Publication:

Effects of draught on learners health and academic achievements. A case study on primary schoools in Mwingi East Sub-county,Kitui county.

Water is one of the most abundant resources on the planet, yet less than 1 per cent of all water on the planet is freshwater available for our agricultural, industrial, and other consumptive uses. Human beings are currently facing issues with climate change including increasing temperature, drought, earlier spring melts, severe weather events, and diminishing fresh water resources. Water scarcity and Unpredictable rainfalls are not new phenomenon in Mwingi East Sub County. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of drought related factors on pupils’ participation in primary schools in the semi-arid areas of Mwingi East Sub County in Kitui County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were Determine the effect of draught on learner’s health and academic achievements establish the effect of purchasing water on participation, school sanitary conditions and water storage facilities on pupils participation in primary schools. This study was conducted using the descriptive survey research method. The target population for this research was 542 comprising of 22 head teachers, 100 teachers and 320 pupils comprising class seven and eight pupils. The researcher employed simple random sampling to select 11 schools out of 41 public primary schools from where the respondents of the study were drawn from. The study utilized three sets of data collection instruments which are questionnaires for pupils and teachers, interview schedule for head teachers and observation schedule. Reliability was tested through test-retest method, and a correlation coefficient of 0.95 was obtained for teachers questionnaires and 0.89 for pupils questionnaires. The results of data analysis were presented using frequency distribution tables, bar graphs and pie charts. The study established that the proximity to water sources had an effect on the pupil’s participation in education, in primary schools, in that some of parent’s income was directed to purchasing water and this affected pupil’s participation in education, as water is a basic need and was prioritized first, before education. The scarcity of water negatively affected sanitary conditions and that most of the schools lacked water for cleaning hands. This affected participation of pupils, and especially girls. The study recommends that; the Kitui County Government and donors should make effort to provide tapped water to the schools. In the cases where tapped water is difficult to provide, the government should embark on drilling boreholes and wells around the school areas