School drop-out: it’s impact on socio-economic development of rural households in Nagojje sub county, Mukono district, Uganda

Abstract

Development is the making of life better for everyone which essentially means; meeting the basic socio-economic needs such as sufficient food to maintain good health; a safe, health place in which to live; affordable services available to everyone and being treated with dignity and respect. This study addresses the impact of School dropout on the socio-economic development of the rural households in Nagojje Sub County, Mukono district in the central part of Uganda. The specific objectives of the study were to; find out the causes of school dropout; find out the economic activities done by people who drop out of school; & establish the living conditions of people who drop out of school. In this study, descriptive Analysis within the qualitative research design was used. The research tools used included; guided Oral interviews with key informants; School dropouts and other informants such as Parents, head teachers and stakeholders in the development process. The Sample population was 62 people. Purposive and simple random sampling was used to select each member in the three parishes namely; Nagojje, Namataba & Wagala in Nagojje Sub County. The research instruments used were four sets of oral interview guides and an observation guide. A test-retest method was carried out on school dropouts, parents, and few other education and development stakeholders in Central division, Lugazi Municipality to ascertain the validity and reliability of the research instruments. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics that involved using frequencies and percentages with the help of computer statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The major findings of the study were; School dropout is caused by; cultural and/ or gender discrimination; poverty of the parents; lack of striking role models; poor performance in class; early pregnancies and orphan hood. The economic activities done by the people who drop out of school include; Peasant farming; Bodaboda services; trade in scrap; betting; selling alcohol; harvesting sugarcane; and; stone quarrying. Many school dropouts live in poor housing and sanitation conditions; eat poor diet & malnutrition; use of contaminated water due to limited access to clean water; poor heath due to limited access to medical and educational services as well as limited access to information. The recommendations of the study were; Policy makers and other stakeholders should sensitize the youths, parents and the entire community in the Sub County on the defects of School dropout; Government should employ School counselors to influence behavioral change among school girls about their sexuality; the Ministry of Education and Sports should take part in designing policies that limit school dropout; feeding programmes should be made compulsory to all schools in the country.