Teachers' Perceptions on the Effects of HIV&AIDs Pandemic on Schooling among Primary School Pupils in Rachuonyo District, Kenya

Abstract

Teachers act as surrogate parents with whom pupils interact on a daily basis. ln the era of HIV/AIDS, teachers play a critical role as a source of relevant information on HIV/AIDS. By virtue of their roles as teachers young people can raise sensitive issues about sexuality. HIV/AIDS has had profound effect on life in general and education in particular. Millions of school age children are either not enrolled or drop out of school in developing countries due to direct and related effects of HIV/AIDS. Kenya, and specifically Rachuonyo District is one of the areas where effects of HIV/AIDS have been greatly felt and pupils’ schooling is at stake. This study intended to establish teachers’ perceptions on the effects of HIV/AIDS on primary school pupils schooling in Rachuonyo District. Descriptive survey design was used for this study. The target population was all primary school teachers in public schools in Rachuonyo District, out of whom a representative sample of 164 teachers was drawn. Twenty (20) schools that formed the study units were randomly sampled from the four divisions in the district. Proportionate sampling was used to distribute the study units in such a way that the sample fraction is the same for all the divisions. Purposive sampling was used to select nine (9) teachers from each school, (8 class teachers and 1 headteacher). This gave a total of 164 teachers who formed the study sample. Data collection was done using a teachers’ questionnaire and an interview schedule for the headteachers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Content analysis was also used on interview data. Reliability of the teachers’ questionnaire was calculated using Cronbach Alpha (ot). A reliability Coefficient of 0.76 was obtained. The interview schedule questions were clearly and concisely stated to enhance validity. The results show that most of the teachers perceived HIV/AIDS as a factor affecting pupils’ school enrolment negatively. Although data gathered indicated an increasing trend on the number of pupils enrolled, a majority of the teachers were of the perception that girls from families affected by HIV/AIDS do not attend school regularly as opposed to boys from similar backgrounds. Data from school records showed that the drop out rate is almost 1:1. lt is recommended that there is need for awareness, material and emotional support to enable the affected pupils continue with their schooling regularly. Further, participatory capacity building of local structures and institutions as well as campaign to raise awareness of women’s rights in order to discard cultures that exploit vulnerable women and to enhance behaviour change in adults.