Flood Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies And Participation Rates Of Pupils In Primary Schools In Tana Delta Sub County, Tana River County Kenya

Abstract

study aimed at investigating the relationship between flood disaster risk reduction strategies and participation rates of pupils in public primary schools in Tana Delta sub County of Tana River County. Four objectives thus guided the study; to examine the level of indigenous knowledge by village elders on flooding, determine the type of teacher training on flood disaster risk reduction, establish the level of integration of disaster Risk Reduction content in the curriculum and determine the types of external collaborations the boards of managements have sourced to mitigate flood emergences in schools. The target population consisted 12 schools in the flood prone areas of Tana Delta. The sample size for the study consisted of 72 members of the school boards of management, 12 head teachers, 29 teachers, 1152 pupils and 12 village elders. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires for pupils, teachers, head teachers and members of school boards. Interview schedules were used for village elders. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data while qualitative data was analyzed thematically according to the objectives. Data was collected using five sets of questionnaires for the BOM, the head teachers, teacher, pupils and village elders was analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in frequencies and percentages in form of tables with the help of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) computer software. According to the study, there exists established good level of indigenous knowledge on flooding however lack of good rapport between school managements and the village elders to enable dissemination of indigenous knowledge on flooding affected policy making on the same, hence negatively affected participation in schools. On teacher training, a majority of teachers indicated that they had not received any training on flood disaster management. Head teachers however indicated that there were child-led clubs in the schools that participated in flood disaster safety activities. The Education Ministry through the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) had also integrated disaster risk reduction into the national curriculum. The study revealed however that there were no sufficient instructional material to implement disaster risk reduction in schools. While school Boards had involved external stakeholders like local NGOs and companies for flood disaster management activities and even constructed shelters in place, compliance with building codes and regulations for flood prone environments was still wanting. The study concluded that indigenous knowledge, teacher training on flood disaster risk reduction, integration of flood disaster risk reduction in the school curriculum and external collaborations, all which are components of flood disaster risk reduction strategies have an influence on pupils participation in education. Finally, the study has provided the stakeholders in education with recommendations of flood disaster risk Reduction strategies that can enhance participation of pupils in primary schools. The study recommends training of all school stakeholders on flood disaster risk reduction in order to improve their capacity to effectively implement flood disaster risk reduction. In addition, the study recommends mainstreaming available indigenous knowledge into flood management policies by the schools.