causes of low acdemic performance in rural areas

FACTORS INFLUENCING LOW ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PUPILS IN RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN UGANDA: A CASE OF KANYUM SUBCOUNTY-KUMI DISTRICT BY ARIKO EMMANUEL 07/U/5418/PS 207006976

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE EXAMINERS OF MAKERERE UNIVERSITY KAMPALA IN PART IAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF A BACHELORS DEGREE IN SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL ADMINISTRATION.

2O09 Declaration I Ariko Emmanuel do herein declare that this is my own original masterpiece that has never before been presented to any university or institution. Sign………………………. Date……………………………. Supervisor ………………………………Date…………………………….. Dr. Julius Omona

Dedication

To God Almighty and the family of papa PG Anuko. Get out of your comfort zones, go to school and change your history and destiny.

Acknowledgement I am greatly indebted to many individuals for the tremendous support and contrib ution towards this work. I acknowledge Dr.Julius Omona for his fundamental technical, timely, accurate a nd appropriate academic guidance and supervision that led to the realization of this dissertation. I am also absolutely grateful to my dear parents P.G Anuko, Immaculate Iyamet an d Margaret Akiteng for their sacrificially unlimited love, care and support. I c annot say thank you and it is enough. My fiancée Rose Nakami, thank you for your patient and daring heart, emotional, social, physical, spiritual and psychological support you have given to me canno t be costed. My friends Richard, Chris, Andrew, Patrick, Sarah, Dan, Nickson, Teso missioners , SWSA class, all youths and pastors of PAG church Kumi and many others, I appre ciate all your support and prayers. Thank you for your mentorship. Florence Sapiri who typeset this work, I owe a lot of gratitude to you. Thank yo u. In a special way, I thank all the respondents that provided relevant information to this study guided me a lot and gave a focus and direction to this research.

TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENTS………………………………………PAGE Declaration……………………………………….. (i) Dedication………………………………………... (ii) Acknowledgement………………………………... (iii) List of tables……………………………………… (iv) List of figures……………………………………… (v) Acronyms…………………………………………. (vi) Abstract……………………………………………. (vii) CHAPTER ONE 1 .0 IN T RO D U CT I ON 1.1. Background 1.2 Statement of the Problem 1.3 Study Objectives 1.4 Specific Objectives 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 Scope of the Study 1.7 Conceptual Framework CHAPTER TWO 2. LITERATURE REVIEW CHAPTER THREE 3.0 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Area of Study 3.3 Study Design 3.4 Sample Size 3.5 Sample Procedure 3.6 Methods of Data Collection 3.7 Data Processing 3.8 Research Formalities 3.9 Limitations of the Study CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 PRESENTATIONS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Background Characteristics of Respondents 4.3 Children Statistics and Pass Levels 4.4 Occupations of Respondents 4.5 Qualitative Results from Respondents and Key Informants on Causes of low Performance CHAPTER FIVE 5.0 DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Discussion 5.2 Conclusion 5.3 Recommendations 5.4 Future Research References Appendices Instruments Map of kanyum Sub County Introduction Letter.

Acronyms P.L.E: Primary Leaving Examination S.M.C: School Management Committee. L.C: Local Council HIV: Human Acquired Virus AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome P.A.G: Pentecostal Assemblies of God D.E.O: District Education Officer D.I.S: District Inspector of Schools UNEB: Uganda National Examination Board P.T.A: Parents Teachers’ Association D.P.A: Delinquent Peer Affiliation U.P.E: Universal Primary Education MoES: Ministry of Education and Sports G.O.U: Government of Uganda.

Abstract Education is one of the most important aspects of human resource development. Po or school performance not only results in the child having a low self esteem, bu t also causes significant stress to the parents. There are many reasons for chil dren to under perform at school especially rural schools such as medical problem s, below average intelligence, emotional problems, poor socio-cultural home envi ronment and even environmental causes among others The information provided by the parents, teachers, pupils about children’s acade mic difficulties guides education stake holders to form informed solutions to su ch causes. However a multidisciplinary in-depth research is usually necessary be fore making a final diagnosis it is important to find the reason(s) for a child’ s poor school performance and come up with a “treatment” plan early so that the child can perform up to full potential. Considerable research has focused on various factors that predict academic perfo rmance, researchers have offered varied explanations. Although these explanation s and previous studies have contributed substantially to the field, they have su bsequently overlooked specific factors attributable to rural primary schools. Compared to pupils in urban schools, those in rural schools may not share the sa me values, factors or have access to community resources, may have encountered m ore difficulties in acculturation and may experience more struggles in acquiring English proficiency and achieving academic success.

Given the paucity of research on pupils in rural primary schools and the reality that they encounter many barriers to academic performance, there is a pressing need to examine the factors that contribute to low academic performance. In the present study, the research sought to examine different sources of influence on academic performance with particular focus on pupils in rural primary schools gi ven that they constitute a large proportion of the population. In short the purp ose of this study was to identify important influences on academic performance o f pupils in rural primary schools in Uganda. CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Problem Globally, 570 million children are enrolled in school. The number of children of school going age who were out of school fell from 103 million in 1999 to73 mill ion in 2006. In that year, primary school enrolment in developing countries reac hed 88% on average up from 83% in 2000. In sub-Saharan Africa, the net primary school enrolment ratio has only recently reached 71% even after a significant jump in enrolment that began in 2000. Around 38 mil lion children of primary school going age in this region are still out of school . (UN millennium Development Goal report on Uganda, New vision September 26th 20 08) The majority of the estimated 27.2 million Ugandans live in rural areas. Accordi ng to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 23 million people (84.6%) live in rural a reas, while 4.1 million live in urban centers. In Uganda, the introduction of universal primary education (U P E) in 1996 and i ts implementation in January 1997 initially resulted in an increase in net prima ry enrolment from 62% in 1992 to 86% 2002/3. Recently, data show that primary sc hool enrolment is no longer improving with a fall to 84% in 2005/6. Prior to the introduction of universal primary education in Uganda, the status of primary ed ucation sub-sector in Uganda was dismally poor. Currently, a large proportion of children that enroll in primary school do not c omplete a full course of primary education. Some of the causes include high repe tition and drop out rates, poor teacher and head teacher attendance, large numbe rs of under and over age enrollees, and low learning achievement that is poor pe rformance most especially in primary leaving examinations even for those that co mplete the course. In Uganda, the official net enrolment rate increased to more than 90% the gender gap narrowed and in 2005, the country achieved gender parity for primary education The percentage of pupils that passed the primary leaving examinations improved from 74% in 2001 to 82% in 2006. Average test and examination results improve gr adually. Never the less the country still faces many challenges. First of all, although net enrolment rates seem to be high, pupil attendance rat es are low. Drop out and repetition is high, resulting in low progression and co mpletion rates Moreover, although there seems to be a slight improvement in learning achievemen ts, the quality of education remains low. Average scores on tests and primary le aving examinations are below 40%. In 2005, the average results for mathematics f or primary leaving examinations were even below 30%. Many children leave school without mastering literacy and mathematics. (UPE policy brief 10, February 2006) As a result of large growth of in enrolments for example in Zambia after the int roduction of the UPE program, Zambia came close to the realization of the millen nium Development Goals on education. Now there is almost parity in primary educa tion. There are however, large differences by grade and by region especially pertainin g academic performance both in the progressive and national examinations. In alm

