Effects Of Post-election Violence On Pupils’ Performance At Kenya Certificate Of Primary Education In Public Primary Schools In Wanjohi Resettlement Farm, Nyandarua, Kenya.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of post election violence on pupils’ performance at KCPE in public primary schools in Wanjohi IDP resettlement farm in Nyandarua County. The objectives were to determine the effect of displacement, loss of family members, and loss of family property and resettlement of families after post election violence on KCPE performance of public primary schools in Wanjohi farm. The study was bases on Jerome Bruner’s constructivism theory which stresses the importance of contextualizing of pupils’ curriculum. The study adopted the descriptive survey design and targeted all the twenty six public primary schools, twenty six head teachers, twenty standard eight teachers, two hundred and twenty standard eight pupils, five community leaders and forty KCPE graduates living in Wanjohi farm. A sample of sixty six pupils, five head teachers, twenty teachers, five community workers and twelve KCPE graduates was selected through purposeful and random sampling techniques. A total of twenty eight interviews and five focused group discussions were carried out. The results were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. It was established that displacement affected earning and examination performance by about 15.4 percent mainly with overcrowding of classrooms causing a shortage in learning materials. 77.8 percent of the teachers indicated that there was high level of overcrowding especially between standard on and four. The teachers said that this was because the children were small in size and it was easier for them to squeeze in a smaller place while the bigger ones required their own desks. 48.3 percent of the school boys and girls indicated that displacement also led to pupils missing school for long periods of time causing inadequate content coverage and poor examination preparation. 84.4 percent of teachers and community members upheld that loss of family members affected classroom learning and performance in examinations. Many times the pupils were traumatizes because they had witnessed a lot of violence. Trauma interfered with the teaching and learning and hence performance in examinations. 83 percent of the teachers indicated that the loss of family property led to financial difficulties among other things. The pupils were left without their basic necessities and hence fared poorly in the classroom. Families were resettled and helped the pupils to settle and hence work better in school. The findings from 60 percent of the community leaders indicated that most of the parents opted for rabbit farming because of their fast outcome. xiii However the good intentions of the donors in resettling the IDPs were not fully realized as many of the small businesses started did not take off. In view of the findings, the study recommended that the education sector be more enlightened on the effects of displacement due to violence on education and academic performance in order to elicit faster response and curb the negative effects of violence on learning. Further the Ministry of Education should put into place more personalized counseling for pupils traumatized through violence and death of family members so that healing takes place faster and facilitating better learning and examination performance. The study also recommended the setting up of emergency units by the government so as to provide faster financial assistance to violence victims hence having minimum negative effect on learning and examination. Together with the financial assistance, it was recommended that the parents and care givers be given skill that will enable them to run and sustain their businesses so as to reduce the poverty level and be able to support their children’s education better. The study established that displacement due to the post election violence disrupted learning as the pupils had to change schools to safer areas. Joining new schools abruptly also caused overcrowding in the classrooms and interfering with the pupil: ratio. The pupils also missed out on school time because of the displacement and thus missed out on the content that was taught while they were away. Catching up was difficult and could have affected the preparation and handling of the KCPE examinations. The findings also revealed that families lost their property and hence their source of livelihood. It resulted in difficulties in providing for the basic needs of their children as well as the learning materials. With lack of essentials, it was hard for the pupils to do their best in their class work as well as examinations. The pupils also witnessed the death of family members. These experiences traumatized them and interfered with their learning process. The study also showed that resettlement gave the pupils a sense of security as they had a permanent shelter. For most of the families the financial problems were still there as most of the parents’ and care givers’ efforts to pick up in small businesses were not so fruitful. The levels of poverty in the camp are still very high implying that getting the basic needs is still a problem. However, the pupils’ determination to learn seemed to overcome the obstacles and the general KCPE performance has been on the increase for the last two years.