ABSTRACT
This study aimed at investigating the influence of miraa trade on boys and girls participation in primary school education in Tigania Central Division, Meru County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to determine the influence of miraa trade on boys’ and girls’ enrolment, retention, transition and completion of primary school education in Tigania Central Division, Meru County, Kenya. The study was informed by theory of exploitative child labor. The reviewed literature revealed that miraa growing, trade and use was rampant in many parts of the world where it formed a core source of livelihood for the people, though largely with adverse effects on children’s participation in education. Descriptive survey design was employed. The study targeted 17 public primary schools in Tigania Central Division and thus the target population comprised of 17 head teachers, 105 teachers and 1,650 pupils of the sampled schools. Systemic sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 216 primary school pupils, 36 teachers and 12 head teachers who were randomly picked. Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from the study respondents. The study data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, specifically frequencies and percentages using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, with the study findings presented in tables. The study established that 80% of the head teachers, 62% of the teachers, 72% of the boys pupils and 77% of the girls did agree that pupils involved in miraa trade do not enroll in school and prefer going to harvest miraa to schooling, showing that miraa trade adversely affected the pupils’ enrolment in primary school education. The study also established that 80% of the head teachers, 82% of the teachers, 69% of the boys pupils and 76% of the girls agreed that miraa trade was a major attraction to pupils at the expense of learning in school and that the pupils perceived miraa trade as a source of easy earning opportunity, showing that miraa trade adversely affected the pupils’ retention in primary school education. The study established that 64% of the head teachers, 66% of the teachers, 77% of the boys pupils and 74% of the girls did agree that most of the pupils preferred to venture into miraa trade instead of moving on with their education to the next levels, showing that miraa trade adversely affected the pupils’ transition in primary school education. The study established that 80% of the head teachers, 60% of the teachers, 54% of the boys pupils and 71% of the girls did agree that miraa trade contributes immensely to failure to complete primary education in the region, showing that miraa trade had a negative influence on the pupils’ completion of primary school education. The study concluded that miraa trade had a negative influence on the pupils’ enrolment, retention, transition and completion of primary school education in Tigania Central Division, Meru County, Kenya. The study thus recommended that there is need to have monitoring and supervision of the entire miraa trade activities so that it does not compromise the education system leading to poor quality of life in future for the school going boys and girls.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
           Background of the study
In agricultural trade where Miraa farming falls, under-age boys and girls are often involved in the entire production process from harvesting, packaging, and selling of the farm produce. Consumption of Miraa and income from Miraa also affects school going boys and girls. However income from Miraa in most cases has both negative and positive effects. The involvement of these under-age boys and girls who are supposed to be in school in these activities leads to irregular school attendance resulting into sustained wastage.
Harvesting activities are generally carried out by adults while children attend classes. A report by Fair Trade USA (2010) estimated that hundreds of thousands of children under age of 18 work in farms harvesting tea, coffee, fruits, flowers and vegetables that support the multi-billion dollar agricultural industry in the United States. Before the age of 18 these children and teens work long hours, under very dangerous conditions, receiving very little pay, while they fail to attend school as they migrate alongside their parents for months (Human Rights Watch,2010). A similar situation was observed in India; Gardiner (2013) noted children are being used in the harvesting fields as a cheap source of labor and not getting any chance to attend school. This was further affirmed by Edmonds (2009) where he noted that in Ghana harvesting activities influence regularity of school attendance where children fail to attend school to assist their families in harvesting cocoa.
