whereas as a senior teacher, 32.0% (16) had served for 0 – 3 years, 38.0% (19) for 4 – 9 years and 22.0% (11) had served for 10 years and above. As a chief of the locations; one chief was appointed in 1993, one in 1996, one in 1997, one in 1999, two in 2004, one in 2006, one in 2007 and three in 2008. This implied that all respondents were found qualified to give relevant information on the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District, Homa-Bay County. 40 4.3. Factors Responsible for the Prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District The researcher sought to find out from the respondents their understanding of child work and Child Labour and factors which were responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District, Homa-Bay County. 4.3.1. Meaning of Child Labour and Child Work as Reported by the Respondents According to the study findings, the head teachers understood Child Labour to mean giving a child kind of duty that deny him or her the opportunity to study, employment of school age going children, work which is not appropriate for the age of the child and engaging children in duties that are supposed to be done by parents or guardians. They also reported that Child Labour occurs when the child works for money or incentives and a child being involved in work at a time he or she was supposed to be in school learning. On the other hand, the children reported that they have heard of the word “Child Labour”. They understood this word to mean; overworking the children, any type of work that denied the children opportunity to go to school and employing the children under the age of 18 years and work for pay. Table 4.6 shows the responses of Head teachers and senior teachers with regard to what they considered as child work: Table 4.6: Head Teachers and Senior Teachers’ Definition of Child Work Definition Head teachers f % Senior teachers f % Work which is appropriate to a child’s age 25 50 25 50 Helping parents at home with light domestic work 19 38 27 54 Employing children 8 16 8 16 Children going for fishing and farm related work 15 30 10 20 41 In table 4.6 some respondents gave more than one definition of child work and this explains why the frequencies are not totaling to 50 and percentages not totaling to 100%. The table indicates that, 50% of the senior teachers viewed child work as mainly the work which is appropriate to a child’s age while 54% of senior teacher considered child work as helping parents at home with light domestic work. When talking of child work, the Head teachers felt that child work is helping parents at home (50%) or work that is appropriate to a child (50%). According to 60% of the SMC chairmen, Child Labour refers to giving children work for pay. However, 34% of them felt that Child Labour is domestic chores for children at the expense of schooling whereas 30% indicated that Child Labour is overworking children. This was interpreted to mean that the majority of the respondents understood the difference between Child Labour and child work. The definitions given concur with Kamwaria, (2001). 4.3.2. Home Based, School Based and Cultural Factors Responsible for Child Labour in Mbita District Tables 4.7, 4.8 and 4.9 respectively show responses in regard to school based, home based and cultural factors responsible for Child Labour among primary school pupils. Table 4.7: School Based Factors Indicated by the Head Teachers and Senior Teachers to be Responsible For Child Labour Factor Head teachers f % Senior teachers f % Cooking for teachers 35 70 30 60 Fetching water and firewood for teachers 34 68 26 52 Planting, weeding and harvesting teachers farms 19 38 20 40 Cleaning the school compound 5 10 8 16 42 From table 4.7, majority (70%) of the Head teachers indicated that the most responsible factor for Child Labour in school was pupils cooking for teachers. The Head teachers also reported that other school based factors which were responsible for Child Labour in school were fetching water and collecting firewood for teachers (68%), planting; weeding and harvesting teachers’ farms (38%) and cleaning the school compound (10%). School based factors reported by the senior teachers as most responsible for Child Labour were; cooking for teachers 60%, fetching water and firewood for teachers (52%). Other factors include, planting, weeding and harvesting teachers’ farm (40%) and cleaning the school compound (16%). Table 4.8: Home Based Factors Indicated by the Headteachers and Senior Teachers to be Responsible for Child Labour Factors Headteachers f % Senior teachers F % Fishing 41 82.0 44 88 Poverty 34 68.0 42 84 Orphan hood 34 68.0 32 64 Charcoal burning 19 38.0 24 48 Parental neglect 19 38.0 22 44 Herding 13 26.0 12 24 Sand harvesting 10 20.0 10 20 House help/shamba boys 5 10.0 8 16 Others 1 2.0 - - Table 4.8 indicates that majority (82%) of the head teachers considered fishing as a home based factor responsible for Child Labour. They felt that parents were allowing their children to go and fish instead of going to school. However, the head teachers also 43 reported that other home based factors which contributed to Child Labour include poverty (68%), orphan hood (68%), charcoal burning (38%), parental neglect (38%), herding(26%), sand harvesting (20%), house help/shamba boy (10%) and other unspecified factors (2%). From table 4.8 above, the senior teachers reported that the major home based factors which contributed to Child Labour in Mbita District were fishing (88%) and poverty (84%). Other factors that contributed to Child Labour were orphan hood (64%), parental neglect (48%), charcoal burning (44%), herding (24%), sand harvesting (20%) and house help (16%) in that order. Table 4.9: Cultural Practices Considered Responsible for Child Labour Cultural Practices Headteachers f % Senior teachers F % collapse in communal collective responsibility in child care 31 62.0 31 62 Gender based segregation in provision of education 29 58.0 29 58 Traditional division of labour 28 56 22 44 Early/forced marriage 12 24.0 14 28 Wife inheritance 8 16.0 8 16 From table 4.9 majority (62%) of the head teachers cited collapse in communal collective responsibility in child care as a factor responsible for Child Labour. Other cultural 44 practices that head teachers considered to have contributed to Child Labour include gender based segregation in the provision of education (58%) and traditional division of labour (56%), early/forced marriage (24%) and wife inheritance at 16%. In table 4.9, senior teachers indicated that the cultural factors that were responsible for Child Labour were mainly Collapse of communal collective responsibility in Child care (62%) and gender based segregation (58%). Other cultural beliefs they considered to be responsible were; traditional division of labour (44%), early/forced marriage (28%) and collapse of traditional value system (16%). Focus group discussion was also held with pupils in the sampled primary schools and from the findings the pupils indicated that they were aware of the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District. They mentioned reasons that drove children to Child Labour as poor performance in school, thus lack of interest in education, orphan hood, teenage pregnancy, sickness and inability by parents to provide for basic needs such as clothes, food and payment of school levies. The pupils also mentioned factors within the school that made pupils to ran away from school, as corporal punishment and forced repetition. On the other hand, when children who had dropped out of school were interviewed, they reported that a number of reasons drive children to Child Labour as indicated in table 4.10. Table 4.10: Reasons Indicated by the Children Out of School which Drive Children to Child Labour Reasons f % Rank (1- main reason) Orphan hood 12 48 1 Poverty 11 44 2 Parental neglect 5 20 3 Lust for money 5 20 4 Early marriages 3 12 5 Unwanted pregnancy 1 4 6 Negative attitude towards education 1 4 7 45 Table 4.10 indicates that the main reasons that drive children to Child Labour reported by these children were; Orphan hood (48%), poverty (44%), parental neglect (20%) and lust for money (20%). Other reasons indicated by the children included negative attitude towards education (4%), unwanted pregnancy (4%) and early marriages (12%). Chiefs were also interviewed and they reported that the most predominant factors responsible for Child Labour in Mbita District were fishing and employment in beaches. They also mentioned some of the cultural factors that were responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District as gender roles for instance, men were expected to provide for the family hence in a case of an orphan boy, he assumed the responsibility of a father. Girls were quite often involved in domestic chores that eventually affected school attendance. Wife inheritance was also reported as a contributing factor to Child Labour in that men who inherited widows were in some cases shrouded by selfish desires and greed for material gain with little or no regard to the welfare of the orphaned children. Many of such children were neglected and ended up dropping out of school and joining child for their survival. The chiefs also reported that in their locations home based activities responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour were: looking after cattle, baby sitting and charcoal selling. Interview findings showed that A.E.O s had received reports of pupils who had dropped out of school. However, they did not maintain a register for specific number of boys and girls who dropped out. Major reasons for drop out of school were early marriage, early pregnancy and Child Labour. The main reasons that drive pupils to Child Labour were indicated by the A.E.Os as; orphanhood due to HIV/AIDS, lack of guidance from parents and Poverty. Most predominant forms of Child Labour were reported as; fishing, charcoal burning, quarry activities, motorcycles, farming, collecting firewood and domestic chores. The A.E.Os felt that Child Labour is the most predominant factor affecting access and retention of pupils in Mbita district. This was because children were lured with money from Child Labour and this eventually led to chronic absenteeism and school drop out. 46 In his response, the District Children’s Officer reported the main factors responsible for Child Labour as Poverty, fishing industry, quarrying, irresponsible parents and negative peer influence. He cited cases reported to his office of children who were denied access to schooling due to Child Labour as 4 boys and 5 girls. These children were involved in domestic work such as (washing utensils, cooking, babysitting, washing clothes); fishing, herding animals, selling water and charcoal burning. 4.3.3. Most Common Child Labour Activities/Forms of Child Labour in Mbita District The study sought to establish the forms of Child Labour that were most common and also responsible for school dropout in Mbita District .Tables 4.11 and 4.12 show the results of the findings as reported by Head teachers and Children who had dropped out of school. Table 4.11: Most Common Child Labour Activities in Mbita District as Reported by Head teachers Activities F % Fishing 47 94.0 Employment in beaches and other business 26 52.0 Charcoal burning/selling 19 38.0 Looking after domestic animals 14 28.0 Sand harvesting 13 26.0 Baby sitting 9 18.0 House keeping 6 32.0 Table 4.11 indicates that majority (94%) of the head teachers considered fishing to be the most common Child Labour activity in Mbita district. However, other activities also contributed to Child Labour. These included employment in beaches and other businesses (52%), charcoal burning and selling (38%), housekeeping (32%), looking after domestic animals (28%), sand harvesting (26%) and baby-sitting 18%. 47 Table 4.12: Activities Carried Out by the Children who had Dropped Out of School (2005-2010) Activity F % Fishing 4 16 Farming at home Casual work 4 16 3 12 House help 3 12 Helping poor parents 2 8 Waiter in a bar 2 8 House wife 2 8 Selling charcoal 1 4 Selling vegetables and farm produce 1 4 Manual work at home 1 4 Herding cattle 1 4 Sand harvesting 1 4 According to table 4.12 the Children out of school who were interviewed reported that they were in school between the years 2005 – 2010 but dropped out and were involved in different Child Labour activities. Majority (16%) of the children reported that they were involved in fishing and farming at home. Others were involved in Child Labour activities such as farming at home (16%),casual work (12%), house help (12%), helping poor parents (8%),house wife (8%) ,waiter in a bar and activities such as herding ,sand harvesting, selling charcoal, selling vegetables and general manual work at home accounted for 4% each. Being a housewife implied that the husband was the family breadwinner while the wife was totally dependent on her husband for family and personal upkeep. Regarding the specific reasons which actually made them to drop out of school, fishing topped the list at 20%, poverty as a result of single parent family and lack of uniform and 48 other basic needs at 16% respectively. Another 12% dropped out because they were orphans and there was no one to provide for their basic needs while poor academic performance leading to forced repetition of a class and forced marriage accounted for 8% respectively. 4.4. Effect of Child Labour on Access to Education Among Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita District This section of the study shows the respondents responses in regard to the effect of Child Labour on access to education among children of school going age in Mbita District. It examined pupils enrollment per class in the year 2012 (Table 4.11) and the extent of Child Labour contribution to low access to education in Mbita District. 4.4.1. Pupils’ Enrolment per Class (2012) The head teachers gave enrolment data of boys and girls from class 1 – 8 in their schools. The total number of boys as reported by the head teachers was 7784 while that of girls was 7201.Table 4.11 shows the average number of boys and girls in the classes in the year 2012 as reported by Head teachers. 