ost every region at the national level, test and examination results have remain ed unstable, increase in enrolments and the large growth in the number of examin ation candidates not withstanding, about 70% of the pupils in primary five do no t attain minimum level of performance for English and no more than 6% achieve th e desired levels. For mathematics, the test results improve but the examination results show an opposite trend. The national assessments do not seem to recogniz e this development. Finally though results are tending towards stabilizing at the national level, t hey are not at the provincial level. Even at the provincial level, there are rel atively large fluctuations from year to year and this suggests a more fundamenta l problem and even then, at lower levels, learning achievements are not stable. (Antonie de Kemp, January 2008) This study therefore seeks to unearth the factors influencing low academic perfo rmance of pupils in school so as to assist education stakeholders develop approp riate strategies to ensure improved academic achievement of pupils and performan ce indicators in schools. 1.2 Statement of the Problem Children in private schools perform better than those in public schools, grant a ided schools or community schools. Moreover, there is a double difference estima te for the examination figures between urban and rural schools and as well as re sults in urban schools are better than those in rural schools(Eilor Joseph 2004) Education performance in terms of pupils’ numeric, reading, science and social studies’ knowledge and skills have deteriorated over the years(UPE policy brief 10,February 2006)and the most notable constraint to achievement of full benefit s of UPE is low learning achievement(UN MDG report on Uganda, New Vision Septem ber 26th 2008) 1.3 Study Objectives The general objective was to establish the factors influencing low academic perf ormance of pupils in rural primary schools. 1.4 Specific Objectives 1. To find out the factors that determine the academic performance of pupils in rural primary schools. 2. To discover how the above identified factors affect performance. 1.5 Significance of the study Considerable research has focused on the factors that influence the academic of children in school but has tended to overlook specific factors in the rural area s. Again researchers have offered varied complementary and conflicting explanati ons concerning academic performance but although these explanations and previous studies have contributed substantially to the field, they have primarily been g eneral with less emphasis to specific factors influencing performance of pupils in rural primary schools in Uganda. There is therefore an urgent need to unearth specific factors applicable to rura l schools and children to assist stakeholders in education develop appropriate s trategies to improve the quality of education and performance indicators. 1.6 Scope of the Study The study was conducted in Kanyum sub-county in Kumi district in Eastern Uganda. The target people included parents, head teachers, teachers, local councilors a nd pupils. Selected households were studied to provide their opinions, views, pe rspectives and information on the topic of study. The study explored factors influencing low performance of pupils in rural primar y schools in Uganda. 1.7 Conceptual Framework.

The study covered independent variables like household tasks, scholastic materia ls, supervision of children’s home work, absenteeism, welfare of the children, e ducation level of parents, attitudes, economic status, demoralization, and super vision and how these interact leading to dependent variable of performance. It a lso covered other contributory factors like the role of school management commit tee, inspectors of schools, peers, local councilors, community attitudes and tea chers’ contribution. This is the framework upon which the study was based. It ma pped out the hypothetical linkages among the factors that influence performance of pupils in progressive tests and the national examinations. The other factors taken into consideration are school environment related issues like high pupil: teacher ratio, understaffing, teacher absenteeism, negligence of duty and limited instructional materials, physical access-actual distance fro m home to school and socio cultural beliefs that is giving priority to boys as o pposed to girls.

PROBLEM ANALYSIS DIAGRAM:

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CHAPTER TWO 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Universal Primary Education (U P E) is one of the government of Uganda’s main po licy tools for achieving poverty reduction and human development and realizing t he millennium development goals for education. It was introduced in January 1997, following a political commitment by president Museveni that the government would meet the cost of primary education of four c hildren per family. This commitment was soon extended to allow all people that w anted to access primary education to do so. Enrolment leapt from 2.5 to 6 millio n and annual expenditure on education increased by 9%. Net enrolment rose from 6

