Evaluation on effectiveness of mobile schools on education access in pastoral communities: a case of Wajir South constituency

Abstract

Education among the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands has been faced with various challenges. The school enrolment in these regions is very low and communities inhibiting are politically, socially and economically marginalized and often seen as out of step with the rest of the country. In order to overcome the problem of low enrolment by conventional schools in ASAL areas, mobile schools were innovated. Mobile schools reach out beyond the effective catchment areas of conventional schools to people who have never enjoyed educational services before and who usually welcome them with high expectation. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mobile school on education access in pastoral community of Wajir south constituency. The study was carried out on all the ten mobile schools (census) in Wajir south constituency .Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used while utilizing descriptive survey design. Data was collected using questionnaires for the teachers of mobile schools and head teacher of link primary school, Interview guide for mobile school pupils and parents of mobile schools while education officers, key informant persons and donors will participate in the study through focus group discussions. Data collected was analyzed using frequencies and percentages inform of tables and pie charts because they easily communicate the research findings to the majority of the respondents. Frequencies easily show the number of' times a response occurs or the number of subjects in a given category. Percentages were used to compare the sub-groups that differ in proportion and size. The major findings of the study were that access to mobile school does not guarantee regular attendance and transition of mobile school graduate to formal primary school. The low rate of transition is an indication of ineffective of mobile schools in increasing access to education among pastoral communities. Based on these findings recommended that there should be regular monitoring and supervision plan for mobile school so as to minimize drop out in an effort to increase transition of mobile school graduate to primary school and lastly government and other education stake holders should sensitize the community on the importance of educating children and shun cultural practices that hinder access to education