49 Table 4.13: Average Number of Boys and Girls in the Classes Class Boys Girls Total 1 19.96 19.80 39.76 2 18.98 18.30 37.28 3 19.52 19.32 38.84 4 21.80 21.48 43.28 5 20.56 19.88 40.44 6 17.60 18.52 36.12 7 18.28 17.28 35.56 8 12.98 9.44 22.42 Mean 18.71 18.00 From table 4.13, there were an average of 18.71 boys and 18.00 girls in a class. A part from the number of pupils in class six where more girls than boys were recorded, in classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8, boys were more than girls. 50 4.4.2. Contribution of Child Labour to Low Access to Education Among Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita District. Table 4.14 Head Teacher’s Views on the Extent of Child Labour Contribution to Low Access to Education. Extent of Child Labour contribution to low access to school Head teachers F % Senior teachers f % Highly contributed 13 26 16 32 Contributed 33 66 27 54 Slightly contributed 4 8 7 14 Total 50 100 50 100 Table 4.14 indicates that majority (66%) of the head teachers felt that Child Labour contributed to low access to schooling amongst children of school going age in Mbita District. However, 26% of the head teachers stated that Child Labour highly contributed to low access, while 6% indicated slight contribution. This effect was noted when children missed out of learning institutions and eventually dropped out of school for reasons such as, weeding during weeding seasons, going for fishing and casual labour in the beaches. The head teachers knew of children who did not enroll in school and were involved in Child Labour. These were on average 2 boys and 2 girls in the schools. The Head teachers indicated that Child Labour affected access to education in that it led to school dropout as pupils were lured to fishing and other Child Labour related activities for monetary gain at the expense of schooling. This led to irregular school attendance and eventual drop out from school. 51 Apart from Child Labour, the Head teachers reported that there were other reasons closely associated with Child Labour which denied children the opportunity to enroll and remain in school. These reasons included: Family background whereby Children from poor families notably dropped out of school due to parental/guardian inability to adequately provide for basic needs and other school requirements. Some of the children were orphaned mainly due to HIV/AIDS and had no guardians and as such took up parental responsibilities for their siblings at the expense of attending school. However, some dropped out due to cruelty and neglect by parents/guardians. The Head teachers indicated that children dropped out of school due to poor performance in class work, forced repetition of a class and overloaded school curriculum. The findings also indicated that Peer influence contributed to school dropout especially due to negative influence such as drug abuse, early marriages, unwanted pregnancies and truancy. Community/societal attitude towards education also affected access to education as it led to school dropout and failure by parents to take their children to school. Lack of role models to guide the children left them more vulnerable to involvement in activities along the beaches such as fishing, video shows and discos that ultimately affected their education. It was also revealed by the Head teachers that Children who were physically challenged dropped out of school as a result of long distance to school. At the same time, children with special needs such as the blind, mentally challenged and hearing impaired lacked adequate resources in schools to enable them learn effectively and this contributed to school dropout. Furthermore the senior teachers also reported that some of the factors inhibiting access to education in Mbita District were; poverty, high cost of living, ignorance,/illiteracy of some parents, death of parents as a result of HIV/AIDS (orphan hood) , inadequate teaching and learning resources and inadequate staffing. Other factors included beach 52 influence; Special needs condition of the children, early marriages and unwanted pregnancies. The senior teachers reported that there were cases of pupils who dropped out of school in the last 5 years (2006 – 2010). These were averagely 11.75 (approx. 12) boys and 17.44 (approx. 18) girls per school. In each year, an average of 3.86 (approx. 4) boys and 4.23 (approx. 5) girls dropped out per school. Table 4.14 indicates that majority (54%) of the senior teachers were of the opinion that Child Labour contributed to low access to schooling among children of school going age in Mbita district. However, 32% indicated it had highly contributed while 14% reported it had only slightly contributed to low access to schooling. Senior teachers reported that it had contributed to low access to schooling because of parental irresponsibility, children involvement in Child Labour activities such as charcoal burning, marketing farm produce and fishing. They also reported that most of the children were orphaned and so they could not go to school due to poverty and the need for survival leading the children to indulge in Child Labour. On the other hand, senior teachers knew of children who did not enroll in school and were either assisting their parents at home or are involved in other Child Labour activities. This was reported by 30% of the senior teachers. However, 70% of them had no information of such children. In this Mbita District, a total number of 61 boys and 48 girls were reported to be at home having not enrolled in school. The senior teachers cited some of the effects of Child Labour as fewer children completed designed syllabus, most of the children did not attend school regularly culminating in poor academic performance that eventually led to school dropout. Senior teachers also indicated that when children failed to access school, they were likely to develop negative attitude towards education when they become parents in future. The District Children Officer was also interviewed and he indicated his major roles as conducting social inquiry, preparation and presentation of court reports, enforcing parental responsibilities concerning disputes involving children, guidance and counseling in matters related to child welfare and coordinating of cash transfer programme for orphans and vulnerable children. He mentioned that the major challenges in relation to 53 child welfare encountered in Mbita District were Increasing number of irresponsible parents, increased number of orphans, and violence against children, child abandonment, truancy, Child Labour and overwhelming cases of child abuse especially sexual abuse by relatives. Children who found themselves in such situations were more susceptible to Child Labour for survival reason. Such children were commonly employed for fishing and domestic work. Five girls and seven boys were reported to the children office to be engaged in work for pay instead of going to school while 28 children dropped out of school because of factors such as early marriage, orphan hood, truancy, fishing industry, and neglect by parents or guardians. He cited cases reported to his office of children who were denied access to schooling to be 4 boys and 5 girls. These children were involved in domestic work such as (washing utensils, cooking, babysitting, washing clothes); fishing, herding animals, selling water and charcoal burning. Table 4.15 The Number of Children who have Dropped Out of School Per Location Reported By Chiefs Location Boys Girls Reason Lambwe East 3 1 Poverty, negligence Lambwe West - 1 Early marriage Gembe West - - Poverty, drug abuse, Child Labour Gembe Central 2 2 Poverty, child abuse Rusinga East 1 0 Death of both parents Mfangano North - - Lack of parental care, orphan hood, poverty Mfangano South 20 20 Lack of school fees, orphans Mfangano East 8 2 Copy parents to go fishing, sexual activities Mafangano West: - - Lack of parental care, Orphan hood Rusinga West 2 0 Parents felt education is expensive Table 4.15 indicates that the chiefs were aware of children who had dropped out of schools in their locations. There were a total of 62 pupils who had dropped out of school 54 due to reasons such as poverty, parental neglect, early marriage, orphan hood, fishing, Child Labour and drug abuse. Table 4.16 Number of Children per Location who Assist their Parents at Home and do not go to School Location Boys Girls Work done by the children Lambwe East 3 1 Looking after animals, gardening Lambwe West - - None Gembe West - - None Gembe Central None Rusinga East - - None Mfangano North - - None Mfangano South - - Fishing, working in farms Mfangano East 4 1 Fishing Mafangano West: - - Fishing Rusinga West - - None Table 4.16 indicates that children in the locations who assisted their parents or guardians at home and as a result did not enroll in school were found in all the locations although some of the chiefs were not aware of the exact number of the children in their location who had dropped despite asserting that many children had not accessed education and many had dropped out of school. 55 4.5. Effect of Child Labour on Retention of Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita District The researcher sought to find out how Child Labour affected retention of primary school pupils in Mbita district. The findings were indicated in tables 4.17, 4.18, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21, and figure 4.2. 4.5.1. Most Predominant Causes of School Dropout as reported by the Respondents This section of the study shows the predominant causes of school dropout which greatly affected retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District. Table 4.17: The Predominant Causes of School Dropout as Reported by Head Teachers Cause of dropout Head teachers f % Senior teachers F % Poverty 32 64 34 68 Orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS 38 76 31 62 Early/forced marriage 8 16 7 14 Child Labour 27 54 20 40 Truancy/behavior problem 7 14 20 40 Early pregnancies 21 42 6 12 Negative attitude towards education by parents 2 4 9 18 Table 4.17 indicates that 76% of the head teachers reported that orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS was the major cause of school dropout. Other causes of school dropout reported were: poverty 64%, Child Labour 54%, early pregnancy 42%, early/forced marriage 16%, truancy 14% and negative attitude towards education by parents 4% The senior teachers also reported that the most predominant factors of school dropout in Mbita District were poverty (68%), orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS (62%), Child Labour (40%) and teenage pregnancy (40%). 56 Table 4.18: Number of Boys and Girls Dropping Out Of School in 2006 – 2010 and reasons for Dropping Out. Reasons No. of Boys No. of girls T – value P-value Child Labour 176 72 0.254 0.803 Poverty 142 102 0.833 0.415 Orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS 192 99 0.731 0.473 Early marriages 83 85 3.379 0.020 Truancy 56 20 0.814 0.461 Negative attitude 41 27 0.894 0.397 Others 8 2 1.00 0.500 In table 4.18 the implication of T-value of 3.379 and P-value of 0.020 in the case of early marriages is that early marriages affect boys and girls significantly differently because the P-value is less than 0.05. For all other reasons, the gender did not matter. They affect boys and girls in the same way. Table 4.18 indicates that between the years 2006 – 2010 the total number of boys from this area who dropped out of school for reasons of Child Labour were 176 boys. However 142 boys dropped out due to poverty, 192 due to orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS, 83 due to early marriages, 56 due to truancy and 41 boys dropped out due to negative attitude towards education by parents and pupils. 8 boys however, dropped out of school due to other unspecified reasons. Within the same years 2006 – 2010, the total number of girls who dropped out of school due to Child Labour was 72 girls, 102 girls dropped out due to poverty, 99 due to orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS, 85 due to early marriages, 20 due to truancy and 27 girls due to 57 negative attitude towards education by parents and pupils. Two girls however, dropped out of school due to other unspecified reasons. A mean number of 2.97 boys and 3.68 girls dropped out of school every year, giving a dropout rate of 6.65 pupils in each year. This indicated that slightly more girls had dropped out of school than boys in a year. The study therefore established that Child Labour and other factors affected retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District. The school management committee chairmen were also asked to indicate whether they were aware of children in their villages who had not enrolled in school and those who had dropped out and the reasons that led to dropout. Figure 4.2 shows the results of their responses. Figure 4.2: Number of SMC Chairmen Aware of Children in the Village Who Assist aheir Parents Aat Home and as a Result do not go to School Majority of the SMC chairmen (82%) agreed that Child Labour prevented some children from enrolling in schools in this area. This was confirmed by the SMC chairmen who reported an average of 3.8 (approx. 4 pupils) that have not enrolled in school due to Child Labour. On the other hand, 56% of the SMC chairmen were aware of children in the village who assist their parents at home and as a result failed to enroll in school. The 56% 44% Aware Not aware 58 number of pupils in the village who assist their parents were reported by the SMC chairmen as 3 boys and an average of 2.7 (approx. 3) girls. As chairmen of the school management committee, 78% reported that they knew of children who have dropped out of their schools while 22% of the SMC chairmen did not know of any child in their school having dropped out of school. The average number of girls (5.05) was slightly more than that of boys (4.58) reported to have dropped out of school. A part from children dropout in their schools, 86.0% of the SMC chairmen reported children dropout in the village. SMC chairmen were asked to indicate whether they were aware of children in the village who assist their parent s at home and as a result do not go to school and their responses are indicated in the figure 4.2 below: Table 4.19: SMC Chairmen Reported Reasons for Children Drop Out of School in the Village Reason f % Rank (1- main reason) Child Labour/Fishing 28 56.0 1 Orphan hood as a result of HIV/AIDS related deaths 28 56.0 2 Parental neglect 20 40.0 3 Early/forced marriages 13 26.0 4 Lack of school fees 12 24.0 5 Other reasons 2 4.0 6 59 Table 4.19 indicates that majority (56%) of the SMC chairmen reported that children dropped out of school due to Child Labour especially fishing and orphan hood as a result of HIV/AIDS related deaths (56%). Other reasons which contributed to school dropout were: parental neglect (40%), early/forced marriage (26%), lack of school fees (24%) and unspecified reasons (4%). 