2.3% to 86.5%. The ratio of boys to girls narrowed dramatically in both primary and secondary schools. The increased access to education of the poorest groups in society normally has a negative effect on the average examination and test results. There is also a p ositive correlation between educational background and income of the parents and test and examination results of the pupils (White 2004) Precisely, this effect may explain why in the short run in many developing count ries the effects of increased attention to education may seem to be disappointin g. This effect is an example of vanishing benefits. The results are there althou gh they do not seem to be there (Ravallion 2001). Comparative studies between Uganda and Zambia show a significant relation betwee n income, education of parents and test and examination results of pupils. In 20 05 in Zambia, the examination results for English of the 20% of pupils from the most developed regions were on average 20% higher than the results of the lowest developed regions (Antonie de Kemp, January 2008) Examination results for English and mathematics in Zambia and Uganda for the yea rs 2003, 2004 and 2005 have been a cause of debate as to which variable is most influential in determining results. In literature, there has been a long debate about the relation between class size and learning achievement. This debate is m ainly based on evidence in industrialized countries and seems to be inconclusive . Michaelowa (2003) suggests a concave quadratic function for the relation between class size and examination results. In this specification, pupils get the best results in a class size of about 60. However for both countries, there seems to be an inverse relation between pupil-teacher ratio and learning achievements. Th e pupil-classroom ratio is also included because it is also highly correlated wi th examination and test results. Results for the Zambian schools point to the effect of good management. In many schools in Zambia, average examination results have large fluctuations from year to year. Fluctuations of 30-40% are no exception. The growth of enrolments and a high teacher turnover cannot explain these fluctuations. They point to several weaknesses that have to do with capacity constraints, severe under funding, a l ack of qualified and motivated teachers and head teachers and a lack of effectiv e management at the school and district level (Antonie de Kemp, January 2008) According to independent evaluation group (IEG) of the World Bank for basic educ ation in Ghana, high pupil-teacher ratio, and high pupil-classroom ratio have a negative effect on learning achievement. Schools with double shifts do not have significantly better results than schools without. There is a significant effect of teacher education and teacher training. Schools with high percentages of teachers that have had training in the previous year p erform better. In Uganda’s schools, many times children have to share their books with other pu pils but these children would perform better if all children had their own books . Still, there is investment in books and has expected results that is improving performance of children in both progressive and national examinations, however, there is still emphasis on rote learning which may not improve final examinatio n results as pupils will lack applicability of knowledge (White 2004) The majority of the estimated 27.2 million Ugandans live in rural areas. Accordi ng to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 23 million people (84.6%) live in rural a reas, while 4.1 million live in urban centres. Therefore, failure to provide basic services to rural communities means neglecti ng almost the entire country. Results from the 2008 national primary leaving exams paint yet another grim pict ure. While performance generally declined, the exams were a disaster for rural s chools, as many did not have a single candidate pass in division one (the highes t grade achievable). What this means is that few or no rural primary school pupi

ls will be admitted to top secondary schools in the country - primarily because of poor grades, but also because of lack of money. Good secondary schools in towns charge about $250 per term, yet the majority of people living in rural areas do not earn a $1 a day. Failure to enroll at a good secondary school limits rural children s chances of attending university and ge tting a good job. This perpetually keeps children and their parents in poverty because they will n ever enjoy the regular income salaried people do. The majority of rural people s till fetch water from stagnant dirty wells, which exposes them to diseases, the treatment of which will take up whatever little money they may have. All these facts are known and well documented by the relevant government departm ents. In fact such statistics are used to beg for foreign aid which aid is meant for promoting education, health, social security, water and sanitation and reha bilitation. Unfortunately, when this aid comes in and is added to locally raised government revenue, it is misappropriated or extravagantly used by the elite in the leaders hip. A bulk of local revenue and aid money is out rightly swindled and the balan ce officially used by those in leadership to pay their salaries, allowances, off ice furnishings and to buy luxury 4X4s. priority is not given to improving educa tion in rural Uganda. What is left over is sent to the rural areas to provide basic services. Unfortun ately for Uganda, local governments, the highest being a district council, just provide another layer of bureaucracy and another place for public funds to be mi sused. The districts receive little money for the maintenance of rural roads, construct ion of classrooms, among other activities, but much of it is shared between offi cials. Tenders to construct classrooms and roads are given to the campaign manag ers of district councilors, who will often use sub-standard materials to save en ough money for themselves and to pay bribes, there is very little chance of conc rete action ever being taken against them except, perhaps, if donors demand it. Corruption has become so endemic in Uganda, and is almost an accepted way of lif e, that when someone is appointed or elected to a public office they think it is now their turn to take advantage. The lack of civic competence among rural people makes the situation worse. Peopl e from rural areas treat the provision of services like education as a gift or f avour from the government. They do not see it as their right to demand it and, t herefore, settle for anything. They will never know, for example, how much money has been passed to their local leaders for a road or a school. Even if shoddy w ork is done, they remain thankful because they never expected it in the first pl ace. Public servants have got away with a lot of stealing because they face no s anctions from the beneficiaries. In fact, corrupt people are glorified in the vi llages because they are the ones with money and have the capacity to solve some of their problems, such as driving a critically ill person to hospital, driving couples around on their wedding day and sometimes building churches and mosques, while some few may donate desks and balls to schools. Internal conflicts and bad politics have also undermined provision of services t o rural areas. Areas that have endured conflict, mainly in northern Uganda and p arts of the East, have received less development attention because the governmen t has been preoccupied with ending the Lord s Resistance Army insurgency for 22 years.