Parents are expected to attend to their children’s need which sometimes is not the case because they spend lots of their time in the Miraa farms and chewing Miraa in social groups. This influences some of the boy’s and girl’s to stay away from school and go to chew Miraa with friends at the shopping centers. The major concern is the high population of children that will veer off the school route to emulate those involved in this trade hence addiction to serious substances which in the process leads to jeopardizing their own health and safety and creating difficulties for their families and the public at large. Miraa consumption is widely accepted among the Ameru community but has negative consequences to the academic, social, psychological and physical development of users (World Drug Report, 2005). In Yemen, Kalix and Khan (1994) noted family life is compromised because of Miraa consumption, dissipation of the family income and inappropriate behavior which in many cases leads to irregular school attendance (Elmi,1983). Miraa consumption is also predominantly found in Nigeria with family characteristics as a very important determining factor of children’s educational attainment in Nigeria. By the time such children reach adulthood they are often damaged physically, emotionally, morally and intellectually and would have lost the opportunity for an education that would open up a better future and the amount of schooling children today determines the wage they command as adults of tomorrow (ILO, 1996; Ashagrie,1998)
It is an indisputable fact that the more time mothers spend in Miraa business, the more time is lost in nurturing their schooling children and hence leading to poor school attendance (Gatumu et al., 2012). The trend in the examination results is perhaps attributed to the fact that most of long serving Miraa businessmen involved their children in the Miraa business such as harvesting of Miraa, packaging of Miraa
and selling of Miraa and thus denying them time to attend school and to satisfy their basic or physiological needs (Waikenda, 2010).Chewing of Miraa also causes ill health (Anderson et al, 2007),psychiatric disorders (Warfa et al.2007)and socio- economic hardship for the families of mostly male consumers (Borelli and Perali,2004). Dhaifalaha and Santavy (2004). The young shoots of the Miraa shrub are harvested in the early hours of the day by young boys and girls who can climb and swing on the feeble Miraa branches and harvest edible twigs which are sold in markets by the late morning thus affecting the school attendance for the boy’s and girl’s who participated in the harvesting activity especially in the morning hours because sometimes these children find their way back to school in the afternoon.
As a cash crop it provides employment to many people; farmers, middle men, businessmen, and transporters. In terms of Miraa exports, on daily basis about 5 tones goes to Amsterdam, 7 tons to London and 20 tons to Somalia while over 40 tons is consumed in Kenya and within the region.(Maitai,1996). According to statistics given by Billow Kerrow, Mandera County Senator in his article in Daily Nation July 20th2013 approximately 50 vehicles ferrying Miraa leave the Meru region every morning, with more than a half of them heading to North Eastern. Each vehicle carries about two tons, valued at about Ksh. 5 Million. In North Eastern alone, Kerrow said they spend about Ksh. 100 Million daily on the stuff. In Nairobi and other parts of the country, the figure is even higher. Exports to United Kingdom (UK) alone earned approximately $60 million annually for traders from Kenya. According to a survey done by the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug abuse (NACADA), North Eastern consumes more than 36 per cent of the production. Meru
consumes less than 10 per cent. This is a clear indication that Miraa trade is a huge business.
Today in Meru County, Khat is consumed by all societal groups regardless of age, sex, affluence, class, education and occupation. According to statistical trends the current use of Miraa in Kenya is 3.9 percent; it also varies by region of residence and gender. Like tobacco products, use of Miraa is largely a male dominated affair. In a study done in North Eastern region, 35.8 percent of the male respondents reported using Miraa. This was closely followed by coast at 12.8 percent. Miraa usage is marginal in Nyanza and Western Kenya. In Eastern region where the bulk of the Miraa comes from, only 9.4 percent reported being current users of the drug. It is also interesting to note that North Eastern region 7.6 percent has the highest proportion of female users of Miraa. Euphoria, alertness and central nervous system stimulation induced by cathinone, the main active constituent derived from khat chewing, makes this habit popular among large numbers of society. Miraa is economic main stay of Meru County and it is regarded as green gold especially in Meru County. Its economic advantages are undoubted fact but social ill should be addressed in equal measures.
In Tigania Central Division Miraa farming, harvesting, trade and Miraa income have influenced boy’s and girl’s participation in primary school education in the sense that under age children are the ones involved in harvesting of Miraa, pruning and packaging and also fetching banana leaves and ropes from banana fiber which is the material used for packaging. Since all these different stages involved in the process of dispatching Miraa have good payments, it creates job opportunities for these boy’s
and girl’s hence influencing them to drop out of school, stay idle and others becoming hard core criminals in the instances where Miraa is abused with other narcotic drugs. Despite numerous economic breakthroughs brought about by Miraa trade in Meru county many school drop outs, idleness and theft are reported due to abuse of Miraa just but to mention a few. To this effect it will be a challenge to the residents of Tigania Central Division to meet the Millennium Development Goals which should be achieved by the year 2030.