4.5.2 Extent of Child Labour Responsibility for Low Retention of Primary School Pupils in Mbita District Table 4.20: Head Teachers’ Views on the Extent of Child Labour Responsibility for Low Retention of Pupils Extent of Child Labour for low retention F % Highly responsible 9 18.0 Responsible 40 80.0 None committal 1 2.0 Total 50 100% Table 4.20 indicates that majority (80%) of the Head teachers were of the view that Child Labour was responsible for low retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District while 18% felt that it was highly responsible and 2% were non-committal. It was therefore clear from the Head teachers that Child Labour was responsible for low retention of pupils in school. 60 Table 4.21: Responsibility of Child Labour for Retention of Pupils in Primary Schools as Reported by Senior Teachers Effects of Child Labour F % Highly responsible 11 22 Responsible 35 70 Not responsible 2 4 Do not know 2 4 Table 4.21 indicates that majority (70%) of the senior teachers reported that Child Labour was responsible for low retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District. In their opinion, senior teachers felt that Child Labour was responsible for low retention of pupils in school in that it led to chronic absenteeism of pupils, low concentration by pupils in class, early marriages, and unethical behavior by the pupils which eventually led to school dropout. From the focus group discussions held with pupils in school, it was evident that Child Labour slightly contributed to low access and retention of pupils in school as some of the children were not attending school. It was reported that some children failed to enroll in school due to parental poverty, disability and neglect by parents. It had caused an average of 2 boys and 3 girls to drop out of school in each of the sampled schools, hence totaling to about 250 pupils who dropped out of school. Some of the reasons why some of the children were not in school were reported by the pupils as early pregnancies, sickness and lack of funds to pursue education. Such children ended up in early marriage, joining fishing or performing various types of casual work in order to earn a living. 61 4.6. Measures to Mitigate Against Child Labour in Mbita District as Reported by the Respondents. Respondents were asked by the researcher to give suggestions that would help in the campaign against child at home, and at school. They were also asked to suggest what should be done about certain cultural practices that were detrimental to educational access and retention. 4.6.1. Measures to Mitigate Against Child Labour in School as reported by Head teachers and Senior Teachers The study revealed that as school managers, Head teachers had taken measures to mitigate against Child Labour in school. The measures included creating a child friendly environment for the pupils in school in order to encourage retention, sensitizing the parents on the importance of taking children to school and the constitutional and legal implications for failing to do so. Other measures taken included linking up with NGO,s for sponsorship of total orphans who were at risk of dropping out of school, sensitizing teachers and the public in general about the dangers of Child Labour, guidance and Counseling of pupils to encourage them not to drop out of school, involving the provincial administration, the police and the children department in addressing Child Labour related challenges, in identified cases, called the parents for advise and minimizing duties done by pupils at school. The study findings also established that Head teachers and senior teachers were aware of intervention measures initiated by parents, community, Government and other stakeholders to mitigate against Child Labour; some of which were Programmes on promotion of girl child education, creating a child friendly environment as per Ministry of Education Child Friendly School Policy, creation of awareness about the dangers of Child Labour and introduction of Free Primary Education and most vulnerable children programmes by the government. Other measures were: formation of Child Labour committees at community and district level, promotion of gender equity in education, 62 formation of self-help groups in the community, communal collective responsibility in condemning those who involve children in Child Labour and eradication of poverty strategies. Non- governmental organizations (NGO, s) such as CRADLE, ILO, and SHARE have also participated in giving scholarships for orphans, withdrawing children from worst forms of Child Labour and championing for Child rights. The Government has also enacted laws and policies that outlaw Child Labour and propagate children rights. Enforcement of the laws has been facilitated by the Provincial Administration, the Police and the Judiciary. The Head teachers and senior teachers further gave suggestions that would help mitigate against Child Labour in Mbita as: creation and activation of child help desks for detection and quick response, more NGO’s should be encouraged to support initiatives geared towards eradication of Child Labour, serious action should be taken against those involved in Child Labour and the fight against HIV/AIDS should be intensified. Other suggestions indicated were; vigorous campaign/advocacy about Child Labour through seminars, bursary should be strictly channeled to needy pupils, children offices should be decentralized to the local level and provincial administration officials should strive to enforce the government policy on free and compulsory education and the constitutional requirement that education is a basic human right. 4.6.2 Measures to Mitigate Against Child Labour as Reported by SMC Chairmen and A.E.Os. According to the findings of the study the SMC chairmen gave the following suggestions to mitigate against Child Labour in Mbita District: Minimize Child Labour both at home and at school, assist the children with school uniforms, food, learning materials and school fees, the parents and the provincial administration should take charge and ensure that children are not allowed to perform any work for pay, conduct awareness through public forums, strengthen guidance and counseling in schools and teaching children the word of God at early age. 63 SMC chairmen also suggested that parents who exposed their children to Child Labour should be taken to court to serve as examples, the SMC and the provincial administration should work hand in hand to help the children who are victims of Child Labour and have poverty alleviation programs in the community. The A.E.Os reported that in their divisions, there were programs initiated to create awareness about the dangers of Child Labour. These programmes were initiated by the Ministry of Education, Provincial Administration and NGOs such as CARE – Kenya, DEV-LINK, CRADLE. Inspite of the initiatives put in place Child Labour continue to affect access and retention of pupils hence the A.E.Os suggested measures such as the need for introduction of school feeding programmes, sensitization of parents and the youth on dangers of Child Labour and creation of orphanages for orphans and vulnerable children. 4.6.3 Measures to Mitigate Against Child Labour as Reported by Pupils in School and Children who Dropped out of School. The study findings showed that the children were concerned that Child Labour had affected access and retention of pupils in Mbita District, hence they suggested that the Government should pay fees for all the pupils; educate girls to avoid all the unwanted pregnancies; establish feeding programs in all the schools; chiefs should ensure that all children of school-going age are enrolled in school, programs to care for orphans are put in place, prosecute those who employ school children as well as establish low cost boarding primary schools in the district. 4.6.4 Measures to Mitigate Against Child Labour as Reported by the District Children Officer and the Chiefs. From the study findings, the District Children Officer and the Chiefs concurred with the other respondents that awareness creation and sensitization of parents about the effect of Child Labour on access to education was indeed necessary in addressing the challenges 64 posed by Child Labour. He indicated that the Children department had formed an Advisory Council whose role was to create awareness through forums such as chief’s baraza,s, parents meetings in schools and partnership with Local Radio Stations, They also suggested that economic empowerment of poor households through education and other investment programmes was indeed an appropriate measure in the fight against Child Labour as this would enable parents to provide basic needs to their families, thus prevent children from joining Child Labour. Strict enforcement of the law against perpetrators of Child Labour was also suggested as very significant in the eradication of Child Labour, hence the need for the children department to collaborate with the provincial administration, the police and judiciary in addressing the problem of Child Labour. They concurred that Policies dealing with children rights, welfare and protection are place in Kenya. These included the Children’s Act, the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, Labour Act and various other children policies. These policies and laws are in place but the challenge was in the implementation both by the government and community in general, hence the need to strengthen implementation. It was also suggested that decentralized children services be established by opening children offices and child help desks at the location levels. Apart from programs introduced by the government to support OVC, S, there is need to establish an orphanage home to provide more support to orphans . Other interventions suggested include; strengthening Guidance and counseling in schools, establishment of feeding programmes in schools, increased FPE funding to all public primary schools .They applauded NGO,s such as ANPPCAN for initiating income generating activities in selected public primary schools to enable poor families to educate their children and World Vision, Devlink and CRADLE for support services such as legal representation of affected children, payment of fees for orphans and feeding programmes for the orphans and vulnerable children. 65 4.7. Discussion of the Findings 4.7.1. Factors Responsible for the Prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District. From the research findings, respondents indicated that factors such as orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS, poverty, fishing, early marriages ,teenage pregnancies, Child Labour, truancy and negative attitude towards education by some parents has affected access and retention of primary school pupils by denying children the opportunity to enroll in school and has also led to school dropout. Table 4.17 indicates that the major factors responsible for Child Labour in Mbita district were; orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS (76%), poverty (64%) and Child Labour (54%) This findings agree with other studies which show that a huge number of out –of –school children are child lab0urers,most of whom work out of poverty and the impact of HIV/AIDS pandemic (ILO/IPEC,2007).The research findings also established that Child Labour was evident at school, at home and in the community. School based manual labour was common in the form of children working in teachers houses, for example collecting firewood, water and cooking for teachers. These findings agree with the study findings of Concern and the CRADLE (2005) where it was reported that the practice of pupils working in teachers’ houses was most common among unmarried teachers and girls are particularly susceptible to abuse. It was evident from the findings of the study that there was a relationship between poverty, orphan hood, early marriage and teenage pregnancies with Child Labour. These factors led children to engage in labour activities for provision of basic needs. These research findings agree with those of an assessment of an out- of- school children study carried out by Concern and the CRADLE in Mbita in which it was reported that due to rising levels of poverty and increasing number of orphans due to HIV/AIDS, children continue to miss school in order to fulfills basic needs.(Concern and CRADLE,2005).Furthermore, the findings also agree with the International Labour Organization report which indicated that poverty was the seed-bed of Child Labour because poor parents send their children to work for reasons of economic expediency, the consequence being denial of education.(ILO et al, 2006). 66 From the findings of this study, it was established that the common Child Labour activities in Mbita District were fishing, charcoal making caring for younger siblings and domestic service as indicated in tables 4.11, 4.12.This confirms a report captured by ANPPCAN quarterly magazine to the effect that in Kenya, an estimated 2 million children are working in various sectors of domestic service, fishing, prostitution, quarrying and transport (ANPPCAN et al, 2005). According to the study findings, fishing on Lake Victoria was mentioned by all the respondents as a common Child Labour activity that contributed to pupil dropout from school in Mbita District. A report by ANPPCAN supports this finding as it started that easy fish money and the moral decadence of the beach communities have directly or indirectly sucked large numbers of children from the classroom and that Child Labour abounds on the beaches and the situation is further complicated by the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS which has led to an increase in the number of orphans and child headed households. (ANPPCAN, 2005). From the findings of the study, respondents agreed that factors which were responsible for pupil drop-out from school were correlated with those responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour. These findings agree with those of ILO/IPEC (2004) which cited poverty and HIV/AIDS as the major causes of Child Labour. As noted previously in the literature review to this study, Child Labour was a rampant practice that continues to keep children out of school especially in the prevailing situation of poverty at the household level. (Republic of Kenya, 1999).Therefore all the respondents were in agreement that addressing factors responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, fishing by school children and negative attitude towards education would greatly reduce or eliminate Child Labour thereby improving access and retention of pupils in school. 