Quality education, clean water and good roads are a luxury in these areas where people are commuting between their gardens and internally displaced people s cam ps. It is no wonder that up to 60% of the population in northern Uganda still live below the poverty line and up to 35% in the East, compared with 16% in the Centr al and 20% in the West of the country. The Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, was voted into power mainly by the Weste rn and Central regions and there is a tendency to reward loyalty. The majority o f ministers and other public servants are appointed or recruited from these two regions. This does not suggest that the situation is so good in the rural areas of Central and Western Uganda, but it is better than the rural North and East. There was a greater decline in the candidates’ performance in the 2008 Primary L eaving Examinations (PLE), according to the results released on January 16. The pass rate for 2008 was 80.2 percent compared to 86.5 percent in 2007 and 88.2 p ercent in 2006. Of the 463,631 pupils who sat for the 2008 PLE, 89,306 (19.3perc ent) completely failed all the four subjects taught at primary school level. Thi s implies the number of failures shot up by over 50 percent, compared to the two previous years. In 2007, there were 56,603 (13.5 percent) pupils who failed whe reas 47,717 (11.8 percent) pupils failed PLE in 2006. While releasing the results UNEB executive secretary, Mathew Bukenya, attributed the poor PLE performance to teachers and pupils’ absenteeism, late reporting to and early departure from school. The poor performance was attributed to teacher s’ dependency on past papers as teaching materials instead of developing concept s and reasoning as they teach and candidates’ low literacy level which affects t he candidate’s level of understanding questions. Low levels of inspecting schools to evaluate their administration and teachers as well as insecurity in some parts of the country were the other factors forwar ded by state minister for primary education, Mr. Peter Lokeris. But education experts say these same reasons have been recycled every year; so t hey wonder why the 2008 results greatly declined. Out of the 463,631 pupils who sat for 2008 PLE, only 17,021 (3.7 percent) candid ates passed in division one compared to31, 969 (7.6 percent) in 2007. Another154, 774 (33.4 percent) pupils passed in division two while138, 796 (29.9 percent) passed in division three. 63,761 (13.8 percent) pupils passed in Divis ion Four. The performance per subject show Social-studies was the best done subject follow ed by Mathematics, English and Science was the worst done. The percentage of those pupils who passed in division one reduced compared to th at of 2007. In 2007, there were31, 969 or 7.6 percent pupils in grade one as opp osed to 31,971 or 7.9 percent in 2006. Statistics from UNEB show 486,312 candida tes from 10,511 schools registered for PLE in 2008 compared to 444,107 who sat i n 2007 and 435,063 in 2006. Of the 463,631 candidates who sat for 2008 exams 86. 3 percent were UPE beneficiaries and 13.7 percent were private students. Analysts say UNEB’s becoming stricter on issues of cheating could have prevented the usual passing with flying colours exhibited by many city schools hence the poor results. The results show Kampala schools did not perform very well. Rural schools are said to have maintained their usual low performance and by implicati on, they never hope for any better results than that. Indeed, Mr. Bukenya said that the poor performance in 2008 PLE was due to tight measures against examination malpractices. “The (UNEB) scouts did a commendable job by apprehending and exposing those who attempted to involve themselves in examination malpractice,” stated Mr. Bukenya while releasing the results at Ministry of Education headquarters. UNEB deployed nearly 7,011 scouts across the country to monitor exams. But teachers claim pupils failed PLE because the exams were set in hard-to-under stand English for primary seven candidates. “The language used in examining the pupils was above their understanding level;

thus most of them couldn’t get the questions right,” said Justus Malisaba, a tea cher who participated in marking. Charles Oundo an examiner in PLE said: “The category of questions set needed a h igh level of reasoning. The questions required thinking and application and chil dren had not been prepared enough.” He added that teachers are preparing pupils to pass exams by overusing past papers so when questions were set differently, t he pupils could not properly answer. “And some teachers, especially those teachi ng science, lack sound knowledge to handle certain topics and end up not teachin g certain topics. This was evident in the rate at which pupils who left many una nswered questions.” Oundo said. “In 2008, we used books whose vetting had ended in 2007 because the ministry of education had not released a list of books for 2008-2013. As a result, those who set the PLE picked questions from unknown books. Other teachers attributed the low performance to indiscipline among pupils, and transfer of teachers to new environments which they may find unfriendly. They al so added that high teacher-pupil ratio continue to make matters worse. “The syst em of transferring teachers has negatively affected our teaching morale. Teacher s have to first cope with the topography of the area before they report to class , and pupils lose valuable time to study in the process,” says Okwii Bosco, a te acher at Kajamaka New Primary School in Kumi District. He adds: “Some teachers a nd pupils report late to school and leave early. Again some pupils nowadays wast e a lot of time drinking alcohol because alcohol is currently affordable as it i s packed in sachets of as low as Shs500.” Education analysts also say that change to the conveyor belt system of marking makes it hard to bribe examiners unlike the old system where examiners could mar k particular centres could be a reason behind the poor performance. The conveyor belt system is where a question paper is marked by several teachers each specia lizing in marking particular questions or sections. It is also said that some of the schools which have been performing well were doing leaked exams and UNEB se ems to have become tougher on exam leakages hence the poor performance. Omadi Al ex the head teacher of Omurang primary school said ‘I comment on the constant po or performances of students from poor backgrounds. Most of the pupils who pass P LE are from well to do families, how I wish the structure of exams change for th ose in rural areas, atleast if they could sit for their own district based exams and the urban pupils where all facilities are available in school are comprehen sively examined and their exam different from that of their rural counterparts. ’ There is evidence however of a significant drop out rate of pupils from the prim ary school education cycle. Although it is difficult to estimate completion rate s precisely, of the 2,159,850 pupils that were enrolled in primary school level one in 1997 at the time U P E was introduced, only 485,703(23%) reached primary seven in 2003. pupils a bandon school for different reasons, but most common include lack of interest (4 6%), family responsibilities (15%) and sickness (12%)(U P E policy brief, inter regional inequality facility, February 2006). There are threats to maintaining and improving equity in education .The high dro p out rate is the first major threat. The major reason for this being lack of in terest, and parents of the beneficiary pupils seem not to have seen the benefits of the program and are relaxed to support the system as well as their own child ren. (MoES 1998, guidelines on policy, roles and stakeholders in the implementat ion of U P E). Under the school facilities grant, the government has devoted a lot of resources to procure textbooks, construct classrooms and teachers’ houses, and purchase f urniture for pupils. Nevertheless, these improvements may not always translate into better education performance by pupils. Results from a national assessment of primary education p erformance taken between 1996 and 2000, for example, suggests that education per

