Child labour and its effect on pupils’ performance in primary leaving examination in Buwaya sub-county, Mayuge district, Uganda

Abstract

The general objective of this study was to establish the effects of Child labour on the learners‟ academic performance in government aided primary schools of Buwaya Sub County, Mayuge District, Uganda. The specific objectives that guided the study were; to assess the economic activities that school pupils got involved in for payment in Buwaya Sub County, to evaluate the effects of Child labour on pupils‟ academic performance in Buwaya Sub County Primary Schools and to examine the measures that should be used to mitigate child labour in Buwaya Sub County, Mayuge District, Uganda. The research design used in this study was both cross sectional and case study design. The sample size of the population used in the study was 330. Data was analyzed using percentage, particularly demographic profile of the respondents, and objective one to three, SPSS was used to get the mean. The findings; the overall mean in regards to objective one was 2.48, this revealed that most of the children were doing child labour. The effects of Child labour on academic performance of pupils; this was rated as 2.39; meaning that its effect was found to be moderate. About the measures that were used to mitigate child labour among school children in Buwaya Sub County, the overall mean was 2.30. This means that to same extent measures to address child labour were in place, but they were weakly applied by the stakeholders. It was concluded that pupils unknowingly found themselves in child labour. As far as objective two was concerned; it was concluded that stake holders, more so parents were found not knowing the negative effect of child labour on the academic performance of pupils. In objective iii, it was concluded that measures to mitigate child labour were in place, but not being applied by the stakeholders. It was recommended that stake holders should sensitize these children together with the parents about activities which are harmful to their education as well as health. It was as well recommended that the government should fund parents‟ income generating activities such that they may be able to buy the basic needs for their families. This was because most of the children were found working for pay just because their parents cannot afford to support their families. Lastly, it was recommended that stake holders, should put up good school structures to promote quality free education such as Universal Primary Education