67 4.7.2 Effect of Child Labour on Access to Education among Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita From the study findings, the respondents revealed that Child Labour affected access to education among primary school pupils in Mbita District. In table 4.12, 66% of the Head teachers and 54% of the senior teachers concurred that Child Labour contributed to low access to education while 32% and 26% of senior teachers and head teachers respectively indicated that Child Labour highly affected access to education. This was a clear manifestation that Child Labour indeed contributed to low access to education .This concurs with Ministry of Education (2009) in a report where in collaboration with the African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse ,1700 children who had dropped out of school due to Child Labour were withdrawn from worst forms of Child Labour and taken back to school, an indicator that indeed Child Labour contributed to low access to education. From the findings of the study in tables 4.14, 4.15 and 4.16 it came out clearly that Child Labour affected access in several ways. One of the effects was pupil absenteeism from school, dropping out of school and not attending school at all. This finding is supported by a study carried out in Mbita in 2004 which showed that Child Labour was one of the major causes of low access as many pupils dropped out to engage in Child Labour. (Concern et al, 2004). The findings of this research support earlier research on Child Labour that indicated that many children of school going age were involved in Child Labour, for example a study by Neuwenhuys et al, (1994) indicate that Child Labour cuts across all nations in the world and many children of school going age work regularly in agriculture and domestic service. This was further supported by a study carried out by Concern and the CRADLE (non-governmental organizations) in Mbita District in 2005 which cited exploitative commercial fishing on Lake Victoria as a contributing factor to poor school attendance. The report indicates that boys reported that fishing was a full time activity that does not allow time to attend school and that girls who were permitted by their parents to visit relatives on the Islands find themselves stranded on the Islands without financial support 68 to return back home and their relatives then arrange for them to be employed as domestic workers. (Concern and CRADLE, 2005). The study also established that Child Labour was not the only factor that contributed to low access to education. There were other factors such as poverty, negative peer influence, illiteracy/ignorance of some parents, and negative attitude towards education, early marriages, teenage pregnancy, disability, orphan hood, discos/video shows, drug abuse and effect of HIV/AIDS as shown in tables 4.15, 4.16. Respondents reported that most of the children who dropped out due to the above cited factors eventually joined Child Labour activities, hence the correlation. Most of the children who dropped out of school were involved in fishing and farming These findings agree with those of Concern and the CRADLE which indicated that activities such as ox-ploughing, weeding, harvesting, herding, domestic chores, making and sale of charcoal, fishing, transport and sale of firewood were a major cause of seasonal absence from school, late attendance and dropping out of school. (Concern and CRADLE ,2005). It was therefore evident from the research findings that in spite of other factors affecting access to education in Mbita District, Child Labour was one of factors that contributed to low access to education and closely intertwined with other factors like poverty, teenage pregnancy and orphan hood. 4.7.3 Effect of Child Labour on Retention of Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita District. Research findings in this study indicated that Child Labour was responsible for low retention of pupils in primary schools. This was despite the Government’s recent policy initiatives which have focused on the attainment of Education for All and, in particular, Universal Primary Education whose key concerns are access, retention, equity, quality and relevance. (Republic of Kenya, 2005). The findings clearly indicated that Child Labour contributed to low retention in Mbita District as children dropped out of school to engage in Child Labour activities such as 69 sand harvesting, herding, fishing, charcoal burning, domestic chores, commercial sex and helping parents to market farm produce as indicated in table 4.18. It was evident from the findings of the study that pupils engaged in Child Labour due to poverty, orphan hood, early marriage, truancy and negative attitude towards education by some parents or simply joined Child Labour to sustain themselves in cases of orphan hood as indicated in table 4.10. A study by Concern in Mbita in 2004 indicated that dropout figures ranged from 5% to 40% and girls were reported to be the largest percentage of these dropouts with pregnancy and early marriage being the most common causes. (Concern et al, 2004). From the findings of the study it came out clearly that the majority of the head teachers (80%) and senior teachers (70%) were of the view that Child Labour was responsible for low retention of pupils in school. This was because it led to chronic absenteeism from school as children remained at home herding, fishing, burning charcoal, marketing farm products and performing all sorts of casual work for pay. This absenteeism eventually led to school drop-out for instance as table 4.17 indicated that of the predominant factors responsible for Child Labour orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS accounted for 76%, poverty, 64%, Child Labour 54%, and teenage pregnancy 42% according to Head teachers, On the other hand, senior teachers reported that poverty accounted for 68%, orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS 62% and Child Labour 40%. The school management committee and the chiefs also shared the view that Child Labour affected retention. They reported that 56% of the pupils dropped out due to Child Labour, especially fishing, 56% due orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS and 40% dropped out due to parental neglect. Furthermore, table 4.18 shows the number of boys and girls who dropped out of school in Mbita District between 2006-2010 .Of those pupils, 535 of them dropped out due to orphan hood, 248 as a result of Child Labour, 244 due to poverty, 168 due to early marriage, 76 due to truancy, 68 due to negative attitude towards education by parents and pupils and 10 due to unspecified reasons. This clearly indicated that although Child Labour was not the only factor that contributed to low retention of pupils in schools in Mbita District, it certainly played a significant role either by direct contribution or indirectly through related factors such as poverty and orphan hood. It also came out from 70 T-value and P-value analysis that early marriages affect boys and girls significantly differently as P-value is less than 0-05 while for the other reasons gender did not matter. These research findings agree with the Ministry of Education Sessional Paper NO.1 of 2005; On A policy framework for education training and research, which states that the education sub-sector still faces challenges such as many primary school –age children are still out of school and a growing number of orphans and other poor children forced to drop out of school. It was therefore evident from the research findings that in spite of other factors affecting contributing to low retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District, Child Labour was one of the factors that contributed to low retention of pupils as if contributed to pupil absenteeism and school albeit closely intertwined with other factors like poverty, teenage pregnancy and orphan hood. 4.7.4 Measures that would Mitigate Against Child Labour Among Primary School Children in Mbita District. From the research findings it was notably established that in spite of the measures already taken by the Government, teachers, parents and the devolvement partners, Child Labour posed a great threat to access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District. This agrees with the Ministry of Education Strategic Plan which noted that the increasing number of orphans, Child Labour, negative cultural practices and gender insensitive environments all require urgent and specific strategies of intervention. (Republic of Kenya 2006). Furthermore, Ministry of Education Sessional Paper NO. 1 states that despite performance improvement in the education sector, primary education continues to experience many challenges relating to access and equity such as gender and regional disparities and increased number of orphans in and out of school as a result of HIV and AIDS. (Republic of Kenya, 2005). According to the study findings, the respondents were aware of dangers posed by Child Labour to access education and retention of pupils in school, they gave suggestion on 71 what they felt should be done to address the challenge of Child Labour. The suggestions include: the need for awareness creation among the parents, teachers and community in order to understand the importance of education and how Child Labour affects access to education and retention of pupils in school. Other mitigation measures suggested by respondents included economic empowerment of poor households, banning of all levies in school and strict enforcement of the Children’s Act, Labour Laws and all other laws on child protection. Serious penalty should be applied to all those who engage children in labour activities at the expense of education. Respondents felt that there was need to establish child help desks at zonal level and child help lines for detection and quick response. These views are in tandem with those of ANPPCAN which advocated for carrying out of advocacy campaigns for legislative and policy reforms as well as effective implementation and enforcement of Laws prohibiting Child Labour and the need for community mobilization, awareness creation, sensitization and strengthening access to education. (ANPPCAN, 2005). It was clear from the findings of the study that respondents felt there was need for individual and collective responsibility in the fight against Child Labour. It is the responsibility of the parents, teachers, community and the government to assist children with basic needs such as school uniform, food, instructional materials and payment of school fees in order to enable them access education and transit to the next levels of education. This was in agreement with the introduction of FPE by the government of Kenya, provision of bursaries and other intervention measures. (Republic of Kenya, 2006). Respondents also suggested that NGO, s in the district should play a critical role in the fight against Child Labour by being actively involved in awareness creation and advocacy, provision of legal services to affected children, providing school feeding programmes targeting OVC, s, giving bursaries, uniforms and other basic needs. Awareness campaigns about the dangers of HIV/AIDS should be intensified since many children who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS ended up dropping out of school hence affecting access and retention. African Network for the Prevention and Protection 72 against Child Abuse had introduced programmes of directly supporting children at risk of dropping out of school and joining Child Labour as well as withdrawing those already engaged in Child Labour. Infact under this programme, ANPPCAN, had directly supported 2,896 children who were at risk of dropping out of school in Mbita District. (ANPPCAN et al, 2005). Respondents suggested that the Ministry of Education should strengthen the F.P.E programme by increasing capitation per pupil, establishing low cost boarding primary schools and school feeding programmes aimed at helping orphans and vulnerable children. Guidance and counseling and spiritual programmes should also be strengthened in schools by head teachers in collaboration with SMCs and sponsors. These can be done by forming and strengthening clubs and societies such as Christian Union (CU) and inviting resource persons and religious leaders to talk to pupils. In this chapter the major findings of the study were discussed. It came out clearly from the findings that Child Labour affected access and retention of primary school pupils. However, there were other factors albeit closely intertwined with Child Labour that also affected access and retention. These were early marriage, teenage pregnancy, poverty, forced repetition of classes, unauthorized levies in schools and cultural issues among others. Respondents were however optimistic that if the causes of Child Labour and other factors preventing children from accessing education or causing school dropout are addressed by all stakeholders, access and retention would be improved in Mbita District. This would be in tandem with the overall policy goal of the Government which is to achieve Education for All in order to give every Kenyan the right to education irrespective of their socio-economic status. (Republic of Kenya, 2005). 