formance in terms of pupils’ numeric, reading, science and social studies knowle dge and skills as well as grades in primary leaving examinations deteriorated fo llowing the introduction of U P E and the consequential withdraw of parental sup port. Under this program the government of Uganda abolished tuition fees and parents a nd teachers association charges. Despite the abolition of these charges, primary education was not made compulsor y neither was it made entirely free, since parents were still expected to contri bute pens, exercise books, clothing-uniform, and even bricks for classroom const ruction through community work. During the implementation however, the government realized that parents were not willing to contribute large amounts of bricks and labor, partly because of the many other demands on their time. Emerging issues First, institutional challenges to the delivery of quality education services, a nd corruption are major. An expenditure tracking study conducted by the economic policy research center, Kampala 1997 found that by that time, only 35% of the funds released by the central government to schools were reaching the intended b eneficiaries. Corruption was adversely affecting U P E in various ways, includin g shoddy work, demoralization of teachers and poor performance of U P E pupils i n national examinations. Parental and community contributions of labour and building materials and other forms of support have failed to materialize. This is most likely on account of poor community mobilization, and the engagement of parents in other income gener ating activities ignoring education. The reported increase in the percentage of pupils that passed Primary Leaving Ex aminations from 74% in 2001 to 82% in 2006 is just a general analysis. No demarc ation is indicated to highlight whether the performance even for those in up-cou ntry schools in Uganda. Liberalization of education has made wealthier parents to take their children to private schools. However, the government is yet fully to take advantage of the liberalization of education sector to maximize the impact of U P E. there is sco pe for the government to work more in partnership with private education service providers, to maximize the synergies between U P E and liberalization of educat ion. Targeting of the poor remains a major challenge, in order to reduce inequality b oth in access to education and in the quality of education, the U P E program sh ould aim at increasing expenditure per pupil in U P E schools in rural areas and for the urban poor. By so doing the government would have more resources at its disposal to focus on improving the quality of education and reducing drop out rates of its operation where it is most needed. Most of the literature written (Bategeka, 2004) only focus on the issues of acce ss, quality, equity and challenges with less emphasis on factors influencing low performance of pupils in rural primary schools. This research will therefore fo cus on this topic so as to fill in gaps of missing information and to add to the already existing knowledge, and provide stakeholders with information to improv e education performance indicators so as to cater for even children in rural pri mary schools. A choice between quantity and quality is no kind of choice, but these are the di fficult constraints under which Ugandan government officials in the health and e ducation departments operate. Which should it be: all children get a smattering of education with only a tiny number of the most persistent and determined manag ing to get decent grades Or exclude half the children who actually in the rural?

Not an easy decision.

CHAPTER THREE 3.0 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction This chapter presents the methods of investigation the researcher used. It is co mposed of research design, sample size and sampling procedure, sources of data, tools of data collection as well as limitations / problems encountered during th e study. 3.2 Area of Study The study was carried out in Kayum Sub-County 7 kilo- meters south of Kumi distr ict head quarters on Kumi-Pallisa road. It is bordered to the East by Atutur Sub -county to the West by Nyero Sub-County and to its South by Mukongoro Sub-County . Kanyum Sub County has a population of about 3800 people. 3.3 Study Design This study involved the use of an exploratory research design to explore the cau ses of low academic performance of pupils in rural primary schools. 3.4 Sample Size One-hundred (100) respondents were interviewed. The study population comprised t eachers, pupils, parents and local leaders. There were 20 parents, 15 teachers, 60 pupils and 05 selected local leaders. A total of 07 selected schools within Kanyum Sub-county were studied. The select ed schools included Kajamaka New Primary School, Kanyum Primary School, Aukot Pr imary School, Olimai Primary School Kogili Primary School, Omurang Primary Schoo l and Ajuket Primary School

Table Showing Sample Size. S /N o . C a te g or y Number of Respondents 1 Parents 20 20 2 T ea c he r s 15 3 P up i ls 6 0 4 Local leaders 05 T ot a l 100 3.5 Sample Procedure Cluster sampling was used to select the seven schools out of total number in the sub-county. Pupils and parents were identified randomly for quantitative data w hile teachers and local leaders were interviewed as key informants. 3.6 Methods of Data Collection 3.6.1 Interviews This involved face-to-face interaction between the researcher and the respondent

s. This method was preferred because it is time saving and flexible. The use of this method was with the use of an interview guide, this consisted of questions related to the theme of study. 3.6.2 Questionnaires These were developed and distributed to the respondents by the researcher. Quest ions were aimed at eliciting relevant information from the respondents. 3.6.3 Focus Group Discussion One focus group discussion was held with a representative sample of pupils, teac hers, parents and local leaders. The objective was to have participants brainsto rm on the causes of low performance among pupils in rural primary schools with s pecific focus on Kanyum Sub-county. The focus group discussion composed of ten p eople. A Focus discussion guide was used to allow flexibility, in-depth probing, face-t o-face interaction and observation of non-verbal behavior. The researcher facili tated the discussion and a friend acted as a note taker. 3.6.4 Site Visits In addition to the above, site visits to selected households and schools were ma de. The 15 parents were interviewed from their homes. The express aim was to ass ess the responsiveness of parents to their children’s education, find out if the children were given enough time to do their home work, at the same time assess attitudes and perceptions of parents to education of children and take a general observation of the home environment to find out its possible implications on th e children and their likely academic performance. 3.7 Data Processing 3.7.1 Editing Editing was done after collecting data to minimize errors by checking on complet eness, accuracy and uniformity. Errors were corrected and responses put in the r ight place. 3.7.2 Coding After editing the data, coding followed thus classifying or grouping similar res ponses to the questions into meaningful categories or classes or groups in relat ion to variables under study. The responses were used to formulate a general res ponse category. 3.7.3 Tabulation Questionnaires were scanned through, counting the number of responses falling in to a particular category and recording them. Tabulation aimed at giving a clear presentation of various responses and significance of response depending on the magnitude of the responding number. 3.8 Research Formalities/Ethical Consideration Before carrying out the study, the researcher got permission from relevant autho rities (L.C’s) and informed consent of the respondents was sought before any int erview was done. This was with the use of introduction letter and consent form. 3.9 Limitations of the Study Some limitations encountered during the study included among others the followin g; Problems of statistical analysis. The researcher had to analyze the data manuall y to avoid such problems. At the same time, great caution was taken when selecti ng members to be included in the sample to ensure uniformity and eradicate irreg ularities in the samples.

Financial challenges since the exercise was costly in terms of stationery, trans portation to the field to collect data, buying pens, typesetting, printing work, and maintenance of the researcher while in the field. Peer group influence among children is difficult to quantify since it has both p ositive and negative impact on the academic performance of the child in school. The researcher then had to put emphasis on the influence it is seen to make on t he rural pupils only. Time for collecting data was limited yet the work needed a much longer duration. Much as it was so, the researcher maximized and effectively utilized the little available time to ensure that all the work was accomplished.

