Negative effects of rice farming on the learners academic performance in Miwani Division,Muhoroni District in Kisumu.

Abstract

Poor performance in learners in most learning institution is a thing of a national concern neither can the importance of the national be underestimated, in Miwani division, this problem has not spared the learners either. The purpose of the study was thus to investigate the negative effects of rice farming on the learner’s academic performance in Miwani division, Muhoroni district in kisumu county .This is the division that does most of rice farming in the western Kenya. Most of rice paddies hail from this division. The headquarters of National Irrigation Board, NIB is also situated in this division. Rice farming was introduced to this area in the years immediately after Kenya got independence. There was need to increase food production and to limit the level and the rate of food importation both in the country and locally .The objectives were to determine the negative effects of rice farming on the learner’s academic performance, to establish the relationship between school attendance and performance and to seek the possible solutions to these problems. It is expected that the findings of this study shall be used by the policy makers in the education sectors to help improve the quality of education in this area; the MOE and the other education players. It would help the government bodies like the ministry of Education ,the children’s department and other policy makers to come up with policies that would help the learners more and protect them from the dangers originating from child labor and other related activities. The findings would also help the local administration in that they would be in a position to feel challenged to ensure that all the government policies on education and security to education are all implemented This would help improve the performance both in KCPE and KCSE of the learners. This study was based on the structural functionalism theory which states that “human society functions like a living organism”. The study adopted the descriptive study design. The population of the study included the area DEO, the learners, 20 the parents 8 and 10 teachers. Three types of research instruments were used i.e. a Questionnaire an Interview schedule and the Observation schedules. The content validity was tested. Test and re-test method were used to test the reliability of the instruments. Pilot study was done in two selected schools. The researcher got an introductory letter from the university and sought for permission from the area DEO before administering the questionnaires to the learner’s teachers and the parents. Interviews were also conducted to a section of the sampled population and observations made by the researcher.The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics; frequencies and percentages. Findings were presented in frequency distribution tables, bar graphs and the pie-charts.the research findings are children involved in work and schooling end up dropping –out of school, there is low enrolment, teenage pregnancies, low performance in national exams and the effect of absenteeism leading to low school attendance. The researcher recommended for the government intervention, advocacy campaigns and the community sensitization to help the learners meet their academic aspirations.