73 CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1. Introduction This chapter presents a summary of the research findings based on the research objectives and research questions which sought to establish the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District.. Descriptive survey was used in carrying this study. Those sampled in the study included 50%(50) headteachers,50%(50) senior teachers,50%(50) SMC chairmen, three A.E.Os ,11 chiefs, District Children Officer, 25 pupils who dropped out of school and 500 pupils in school. The data collection instruments used in the study was questionnaires for Head teachers, senior teachers and SMC chairmen. Interview schedules were also used for chiefs, A.E.Os District Children Officer and Children who dropped out of school and focus group discussion held with pupils in 50 public primary schools. In data analysis, frequencies and percentages were used and study findings were presented in tables and charts. Each objective of the study was evaluated and conclusions arrived at, recommendations and suggestions for future research made. 5.2. Summary of Findings The summary of the research findings based on the objectives of the study was presented and conclusion and recommendations made. 5.2.1 Factors Responsible for the Prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District The first objective of this study was to establish the factors that were responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District, Homa Bay, county. The study established that in spite of other factors affecting access to education in Mbita District, Child Labour was one of factors that contributed to low access to education and closely intertwined with other factors like poverty, teenage pregnancy and orphan hood. 74 According to the findings of the study poverty and Orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS were some of the factors responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District. This was reported by the respondents as follows: 76% of the head teachers cited orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS, 64% of the head teachers cited poverty while 54% cited Child Labour. Besides the Head teachers reported that between 2006-2010, 192 boys and 99 girls dropped out of school due to orphan hood while 142 boys and 102 girls dropped out due to poverty. 176 boys and 72 girls dropped out due to Child Labour. This study findings agree with ILO/IPEC (2004) report which indicated that poverty was a major cause of Child Labour and ILO/IPEC(2007) report which cited the effect of HIV/AIDS pandemic as a major cause of child. The study findings also established that the other factors responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District included: teenage pregnancy, early marriage, negative attitude towards education and truancy. It was clear from the findings of the study that school based manual activities such as pupils cooking for teachers; collecting firewood and fetching water for teachers were also responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour. At the home level, the factors which contributed to Child Labour were mainly ploughing, planting, weeding, harvesting, herding, charcoal selling and domestic chores. This finding agrees with an assessment conducted in Mbita District by two Non-governmental organizations, Concern and the CRADLE which indicated that children had to attend to domestic or household chores before they were allowed to go to school and at times they missed school altogether. (Concern and CRADLE 2005). It was therefore evident from the research findings that the major factors which were responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, poverty within the household level, attraction by easy fish money from the fishing industry, teenage pregnancy, early marriages, domestic service and negative attitude towards education just to mention a few. All these factors caused Child Labour and ultimately affected access to education in Mbita District. 75 5.2.2 Effect of Child Labour on Access to Education Among Primary School Pupils in Mbita District From the findings of the study, it came out clearly from the respondents that Child Labour contributed to low access to education in Mbita District.. This was because some children failed to enroll in school while others dropped out of school and went for fishing and cheap labour in the beaches and bars while others dropped out due to Child Labour at home and in school, hence the need for the Government to address the challenges posed by Child Labour. It was also established Child Labour was not the only factor affecting access to education in Mbita District but other factors such as poverty and HIV/AIDS also affected. These factors were, however, closely intertwined with Child Labour in the sense that Children who joined Child Labour did so because of various reasons such as poverty of their parents, lured by the lucrative fishing industry, orphans who had no one to care for them and other domestic chores at home. 5.2.3 Effect of Child Labour on Retention of Pupils in Primary Schools in Mbita District. This objective was to establish how Child Labour affected retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District. According to the findings the respondents clearly indicated that Child Labour contributed to low retention in Mbita District as children dropped out of school to engage in Child Labour activities such as sand harvesting, herding, fishing, charcoal burning, domestic chores, commercial sex and helping parents to market farm produce. It was evident from the findings of the study that pupils engaged in Child Labour due to poverty, orphan hood, early marriage, truancy and negative attitude towards education by some parents or simply joined Child Labour to sustain themselves in cases of orphan hood. 76 5.2.4 Measures that Would Mitigate Against Child Labour Among Primary School Pupils in Mbita District From the findings of the of the study, respondents suggested measures that in their view would help in addressing the challenge of Child Labour and its effect on access and retention of primary school pupils. The measures suggested were: putting in place poverty eradication strategies in the community such as seminars on economic empowerment. Sensitization of all stakeholders should also be carried out for them to understand the effect of Child Labour on education and their role in eradicating it. Respondents also suggested that strict enforcement of the law by the security agencies and the courts of law was of paramount importance if access and retention of pupils in school was to be achieved. It was also suggested that the Ministry of Education should increase the FPE capitation per pupil, provide other basic needs such as sanitary towels for girls, adequate teaching materials and introduce school feeding programmes in Mbita District. Employment and posting of more teachers by the Teachers Service Commission to Mbita District would address the problem of staff shortage and alleviate the burden of levies in schools. Such levies were not affordable to poor families and in some cases contributed to pupils dropping out of school when parents failed to pay the levies. Educating the communities about the negative effects of some cultural practices such as forced marriage, gender segregation in the provision of education and wife inheritance was suggested by respondents as one of the strategies of ensuring communities accord the necessary attention to the need to have children enroll in school and progress to the next level of education without hindrance. It was evident from the research findings that majority of the respondents indicated that majority of the children became orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS related deaths. The respondents therefore suggested that the Ministry of Education, NGO, S and the community should intensify awareness campaigns as a preventive measure against the spread of HIV and AIDS and its effect on access and retention of children in school. Another significant suggestion put forward by respondents as vital in addressing the effect of Child Labour on access and retention was the need to adopt a sector wide approach in the fight against Child Labour. Establishing partnerships, collaborations and linkages between the Ministry of Education, development partners, parents, teachers and the community would be necessary in 77 achieving access and retention of pupils in school. It was the view of respondents that Child helps Desks and help lines should be established for detection and quick response to challenges facing children. It was evident from the findings that majority of the respondents indicated that many children became orphans as a result. of HIV/AIDS related deaths. The respondents therefore suggested that the Government, NGO, S and the community should intensify awareness creation campaigns as a measure against the spread of AIDS. From the research findings respondents indicated that factors such as orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS, poverty, fishing, early marriage, early pregnancy, truancy and negative attitude toward education by some parents were responsible for Child Labour. The above factors are shown in table 4.17 of the findings. Child Labour was evident at school, home and in the community; it was also evident from the findings that there was correlation between the above factors and Child Labour. From the findings of the study respondents agreed that factors responsible for pupil dropout from school were same as factors responsible for Child Labour. These findings agree with those of ILO/IPEC [2004] which indicated poverty and HIV/AIDS as the major causes of Child Labour. The respondents contend that addressing factors such as poverty, negative attitude towards education, fishing by school children and HIV/AIDS would greatly reduce or altogether eliminate Child Labour in Mbita Distict, therefore improving access to education and retention of pupils in primary schools in the District. Ensuring access to education and retention of pupils in school would be in tandem with the Government commitment to an education system that guarantees the right of every learner to basic quality education in addition to the realization of universal access to basic education for children, including disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. (Republic of Kenya, 2005). 78 5.3 Conclusions The purpose of the study was to find out the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District. Findings of this research, it came clearly from all the respondents that school based factors greatly contributed to Child Labour in Mbita District. In table 4.7, the majority of the Head teachers (70%) and 60% of the senior teachers reported that cooking for teachers by pupils was the most responsible school based labour activity. Collecting firewood and fetching water for teachers was also reported by 68% of the head teachers and 52%of the senior teachers as a Child Labour activity at school. From the research findings, it was evident that all the respondents reported that home based factors played a significant role in driving children to Child Labour which negatively affected their education. In table 4.8 majorities of the senior teachers (88%) and 82% of the head teachers cited fishing as the most responsible factor responsible for Child Labour. Fishing was also reported by 98% of the Head teachers as the most common Child Labour activity in Mbita and 16% of the children who dropped out of school were involved in fishing as indicated in tables 4.11and 4.12. Orphan hood was cited by 84% of the head teachers and 64% of the senior teachers while 68% of the head teachers and 64% of the senior teachers cited poverty as factors responsible for Child Labour. The children also reported that poverty and orphan hood at 48% and 44% respectively contributed to Child Labour. The chiefs reported that in the performance of their duties, they encountered challenges related to children rights. These challenges included poverty, child neglect, cover-up of defilement cases, drug abuse, Child Labour, lack of school fees, high death rate leading to high number of orphans and high cost of living made it difficult for parents to provide for their families basic needs. Other challenges mentioned were early pregnancy and reluctance or unwillingness by abused children to reveal the nature of abuse and identity of abusers. 79 It was also evident from the findings of the study that a number of other factors were responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in Mbita District. These factors include parental neglect, sand harvesting, charcoal making and domestic chores. Based on the findings of this research, there were cultural practices that significantly contributed to Child Labour in Mbita District as reported by the respondents. In this regard, 62% of the Head teachers and a similar percentage of senior teachers reported the collapse in communal collective responsibility in child care as responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour. Gender based segregation in the provision of education was also attributed to Child Labour by 58% of Head teachers and senior teachers. Other cultural factors such as early or forced marriage, traditional division of labour and collapse of the traditional value system were also reported to be responsible for Child Labour in Mbita District. From the findings of the study, it was evident that Child Labour led a number of primary school pupils to drop out of school. Table 4.16 shows that between the years 2006-2010, 176 boys and 72 girls dropped out of school due to Child Labour .However, there were other factors that contributed to school dropout such as poverty, orphan hood, HIV/AIDS, early marriage, negative attitude towards education, drug abuse, parental neglect and fishing. Based on the findings of this research the average pupil dropout rate in Mbita District was high, 6.65 percent per year. This was mainly as a result of home based, school based and cultural factors, particularly poverty, orphan hood due to HIV/AIDS and Child Labour besides other factors. Children who had dropped out of school mentioned poverty and orphan hood as the main reasons as to why they dropped out of school and engaged in Child Labour as shown in table 4.12. This findings agree with those of Concern (2004) carried out in primary schools in Mbita District. Research findings from this study indicate that Child Labour contributed to low access to education among primary school pupils in Mbita District as reported by 64% of the Head teachers in table 4.16.As a result of Child Labour, cases Of seasonal absence from school, 80 late attendance for primary school children and eventual dropout were witnessed. Such children involved themselves in Child Labour activities such as ox-ploughing, weeding, harvesting, domestic chores, making charcoal, fishing, transport and sale of firewood. The study concluded that Child Labour was responsible for low retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District. This is reflected in tables 4.20 and 4.21 in which 80% of the Head teachers and 70% of the senior teachers affirmed that Child Labour was responsible for low retention of pupils in school. It was evident from the respondents that measures to curb Child Labour and increase access and retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District were taken by head teachers, parents, community, government and NGO’S These measures included awareness creation through seminars, prosecution of perpetrators of Child Labour and provision of basic needs to the OVC,S. In spite of these measures, respondents felt that challenges still existed in relation to achieving access and retention of pupils in school. There were children who had not enrolled in school and others who had dropped out of school due to Child Labour and other factors such as poverty, orphan hood, teenage pregnancies, early marriage, HIV/AIDS, school levies and forced repetition of grades. Child Labour activities were still common in the district, hence the need for all stakeholders to come up with more strategies to address the challenges. 