4.0 PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 4.1 Introduction Research on pupils’ academic performance tends to utilize aggregate generalized data about both pupils in the rural areas and those urban areas although those i n rural areas represent a large group with varied histories and socio-economic b ack grounds some rural pupils are among the poorest performers in the nation. As well, closer examination reveals that pupils in the rural schools experience economic difficulties and have not achieved good performance. It is generally no ticed that at least 20% of the children in a classroom get poor marks. Ultimately, many interventions may be poorly informed and designed because they are based on inaccurate and aggregated data. As result, many underachieving and disadvantaged rural children are not receiving the services and resources that t hey desperately need. Failure to address causes of poor performance and other barriers perpetuates a vicious cycle that does not improve the performance of pupils in rural areas. The present study intended to ascertain the relative importance of certain facto rs as they relate to academic performance. Drawing on the various areas of resea rch including among other studies on parental influence, and delinquency provide d a framework the current study. 4.2 Background Characteristics of Respondents. A hundred respondents were interviewed using objective and structured type of qu estionnaires and interview schedules. These respondents included 20 Parents, 15 Teachers, 60 Pupils from upper primary and o5 selected local leaders.

Table Showing Number of S /N o . C a te g or y 1 Parents 20 20 2 T ea c he r s 3 P up i ls 6 0 4 Local leaders T ot a l 100

Respondents Number of respondents 15 05

The ages of the respondents ranged from 12-16 for pupils in the primary schools and that of other respondents ranged 25-60 years out of all the 100 respondents 46 were females and 54 were males. The ethnic was predominantly Iteso though 03 of the teachers were Bagisu and 01 Kumam. Among the 100 respondents besides pupils, the majority were married 32 ,60 were single and 08 widowed. Table Showing Marital Status of Respondents Mari Marita tal l Sta Statu tus s No. No. of of Res Respo pond nden ents ts S i n g le 60 M a r r ie d 3 2 W i d o we d 0 8 T ot a l 100 4.3 Pupil Statistics and PLE Pass Levels The number of pupils in the schools studied ranged from 420 to 850. The numbers of boys were slightly higher than that of girls. In primary seven classes the nu mbers currently (2009) ranged from 90-130 for the various schools. A comparative analysis of grades at primary seven was taken by the researcher an d the findings were as follows; Table Showing Pass Levels of Pupils in PLE S c h o ol / ye a r Number of candidates % age pass at PLE 20 0 5 2 0 06 2 0 07 2008 2 00 5 2 0 06 20 0 7 Kajamaka New p /s 49 50 52 59 34 30 Kanyum p/s 87 79 95 1 02 25 29 Aukot p/s 98 104 82 97 51 44 Olimai p/s 66 70 83 94 49 32 Kogili p/s 51 58 73 89 58 49 Omurang p/s 58 65 77 92 33 31 Ajuket p/s 86 71 95 1 08 53 44 Source: Head teachers’ records

20 0 8 28

35

33 39 40 55 35 66

41 57 31 67 44 40

Enrolment and the number of candidates sitting PLE have increased over the years with a little improvement in performance being registered. In addition, there has been remarkable fluctuation in pass levels and grades and these vary from one school to another. 4.4 Education Status of Respondents. Since the education of respondents relates to other socio-economic variables in the study, it was important to know the education and literacy levels of the are a. The study found out that the education status of all the respondents interviewed ranged from primary five to above ordinary level

Table Showing Education Levels of Respondents Educat Education ion Level Level No. Of Respon Responden dents ts Never gone to school 03 P 1- P 7 70 S 1- S 4 12 S4 and above 15

4.5 Occupations of respondents Sixty (60) of the respondents were primary school pupils, peasant farmers were t wenty six (26) in number, eight( 08) civil servants and six ( 06) were self empl oyed. Table Showing Occupation Characteristics of Respondents O c c u pa t io n No. Of Respondents P u p i ls 60 Civil Servants 08 Self Employed 06 P e a s an t s 26 T ot a l 100

4.6 Qualitative results from respondents and key informants Parental influence The role of parental involvement in facilitating academic performance is a widel y accepted notion. In general, findings show that parents exert great influence. In conceptualizing parental influence, the research focused on parenting styles . Authoritative parenting is positively related to achievements of good grades. In contrast to Kanyum sub county parents are less involved in attending school a ctivities and monitoring academic programs, this has greatly affected performanc e of children in school. Cultural perspectives and socialization practices coupled with family values and socialization experiences. Acculturations and cultural factors like drinking ‘A jono’ and less emphasis on education by the community generally affects the acad emic performance of children. Pupils are much more influenced and experience gre at barriers. Only very few manage to excel academically despite of the cultural barriers along the way. There is more cultural emphasis on gardening work and tr apping of birds, fishing and herding cows as a means of prospering in life compa red to education. The negative impact of delinquent peer affiliations. The study reveled that Pee rs have a significant influence on educational aspirations and outcomes. Adolesc ents conform to peers and engage in anti social or deviant behavior. More over n egative peer experiences like rejection by peers were found to be associated wit h negative academic out comes. Children associating with delinquent peers have d eveloped poor attitude towards school and demonstrate low academic achievement. Ant social and delinquent behaviors have consistently been found to be associate d with poor grades. These findings show that peer affiliation and delinquency in fluence not only attitudes towards school but also actual achievement of out com es. Language difficulties together with socio- historical conditions discourage pup ils leading to poor grades in class. Pupils are certain that some teachers prono unce or speak English in a way that causes them to be in a dense of what the tea cher is trying to convey. Others complain that teachers do not explain lessons c learly as a result they do not understand the material. For that reason they did not score good marks on assignments and exams. Consequently, pupils are unable to grasp lessons and eventually perform poorly. Some pupils blame teachers for n ot explaining lessons in Ateso, according to them they understand Ateso better t han English, so teachers should sometimes explain lessons in Ateso especially wh en they fail to make pupils understand in English. Famine currently (2009) in the Teso sub region has made children abandon school in a bid to fend for survival. Those that still go to school, study with hungry stomachs and therefore attention spans and concentration levels are low, the res ult eventually being inability to grasp class work and have poor performance.

