Lived experiences of children combining school and paid work in Ojama Primary School – Serere District, Uganda

Abstract

This study examined the experiences of children combining school and paid work in Ojama primary school, Serere district in Uganda. Specifically, it: (i) examined why pupils combine school and paid work; (ii) identified the nature of work done; (iii) assessed their challenges and coping mechanisms; and (iv) explored the effects of combining school and paid work. It adopted a descriptive survey research design employing quantitative and qualitative approaches. Simple random sampling technique was employed with the primary respondents being primary six and seven pupils. Teachers and the head teacher were interviewed in addition to other key informants. An FGD involving children combining work and school was conducted. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS software where descriptive, cross tabulation and simulations were presented. A linear regression was used to determine the effect of education outcomes on performance. In addition, qualitative data was transcribed; coded, common themes were identified and grouped then analyzed and interpreted. Findings indicate that 58 percent of the pupils interviewed combined school and paid work. Although majority (79 percent) had their parents alive, 65 percent of the pupils reported that their parents had no formal employment which makes them combine school and work in order to meet their personal basic needs. Specifically, key reasons for combining include; need to acquire scholastic materials, school feeding and exams, school requirements and basic needs. Forms of paid work engaged were: sand mining and stone quarrying, selling commodities among others. Although working pupils managed to balance school and work, they faced enormous challenges such as; work overload, low pay, accidents, and non-payment among others. Linear regression results reveal that: repetition has negative impact on academic performance with a unit increase in repetition reducing performance by 0.978 percentage points. Based on these findings, it is evident that combining school and work makes children’s schooling more difficult and affects academic performance; yet under the circumstances, the children had no any viable options on account of absence of social support from within or outside of the family care. Therefore, school leaders, local leaders and the Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda should explore ways on how to support children who combine school and work so that they are not academically disadvantaged and burdened by schooling and working and also help improve on their performance in school.