5.4 Recommendations Based on the findings of this study the researcher recommended that the following measures be undertaken by teachers, parents, the community and the Ministry of Education in order to address the challenges posed by Child Labour to access and retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District, Homa Bay County: 1. The Head teachers and the school management committees should ensure that school based Child Labour activities such as cooking and collecting firewood for the teachers are totally eradicated. Further, Head teachers should create child friendly schools where the safety and all educational needs of the children are 81 catered for in accordance with the Ministry of Education Child Friendly Schools Policy. They should also put in place mechanisms of tracing absentee pupils and discuss with them and their parents with a view of addressing the obstacles to educational access and retention .Head teachers and senior teachers should also establish linkages amongst teachers ,parents, the community, the government, the private sector and development partners by providing open forums in school where ideas are shared on how to curb Child Labour and its effect on access and retention of primary school pupils in Mbita District. 2. Parents should be effectively involved in school programmes geared towards the fight against Child Labour for them to understand the importance of taking children to school instead of involving in Child Labour. In addition, parents must be encouraged to be role models to their children by working hard to provide for basic needs to ensure children are not lured to fishing due to lack of basic needs. 3. Parents should avoid engaging children in labour activities for commercial reasons such as allowing them to sell in shops, hotels, taking items to the market for sale and fishing because handling money may influence children to love money more than education and even drop out of school. 4. Parental or guardians on matters of sexuality is important. Parents should openly discuss with their children about sex education for them to appreciate the importance of abstinence before marriage and safe sex practices to avoid STD, S and teenage pregnancies that have contributed to Child Labour and school dropout. 5. All pupils and adults should continuously be sensitized to be extremely cautious about HIV/AIDS either by abstinence or safe sex in order to minimize cases of Orphan hood due HIV/AIDS which is one of the main causes of Child Labour in Mbita District. 6. The community should be vigilant and assist the Government by reporting parents, individuals or employers who engage children in labour at the expense of attending school. The fight against Child Labour should be a communal 82 responsibility rather than Government or NGO affair. The community should come up with intervention measures geared towards helping orphans and vulnerable children. These may include establishing community bursary fund, organizing fundraisings and voluntary sponsorship of bright but needy children by those who are financially able to support. The community should strive to inculcate attitude change in regard to retrogressive cultural practices such as gender based segregation in the provision of education to ensure equity in the provision of educational opportunities to both boys and girls. 7. The community should strongly discourage forced marriages by exposing and rebuking parents who force their children into early marriage. Such parents or individuals should be reported to the police and the Children department for prosecution. Inculcating moral values among the youth and being role models would help reduce Child Labour. The community needs to restructure the collapsed collective responsibility in child care so that children welfare becomes a communal collective responsibility. 8. The Ministry of Education should increase FPE and SNE capitation and establish low cost boarding primary schools in Mbita District to address the issue of access and retention of most vulnerable children in District. The Ministry should also provide other basic requirements such as school uniform and sanitary towels and ban all kinds of school levies to ensure all children access education and are retained in school. 9. The Ministry of Education should sensitize the teachers, parents and the community about the Gender Policy in Education that stipulates the need for equity in access to education for both boys and girls and the rights of children as contained in the 2010 Constitution of Kenya. 10. The Law enforcement Agencies and officers such as the chiefs, the District Children Officer, the Police and the Judiciary should be proactive and ensure strict penalty is imposed on parents who allow their children to indulge in Child Labour and all those who engage school age going children into Child Labour. 83 5.4.1 Suggestions for Further Research i. This research was conducted in one District. Further research should be extended to other Districts in Homa- Bay County and other Districts in Kenya for comparison purposes ii. Further study should also be conducted on other aspects of Child Labour such as the effect of Child Labour on children health. iii. Research should be conducted to determine the effect of Child Labour on pupils learning achievement. 84 REFERENCES ANPPCAN (2005). Combating Child Labour and Enhancing Access to Education: Child Watch; Quarterly Magazine No. 41: Nairobi, ANPPCAN. Banerjee, S. (1979). Child Labour in India. London, Macmillan publishers. Best, J.N. & Khan J.V (1989). Research in Education. Prentice Hall of India Private Hall, New York. Concern and CRADLE, (2005). Which way to school? A rights –based community participatory assessment of out of school children and the right to free primary education in Suba District (online) Available:http://www.stopchildlabour.eu….which-way-school-subdistrict- kenya.pdf. (2 January 2010) Concern (2004) Baseline survey of out of school children in Suba District. Available:http://www.stopchildlabour.eu….which-way-school-subdistrict- kenya.pdf.(2 January 2010) Gale Encyclopedia of education. College students Retention. Retrieved Sept 24 2011 http://.answers.com/topic/college-studentretention Gay. L. (1992) Educational Research Competences for Analysis and Application (4th edition). Macmillan, New York. Hunt, F. (2008). Dropping out from school: A cross country Review of Literature: create pathways to Access, Research Monograph No. 16. University of Sussex. ILO/IPEC (2007). Combating Child Labour in Kenya: Knowledge, Attitudes and practices survey, Nairobi, TBP. ILO (2006) Effects of Child labour on Children’s Access to and Participation in Primary Education/ageconsearch. 85 ILO/IPEC (2004).Child Labour Focus: A regional newsletter on Child Labour in Anglophone Africa: Nairobi, ILO/IPEC. ILO/IPEC (2007) Causes of Child Labour Retrieved September23, 2011 from http://ilo.org/public/english/dialogue./malawi-training manual-en.pdf. ILO/IPEC, (2004).Towards combating Child Labour in Commercial Agriculture: A training guide for District Child Labour Committee, Nairobi, ILO/IPEC. Kamwaria, A.N. (2001). Socio– religious implications of Child Labour: A Case Study of the Embu community. MA Thesis, Kenyatta University, Kenya. Kerlinger N.F. (1983). Foundations of Behavioural Research. Delhi Subject Publishers. KNUT-ILO/IPEC. (1999).National Project on Elimination of Child Labour in Kenya. Retrieved on Sept. 24, 2011 from KNUT.orke/index.php/--/43- Knut-iloipec national project. Kombo D.K, Delno L.A.T (2006). Proposal and thesis writing: An introduction. Nairobi, Pauline publication. Maiguna P. (2009). ILO Report ahead of the world Day against Child Labour, htt://downloads.Unmultimedia.org/CMS/radio/content/uploads.Geneva.27. November, 2009. Mbita District Education Office (2009). Educational Statistics Data, Unpublished Report. Mugenda, A.G. (2008).Social science Research: Theory and Principles. Nairobi, Arts Press. Mugenda, O.M, and Mugenda, A.G. (2003). Research Methods: Quantitative & Qualitative Approaches. Nairobi, Acts Press. Moyle, Peter (2010). Child Labor and School Attendance in Kenya. Educational Research and Reviews Vol. 6(1) pp. 26-35, January 2011. Moyi Pdf.doc. 86 Nieuwenhuys, O. (1994). Children’s life worlds: gender welfare and labour in the developing world. London. Odundo, P and Owino, W (2004).HIV AIDS Scourge in Nyanza Province: Poverty, Culture and Behavior Change ,Discussion Paper No. 056/2004. Institute of Policy Analysis and Research . Orodho J.A (2008) Techniques of writing Research Proposals & Reports in Educational and Social Sciences. Maseno, Kanezja Publishers. Orodho J.A (2009). Elements of-Education and Social Science Research. Maseno, Kanezja publishers Republic of Kenya (2005). Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2005: On A Policy Framework for Education, Training and Research. Nairobi: Government Printer. Republic of Kenya (2009).Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume 1B; counting our people for the implementation of Vision 2030.Nairobi; KNBS. Republic of Kenya (2011). Spatial Analytical Report for Nyanza province: school mapping. Nairobi. MOE. Republic of Kenya, (1999). Totally integrated Quality Education and Training TIQET. Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Education System of Kenya. Nairobi: Government Printer. Republic of Kenya, (2006). Strategic plan: 2006 - 2011, Nairobi, MOEST. Rockhampton Regional Council. Access and equity. Retrieved September 23, 2011 from htt:/rockhampton region.gld.gov.an/your-community/access and equity. Sakuria R. (2006). “Paper commissioned for the EFA global monitoring Report 2007, strong foundations: Early Childhood care and Education. (online) Available: http://onesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/00147485e.pdf (2 January 2010) 87 Stachowick, J. (2008). Pilot Study. Retrieved Sept.24, 2011 from http://uis/educ/ctl/writing/documents/cliths?pdf. Tietjen ,K (2007). Independent Midterm Evaluation of Combating Exploitative Child Labour through Education in Kenya, Uganda , Rwanda and Ethiopia Together Project . World Vision, Kenya. UNICEF (2011) Child Protection from violence, exploitation and abuse; Retreaved March 2011 from www.unicef.org/protection/57929_58009.html. UN Radio, (www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail), 27, November 2009. Werunga , R and Kikechi (2012).Factors Affecting the Access of Free Primary Education by Gender in Kenya; Journal of Education and Social Research vol.2(2): Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology , Kenya. Wikipedia (2011) Universal access to education. Retrieved Sept 24, 2011 from http://en/.wikipedia.org/wiki/universal_acess-to_education. 88 APPENDICES APPENDIX I: Head teacher’s questionnaire Introduction This is a schedule questionnaire for Head teachers on the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of pupils in Mbita District. The data being collected is purely for academic reasons namely for the award of a Master of Education Degree. The information collected will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Please answer the questions as accurately and honestly as you can. SECTION A: Demographic information 1. Name (optional) ________________________________________ 2. Age __________________________________________________ 3. Gender Female Male 4. Highest level of education (Tick as appropriate) (1) University (2) College (3) Secondary (4) Other specify ___________________________________ 5. Highest level of professional training (tick as appropriate) 1. P1 certificate ( ) 2. Diploma in Education ( ) 3. Bachelor of Education ( ) 4. Post graduate Diploma in Education ( ) 89 5. Master of Education ( ) 6. Any other (specify)--------------------------------------- 6. Your experience as a Head teacher (tick as appropriate) O-3 years ( ) 4-9 years ( ) 10 and above ( ) 7. (a) School name ____________________________________________ (b.) School size _____________________________________________ (c) Zone __________________________________________________ (d) Division ________________________________________________ 8). what is the current pupil enrolment per class? SECTION B: Effect of Child Labour on access and retention survey 1. Are there cases of pupils who have dropped out of school in the last 5 years (2006- 2010) in your institution? Yes No. 2. If the answer to 1 above is yes, how many boys and how many girls dropped out of school. Boys Girls Class Current pupil enrolment per class Boys Girls Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total 90 3. How many boys and girls on average drop out of school every year? Boys Girls 4. Which of the following factors is the most predominant cause of school drop out? (Multiple response)Tick appropriately. Most predominant least predominant (1)  Poverty (2)  Orphan hood due to HIV/AIDs (3)  Early/forced marriages (4)  Child Labour (5)  Truancy/behavior problems (6)  Early pregnancies (7)  Negative attitude towards education by parents 5. Please indicate the number of boys and girls who dropped out of school between 2006-2010 as per the following reasons for school dropout: (i) Child Labour (ii) Poverty (iii) Orphan hood due to Hiv/Aids (iv) Early marriages (v) Truancy (vi) Negative attitude towards education by parents and pupils. (vii) Other reasons (specify) ____________________________________ 91 6. If child labour is one of the causes of school dropout, then what in your opnion is child labour? __________________________________________________________________ 7. What do you consider as the most common Child Labour activities in Mbita District? Tick appropriately. (multiple response) 1. Fishing 2. Looking after domestic animals. 