Upon listening to some teachers, it seems that the blame rests upon pupils and p arents. Teachers reported that pupils were not serious about their education cit ing the fact that pupils do not respect their teachers and do not do their assig nment as instructed. Other teachers said that pupils perform poorly because thei r parents were not responsible. Accordingly, if parents could make sure that the ir children revise their lessons daily and did their assignments the performance could improve. On their side, parents have a different opinion on the cause of poor performance in primary schools. Parents blame the fact that classes are over crowded, expla ining that there are often 80-150 pupils in one class. Teachers are unable to mo nitor pupils individually; consequently teachers cannot identify their pupils’ w eaknesses and address them specifically. Teacher absenteeism ,parents blame teaches who simply tell pupils to write down notes from the blackboard without explaining the content, according to them it i s impossible for pupils to perform well when their teachers only give them notes that they cannot figure out and do not give enough exercises to help them put t heir knowledge in practice. Pupils therefore fail their exams because they did n ot understand the lessons in the first place. Medical problems, these conditions have been reported to have an independent eff ect resulting in poor performance; worm infestations cause stunted growth, epile psy, sickle cell anemia increase fossilization of children and increase absentee ism resulting in lower academic scores. Emotional problems, caused by conditions such as chronic neglect, sexual abuse, parents‘divorce, have long-term distress on these children resulting in academic under achievement. These conditions also cause low self-esteem and loss of moti vation to study. It is reported that HIV infected children exhibit significant e motional problems due to stigma hence deteriorating school performance. Poor social economic background. It has been noted that children from poor socia l economical status families perform poorly at school. Malnutrition due to pover ty coupled with low education status of parents adversely affect their cognitive development, such children experience parental attitudes which do not motivate them to study and an unsatisfactory home environment, which does not encourage. Learning while witnessing domestic violence in the family stresses adverse life events and aggressive behavior all in children and does not give them a peaceful atmosphere to revise their notes.

CHAPTER FIVE 5.0 DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Discussion Peer delinquency did not have a direct effect on academic achievement but instea d appeared to be mediated by school attitudes. The significant negative relation ship between peer delinquency and academic achievement becomes non-significant i n the lower primary as compared to upper primary. Hence delinquent peer affiliat ions influence pupils’ attitudes towards school which in turn predict academic a chievement. The findings suggest that peer affiliations directly affect school a ttitudes and indirectly affect academic performance. Specifically associations w ith delinquent peers may deter pupils from seeking out educational resources or fulfilling their attitudes towards school. School attitudes significantly predict academic performance. This highlighted th e importance of school related behaviors and educational aspirations and expecta ncies in determining actual grades. Pupils’ own educational aspirations and atti tudes toward school positively predicted self-reported grades. Positive school a ttitudes arose from feelings of self efficacy and perceived competence and from positive reinforcement like prior good grades. Parent attachment and discipline are generally important predictors of academic achievement. A possible explanation involves the way parent attachment is operat ionally defined. Having parents who are accessible who give reward and punishmen ts, who discuss aspects of their lives and who engage in fun activities with the m and take the education of their children seriously means that parents are cons tantly and consistently transmitting their aspirations or educational values to their children. However, few pupils perceived parent attachment as a form of exc essive control, particularly if children and parents experience intergenerationa l conflict. In general the findings of the study confirm the hypothesis outlined earlier. 5.2 Conclusion The study considered various interventions and the cost effectiveness of the int erventions. In improving performance it must be stressed that there are no gener al rules, what is most important to invest in is the quality of management. Ther efore the main conclusion of this study is that it is important to invest in the quality of management. When the quality of management improves, the effectivene ss of other interventions will increase as well. Investing in the quality of man agement means training an effective support structure at the district level and an effective inspection apparatus. Secondly, it pays to invest in books. Books are a cost effective instrument in raising the learning achievements of pupils. In order to make sure that books wi ll be used, it is important that schools have enough copies. Moreover the effect iveness of books will increase when teacher training is directed to this. Third, teacher training is one way to improve results. Well trained teachers see m to feel more responsible and have lower rates of absenteeism and schools with well trained teachers have better results. The reduction of the pupil-teacher ratio is helpful as well, especially in an en vironment with good management. Without this efforts towards improving pupils’ p erformance may be futile. 5.3 Recommendations

Children with severe physical, sensory or speaking behavioral deficits must not be educated in regular mainstream schools (inclusive schools). Referral to speci al schools should be made for children with severe and profound impairments. Thi s is because they find it extremely difficult to cope with the curriculum and sp eed of teaching and cannot compete favorably with their able bodied counterparts . Advocacy by parents, teachers and community organizations is needed to promote i nstitutional changes to foster these pupils’ academic success. Effective interve ntion efforts to address the educational issues and needs of pupils in rural are as should involve more systematic changes at the local and national levels, give n the challenges they face such as poverty, inadequate educational and instituti onal resources, and academic difficulties. Support structures like outreach programmes, family- school collaborations need to be established to educate and acquaint parents with their children’s school s ystem and importance of educating children. This will facilitate internalization of educational values. Parents are a valuable intervention effort though they m ay not be a major source of influence consistently over the course of their chil dren’s lives. Providing both verbal and tangible rewards as well as educational resources like classrooms reading materials, well trained teachers may improve the academic pe rformance of these children. These incentives may also help counter initial nega tive attitudes towards school that may lead to low academic achievement. Government has invested in teachers, in books and classrooms. Nevertheless these investments will be much more effective only if the government improves the qua lity of school and district management and quality of the inspectorate at the sa me time. A child may be having more than one reason for the poor school performance .Henc e the teachers need to find a detailed developmental and medical history and do a thorough examination of the child to identify any medical, emotional, socio-cu ltural, psychiatric or environmental causes. This can be done through teachers g athering information from parents, the child’s peers and classroom teacher and u se of medical records which clearly describe the child’s behavior social functio ning and the academic difficulties. This information is crucial in forming an in itial diagnosis and development of remedies against poor performance. Alleviation of hunger by providing mid-day meals in schools is one of the mechan isms to improve academic performance in the under nourished low income primary s chool children. Treatment of malnutrition deficiencies and periodic de-worming i s also beneficial in malnourished children. This will enhance memory and body ac tivity of the child, promote learning efficiency hence contributing to high acad emic scores among these children. Teachers should be trained to suspect/detect emotional problems so that they are diagnosed and treated early. HIV infected children need counseling services and should be well integrated into the community to avoid stigmatization. This will reduce symptoms of inattention and impulsivity resulting in improved school per formance All in all, intervention efforts need to be informed by research and circumstanc es of the community or population of interest if performance among children in r ural primary schools is to be improved. 5.4 Future Research This study represents a start in understanding the causes of low academic perfor mance of pupils in rural primary schools in Uganda.