3. Sand harvesting. 4. Charcoal burning/selling. 5. House keeping. 6. Selling foodstuffs during market days. 7.  Baby sitting 8.  Employment in beaches and other business premises 8. What is child work? Tick appropriately (multiple answers are possible) 1. Helping parents at home with light domestic work. 2. Employing children 3. Work which is appropriate to a child’s age. 4. Children going for fishing and farm related work. 5. Other (specify) _____________________________________________ 92 9. How in your opinion, has Child Labour within and outside school affected on access and retention of pupils in your school? Briefly explain __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 10. Which school-based factors would you say are the most responsible for Child Labour (multiple responses accepted) 1.  Fetching water and fire wood for teachers 2.  Planting, weeding and harvesting teacher’s farm 3.  Cooking for teachers 4.  Cleaning the school compound 11. Which of the following home-based factors are the most common causes of Child Labour in Mbita District (Multiple responses accepted) 1.  Herding 2.  Sand harvesting 3.  Charcoal burning 4.  House help/ Shamba boy 5.  Orphan hood 6.  Parental neglect 7.  Poverty 8.  Fishing 93 9.  Other (Specify) ______________________________________ 12. What are some of the cultural practices that can be considered responsible for Child Labour in Mbita District? 1.  Gender based Traditional division of labour 2.  Wife inheritance 3. Collapse of communal collective responsibility in child care 4. .  Gender based segregation in provision of education 5.  Early/forced marriage 6.  Other (specify) _____________________________________ 13. To what extent has Child Labour contributed to low access to schooling amongst children of school going age in Mbita District 1.  Highly contributed 2.  Contributed 3.  Slightly contributed 4.  Have not contributed at all 5.  Not known 14. If the response to question 13 above is highly contributed, give reasons to support your response___________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ 15. Do you know of any children who have not enrolled in school and are involved in Child Labour? Yes No. 94 16. If your response to question 15 above is yes, how many boys and how many Girls? Boys Girls 17. Apart from Child Labour which other reasons deny children the opportunity to enroll and remain in school? ____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ 18. To what extent is Child Labour responsible for low retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District? 1.  Highly responsible 2.  Responsible 3.  Not responsible 4.  Don’t know 19. If your response to question 18 above is highly responsible? How many boys and girls do you know who have either dropped out of school or rarely come to school due to Child Labour? Boys ( ) Girls ( ) 20. What in your opinion are some of the effects of Child Labour? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 95 21. As a school manager, what measures have you taken to mitigate against Child Labour in school. List them down. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 22. Are you aware of any intervention measures or programmes initiated by parents, the community, the government and any other stakeholders to create awareness about the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of pupils; and thereby mitigate against it? Outline the measures. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 23. What further suggestions can you give that would help mitigate against Child Labour in Mbita District? List down. _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Your co-operation was commendable. Thank you very much. 96 APPENDIX II: Questionnaire for Senior Teachers Introduction This is a schedule questionnaire for senior teachers on the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of pupils in Mbita District. The data is being collected purely for academic reasons namely for the award of a Master of Education Degree. The information collected will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Please answer the questions as accurately and honestly as you can. SECTION A Demographic information 1. Name (optional) ________________________________________ 2. Age __________________________________________________ 3. Gender Female Male 4. Highest level of education (Tick as appropriate) (1) University (2) College (3) Secondary (4) Other specify ___________________________________ 5. Highest level of professional training (tick as appropriate) 1. P1 certificate ( ) 2. Diploma in Education ( ) 3. Bachelor of Education ( ) 4. Post graduate Diploma in Education ( ) 5. Master of Education ( ) 97 6. Any other (specify) _______________________________________ 6. Your experience as a senior teacher (tick as appropriate) O-3 years ( ) 4-9 years ( ) 10 and above ( ) 7. (a) School name ________________________________________________ (b.) Zone _____________________________________________________ (c) Division ____________________________________________________ SECTION B Effect of Child Labour on access and retention survey 1. In your own words, what do you understand by the term access to education? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 2. What factors are inhibiting access to education in Mbita District? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 3. Are there cases of pupils who have dropped out of school in the last 5 years (2006- 2010) in your institution? Yes No. 4. If the answer to 1 above is yes, how many boys and how many girls dropped out of school. Boys Girls 5. How many boys and girls on average drop out of school every year? Boys Girls 98 6. Which of the following factors is the most predominant cause of school drop out? (Multiple response)Tick appropriately. Most predominant least predominant (1)  Poverty (2)  Orphan hood due to HIV/AIDs (3)  Early/forced marriages (4)  Child Labour (5)  Truancy/behavior problems (6)  Early pregnancies (7)  Negative attitude towards education by parents 7. What according to you are the most common forms of Child Labour in Mbita district? (Multiple answers possible). 1.  Commercial sex 2.  Helping parents with domestic chores at home 3.  Fishing 4.  Herding 5.  Helping parents take commodities to the market for sale 6.  Casual labour for purposes of earning money. 7.  Other (specify) ___________________________________________ 8. According to you, who between boys and girls are more involved in Child Labour?  Boys  Girls 99 9. Give reasons to support your response to question 6 above. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 10. What is child work? Tick appropriately (multiple answers are possible) 1. Helping parents at home with light domestic work. 2. Employing children 3. Work which is appropriate to a child’s age. 4. Children going for fishing and farm related work. 5. Other (specify) _____________________________________________ 11. How in your opinion, has Child Labour within and outside school affected on access and retention of pupils in your school? Briefly explain ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 12. Which school-based factors would you say are the most responsible for Child Labour (multiple responses accepted) 1.  Fetching water and fire wood for teachers 2.  Planting, weeding and harvesting teacher’s farm 3.  Cooking for teachers 4.  Cleaning the school compound 13. Which of the following home based factors are the most common causes of Child Labour in Mbita District (Multiple responses accepted) 10.  Herding 100 11.  Sand harvesting 12.  Charcoal burning 13.  House help/ Shamba boy 14.  Orphan hood 15.  Parental neglect 16.  Poverty 17.  Fishing 14. What are some of the cultural beliefs or factors that can be considered responsible for Child Labour in Mbita District? 7.  Traditional division of labour 8.  Collapse of traditional values 9. Collapse of communal collective responsibility in child care 10. .  Gender based segregation in provision of education 11.  Early/forced marriage 12.  Other (specify) _____________________________________ 15. To what extent has Child Labour contributed to low access to schooling amongst children of school going age in Mbita District 1.  Highly contributed 2.  Contributed 3.  Slightly contributed 4.  Have not contributed at all 5.  Not known 16. If the response to question 15 above is highly contributed, give reasons to support your response_________________________________________ 101 ___________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ 17. Do you have any information about children in Mbita District who have not enrolled in school and are either assisting their parents at home or are involved in other Child Labour activities? Yes  No  18. If your response to question 17 above is yes, how many boys and how many Girls? Boys Girls 19. Apart from Child Labour which other reasons deny children the opportunity to enroll and remain in school? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 20. To what extent is Child Labour responsible for low retention of pupils in primary schools in Mbita District? 3.  Highly responsible 4.  Responsible 4  Not responsible 5  don’t know 21. If your response to question 20 above is highly responsible? How many boys and girls do you know who have either dropped out of school or rarely come to school due to Child Labour? Boys ( ) Girls ( ) 102 22. What in your opinion are some of the effects of Child Labour? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 23. What suggestions can you give that would help mitigate against Child Labour both in and out of school? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Thank you very much for your co-operation. 103 APPENDIX III: Questionnaire for school management committee chairmen Introduction This is a scheduled questionnaire for SMC chairmen on the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of pupils in Mbita District. The data being collected is purely for academic reasons, namely for the award of a master of education degree. The information collected will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Kindly fill the questionnaire as accurately and honestly as you can. SECTION A Background information Name of school……………………………………. Your name (optional)………………………………. Age…………………………………………………… 1. Gender Male Female Level of education Form IV College University Any other (specify) ----------------------------------------------------------------- SECTION B Effect of Child Labour on access and retention survey 1. As the chairman of SMC in this school, do you know of any children who have dropped out of school in this school? Yes No. 104 2. If yes, how many Boys Girls 3. Do you know any children in your village who have dropped out of school? Yes No. 4. If yes, what according to you were the reasons for dropping out of school? (Tick as appropriate) 1. Lack of school fees and school uniform 2. Child Labour/fishing 3. Orphan hood as a result of Hiv/Aids related deaths 4. Parental neglect 5. Early/forced marriages 6. Other (specify) _______________________________________________ 5. What according to you is Child Labour? 1.  Overworking children 2.  Giving children work for pay 3.  Domestic chores for children at the expense of school 4. . Don’t know 6. Would you say that Child Labour may have prevented some children from enrolling in schools? Yes No. 7. If yes, how many pupils do you know that have not enrolled in schools due to Child Labour? 105 8. Are you aware of any children in your village who assist their parents at home and as a result do not go to school? Yes No 9. If the answer to question 7 above is yes, how many boys and girls? Boys Girls 10. What suggestions can you give that would help mitigate against Child Labour in Mbita District? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Thank you very much for your co-operation. 106 APPENDIX IV: Interview Schedule for Chiefs Introduction This is an interview schedule with the chiefs whose purpose is to collect information about the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of pupils in Mbita District. The data is being collected purely for academic reasons, namely for the award of a master of education degree. The information collected will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Please answer the questions as accurately and honestly as you can. SECTION A Background information 1. Name (optional) ______________________________________________ 2. Age _______________________________________________________ 3. Gender (Tick as appropriate) Female Male 4. Highest level of education attained (tick as appropriate). (1) University  (2) College  (3) Secondary  (4) Other (specify) _____________________________ 5. When were you appointed as the chief of this location?_______________________________ 6. How many sub-locations are in this location? ___________________________ 107 7. Mention the main economic activities in your location. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ SECTION B Effect of Child Labour on access and retention survey. 1. As a chief, what are your major roles? Mention. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 2. What major challenges related to children rights and welfare have you encountered in your day to day official duties? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 3. Do you have records of children of school going age who failed to go to school? Yes No 4. If the answer to question 3 above is yes, give reasons why they have not gone to school? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 108 5. If one of the reasons to question 3 above is Child Labour, what do you understand by the term Child Labour? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 6. In your opinion which of the following forms of Child Labour is the most predominant factor hindering children from attending school? 1. Fishing/employment in beaches 2. House keeping 3. Looking after domestic animals 4. Selling foodstuffs during market days 5. Charcoal burning 6. Commercial sex. 7. What are some of the cultural factors that can be said to be responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in your location? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 8. Which home –based activities would you say are responsible for the prevalence of Child Labour in your location? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 9. Do you know of any children who have dropped out of school? Yes No 109 10. If yes to question 9 above, how many boys and girls? Boys Girls 11. What in your opinion are the major reasons for the dropout in question 9 above? Mention. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 12. If Child Labour is one of the causes of the dropout in question 9 above, do you know people or institutions which employ school-going age children in your location? Yes No 13. If yes to question 12 above, how have you dealt with those found to have employed school-going age children in your location? Explain. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 14. Are you aware of any children in your location who assist their parents or guardians at home and as a result do not go to school? Yes No 15. If yes to question 11 above how many boys and girls? Boys Girls 16. What kind of work are they doing? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 17. What in your opinion are the reasons that drive children to labour? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 110 18. Are there any programmes/interventions in your location that have been initiated to create awareness about the dangers of Child Labour? Who has initiated them? Explain.________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 19. What suggestions can you give that would help reduce or eliminate Child Labour in your location? Mention. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Thank you very much for actively participating in this interview. 111 APPENDIX V: Interview Schedule for A.E.O’S Introduction This is an interview schedule with the A.E.O’s whose purpose is to collect information about the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of pupils in Mbita District. The data being collected is purely for academic reasons, namely for the award of a master of education degree. The information collected will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Please answer the questions as accurately and honestly as you can. SECTION A Demographic information 1. Name (optional) ________________________________________ 2. Age __________________________________________________ 3. Gender Female Male 4. Highest level of education (Tick as appropriate) (1) University (2) College (3) Secondary (4) Other specify ___________________________________ 5. Highest level of professional training (tick as appropriate) i. P1 certificate ( ) ii. Diploma in Education ( ) iii. Bachelor of Education ( ) iv. Post graduate Diploma in Education ( ) v. Master of Education ( ) vi. Any other (specify) _____________________________________ 112 6. Your experience as an education officer (tick as appropriate) O-4 years ( ) 5-9 years ( ) 10 and above ( ) 7. (a) Name of your division _________________________________ (b) Number of zones __________________________________ (c) Number of public primary schools _____________________ SECTION B: Effect of Child Labour on access and retention survey 1. As an A.E.O, what are your major roles? Mention. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 2. What is the total population of boys and girls in public primary schools in your division? Boys Girls 3. Do you have records of any pupils who have dropped out of school? Yes No 4. If yes to question 3 above how many boys and girls? Boys Girls 5. What in your opinion are the major reasons for the dropout in question 4 above? Mention. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 113 6. If Child Labour is one of the causes of the dropout in question 5 above, what in your opinion are the main reasons that drive children to labour? Mention. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 7. Please mention the most predominant forms of Child Labour that deny children access to education and cause them to drop out of school. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 8. Would you say that Child Labour is the most predominant factor affecting access and retention of pupils in Mbita District? Yes No 9. If yes to question 8 above, give reasons to support your answer. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 10. If your response to question 8 is No, mention the factors affecting access and retention of pupils in school in order of prevalence. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 11. Are there programmes/interventions in your division that have been initiated to create awareness about the dangers of Child Labour? Mention indicating the persons, institutions or organizations that are involved. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 114 12. What suggestions can you give that would help reduce or eliminate Child Labour in your division? Mention. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Thank you very much for actively participating in this interview. 115 APPENDIX VI: Interview Schedule for District Children Officer Introduction This is an interview schedule with the district children officer whose purpose is to collect information about the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of pupils in Mbita District. The data being collected is purely for academic reasons, namely for the award of a master of education degree. The information collected will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Please answer the questions as accurately and honestly as you can. SECTION A Demographic information 1. Name (optional) ________________________________________ 2. Age __________________________________________________ 3. Gender Female Male 4. Highest level of education (Tick as appropriate) (1) University (2) College (3) Secondary (4) Other specify ___________________________________ 8. What is your highest level of professional training? 9. How long have you been involved in children services? 1. If yes to question 6 above, how many boys and girls? Boys Girls 2. What are the reasons given for the dropout from school? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 3. If Child Labour is one of the reasons in question 8 above how many cases have you recorded as having dropped out due to Child Labour? Boys Girls 116 4. What in your opinion are the main reasons that drive children to labour? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 5. Are there cases which have been reported to your office of children who have been denied access to schooling? Yes No 6. If the answer to question 11 above is yes, how many boys and girls? Boys Girls 7. What kind of work do they do at home and outside home that prevents them from going to school? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 8. Would you say that Child Labour is the most predominant factor affecting access and retention of pupils in Mbita district? Yes No 9. If yes to question 8 above, give reasons to support your answer. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 10. As a department dealing with child protection and welfare, do you know of any persons, institutions or business organizations which have employed school going age children in Mbita District? Yes No 11. If the answer to question 16 above is yes, what forms of work are the children commonly employed to do 117 __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 12. How many children have been reported to your office to be engaged in work for pay instead of going to school? Boys Girls 13. What policies/laws on child rights, welfare and protection are in place in Kenyan today? How effective are they? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 14. Would you briefly explain what your department has done to create awareness about the dangers of Child Labour and to protect children from labour? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 15. What would you say has been the effect of the awareness creation programs especially in relation to access and retention of pupils in school? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 16. What suggestions or recommendation would you give that will help reduce or eliminate Child Labour in Mbita District? __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Thank you very much for actively participating in this interview. 118 APPENDIX VII: Interview Schedule for Children out Of School Introduction This is an interview schedule with children out of school whose purpose is to collect information about the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of pupils in Mbita District. The data collected is purely for academic reasons, namely for the award of a master of education degree. The information collected will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Please feel free to answer the questions as honestly as you can. SECTION A Background information 1. Name ______________________________________________________ 2. Age _______________________________________________________ 3. Gender. Boy  Girl  4. Location ____________________________________________________ 5. Sub-location _________________________________________________ 6. Parents: Both alive  One alive Both dead  SECTION B Effect of Child Labour on access and retention survey. 1. Have you ever been to school? Yes  No  2. If yes to question 1 above, when were you in school? 3. What made you to drop out of school? 4. What kind of work are you currently doing? 119 5. If no to question 1 above, why did your parents or guardians not enroll you in school? Mention the reasons. 6. Do you know any other children either in your household or the neighbourhood who have dropped out of school? Yes  No  7. If the response to question 6 above is yes, would you kindly mention their names and where they live? 8. Do you know why they dropped out? Mention the reasons. 9. Do you know any other children who have never gone to school? Mention their names and where they live. 10. What reasons made them not to go to school? 11. Have you ever heard of the term Child Labour? Yes No  12. If the answer to question 11 above is yes, what is the meaning of Child Labour according to you? 13. Mention the main reasons that drive children to Child Labour. 14. What would you consider as the most common Child Labour activities that deny children access to education? 15. To what extent would you say that Child Labour has contributed to children failing to enroll in school and dropping out of school? (i)  Highly contributed (ii)  Contributed (iii)  Slightly contributed (iv)  Not contributed at all (v)  Not known. 120 16. What do you think should be done to ensure that all children attend school and do not drop out of school? 17. What suggestions can you give that will help ensure that children are not involved in Child Labour? Thank you for actively participating in this interview. 121 APPENDIX VIII: Focus Group Discussion Guide Introduction This is a focus group discussion guide for pupils in school. The purpose of this discussion is to get your views regarding the effect of Child Labour on access and retention of pupils in school in Mbita District. The data being collected is purely for academic reasons, namely for the award of a master of education degree. The information collected will be treated with utmost confidentiality. It is not for exam purposes, so there is no right or wrong answer. Please feel free to answer the questions as honestly as you can. SECTION A Background information 1. Name (optional) __________________________________________ 2. Age ____________________________________________________ 3. Gender Boy Girl 4. Class ___________________________________________________ SECTION B: Focus group discussion guide on effect of Child Labour on access and retention 1. Do you attend class every day when schools are in session? Yes No 2. If the answer to question 1 above is No, what makes you miss class on some occasions? i. I take agricultural products to the market for sale ii. I go for fishing iii. I fetch firewood and water for use at home iv. I look after livestock v. I do casual work for payment 122 vi. Other (specify) __________________________________ 3. Are there any factors within your school that make you miss class? Yes No 4. If your answer to question 3 above is yes, mention those factors. 5. Have you ever heard of the term Child Labour? Yes No 6. If the answer to question 5 above is yes, what is the meaning of Child Labour according to you? 7. What forms of work would you categorize as Child Labour? 8. Mention the main reasons that drive children to Child Labour. 9. To what extent would you say that Child Labour has contributed to children failing to enroll in school and dropping out of school? (a)  Highly contributed (b)  Contributed (c)  Slightly contributed (d)  Not contributed at all. (e)  Not known. 10. Are all the children in your household currently in school? Yes No 11. If the answer to question 10 above is No, why are some of the children not in school? 12. What kind of work do they do that prevents them from going to school? 13. How many children in your household are currently not attending school? Boys Girls 123 14. Are you aware of any children from your village who are just at home and have not joined school? If yes, how many? Boys Girls 15. Do you know the reasons why those children have not gone to school? Mention them. 16. Do you know pupils who have dropped out of school? Yes No 17. If your answer to question 16 above is yes, how many boys and girls? Boys Girls 18. What were the reasons for dropping out of school? 19. If Child Labour is one of the reasons for dropping out how many boys and girls do you know who dropped out? Boys Girls 20. What suggestions can you give that will help ensure that children are not involved in Child Labour? 21. What do you think should be done to ensure that all children enroll in school and do not drop out of school? Thank you once more for actively participating in this focus group discussion. 124 APPENDIX XI: Approval of Research Proposal 125 APPENDIX XII: Copy of Research Authorization 126 APPENDIX XIII: Research Authorization by National Council for Science and Technology APPENDIX XIV: Copy of Research Permit 127 APPENDIX XIV: Copy of Research Permit