Although research on the factors associated with low performance is abundant, re search on pupils in rural schools is lacking in many respects. Future research should further explore the risk and protective factors associate d with adjustment, achievement and delinquency in these pupils of the rural prim ary schools. Ultimately the challenge of integrating issues of diversity and var iation with theoretical notions and generalizations lies in balancing universali stic versus community specific aims of research. Understanding how psychological processes differ for pupils in rural schools and those in the urban not only informs theory and research but also affects interv ention efforts in real world settings. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDY FACTORS INFLUENCING LOW ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PUPILS IN RURAL PRIMARY SCHO OLS IN UGANDA: A CASE O F KANYUM SUB COUNTY –KUMI DISTRICT Introduction and purpose This study is being conducted to gain an understanding of factors influencing ac ademic performance of pupils in rural schools. I request you to join the study because as a pupil in school, you are eligible a nd can provide resourceful information pertaining this topic under investigation . Risks This study does not put you at any risk at all but still you can choose not to a nswer any of the questions for any reason known to you. Benefits By participating in this study you will help the researcher gain useful informat ion. There is no payment for taking part in this study. This study is purely for academic purposes. It is a requirement for the award of a degree in social work and social administration. Confidentiality Your answer will be kept confidential. To keep your confidentiality, numbers in stead of names are used on the questionnaire. Contact The researcher’s name is ARIKO EMMANUEL, a student of Bachelor of Social Work an d Social Administration Makerere University Kampala. Telephone: 0774-015552 Consent ………………….. Signature of interviewee

……………….. Date

INSTRUCTION: Please circle the response applicable to you. 1. Participant; School……….. Class…………. Sex…………… Age………….. 2. How often do you consult with your parents on issues relating to academic wor k? a Never b Sometimes c Often d Always 3. What is the attitude of your parents towards your going to school? a Not important at all b Not very important c Pretty important d Very important 4. Do you receive any rewards and encouragement from your parents when you attai n a good grade in class? a Never b Sometimes c Often d Always 5. Are you given time to do your homework by the parents? a Never b Sometimes c Often d Only when there is no other work 6. My parents show concern about my performance in class a All the time b Most of the time c Sometimes d Never

7. My parents attach high value to my home work a Strongly agree b Agree somewhat c Disagree d Strongly disagree 8. Having time to do homework does affect my academic performance in school a Strongly agree b Agree somewhat c Disagree d Strongly disagree

9. How often do parents require you to perform domestic or other tasks instead o f studying? a All the time b Most of the time c Sometimes d Never 10. My parents give me adequate support on academic related matters a Strongly agree b Agree somewhat c Disagree somewhat d Strongly disagree 11. Parental influence has an effect on the way I perform in class a Never b Sometimes c Often d Always 12. Parents paying school related dues buying uniforms and providing other schol astic requirements in time is important in determining my performance in class a Not important at all b Not very important c Pretty important d Very important 13. Parental involvement that is attending school activities and monitoring acad emic progress fosters achievement of good grades in class a Strongly agree b Agree somewhat c Disagree somewhat d Strongly disagree 14. It is not only parental support that influences my academic performance in c lass a b c d

Strongly agree Agree somewhat Disagree Strongly disagrees

15. Apart from parental support, what other factors influence your performance i n class? ……………………………………………………........................................................... ……………………………………………………........................................................... ……………………………………………………........................................................... ……………………………………………………........................................................... …………………………………………………............................................................ …………………………………………………............................................................ …...……………………………………………........................................................... .. 16. How best do you think pupils in rural schools can be helped to perform like their counterparts in urban schools? ................................................................................ .................................................... ................................................................................ ....................................................

................................................................................ .................................................... ................................................................................ .................................................... ................................................................................ ..................................................... ................................................................................ .................................................... ................................................................................ ....................................................

17. Any additional information you would like to give related to our topic under investigation. ................................................................................ ..................... ................................................................................ ..................... ................................................................................ ..................... ................................................................................ ..................... ................................................................................ ..................... ................................................................................ ..................... ................................................................................ ..................... Thank you for taking part in the study.

OBSERVATION CHECKLIST (This is meant to observe other factors that may be influencing low performance of pupils in school so as to come up with all the factors responsible for low pe rformance) 1. TIME 

Of arrival of children to school in the morning



Of arrival of teachers



Lessons start and ends

2. SCHOOL CONDITIONS 

Number of children in classrooms



Mode and language of instruction



Sanitation facilities



Distance between home and school

3. SOCIAL SUPPORT 

Are children provided with lunch in school



Are there counseling services for both girls and boys



Are the children subjected to hard labour while in school



Mode of transportation of children to and from school

4. HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER FACTORS 

Parent-child interaction



Housing conditions



Common practices like economic activities and socialization habits.

References: Antonie De Kemp analyzing the effectiveness of sector support: primary education in Ghana and Zambia Bategeka L et al (2004), financing primary education for all. Cherian, V J and Cherian, L.V 2006 Relationship between parental occupation and academic achievement of Xhosa children from polygamous families. Journal of fami ly welfare, 41:49-52 Ministry of education and sports (2003), Uganda education statistics abstract 20 03 Ministry of education and sports (1998), guidelines on policy, roles, and stakeh olders in the implementation of universal primary education Ministry of finance planning and economic development (2004), expenditure tracki ng study. Ministry of finance planning and economic planning (2004), poverty eradication a ction plan (PEAP). Panda, J. shahoo and shahoo, J., 2007 school organizational climate on students’ academic achievement. Indian journal of applied psychology, 32:34-39 UPE policy Brief 10, interregional inequality facility, February 2006.