Assessment of the effect of orphan-hood on secondary school attendance in Uganda

Abstract

The study set out to investigate the effect of orphan hood on secondary school attendance in Uganda. It is an outcome of the analysis of data collected by the Uganda Demographic Household Survey (UDHS) and ED data survey (UDES) that was conducted by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). In order to achieve the stated objective, the study adopted both descriptive and multivariate analyses using STATA to accumulate findings. Multivariate analysis measured the net effect of the explanatory factors using the Poisson regression model. The dependant variable was the number of days missed in the last year secondary school attendance which was fitted in the model.

Orphan hood plays a big role in the education of children because their school attendance is likely to be negatively affected. Out of 723 children studied in the age group 12-17, about approximately 26.83 % were orphaned. Age, sex, orphan hood status, region of residence (Northern and Western), education level of parent, and place of residence, are significant at multivariate level. The findings show that orphaned children were more likely to miss school compared to non-orphaned children.

Religion and distance to school were not significant predictors of the number of days a child missed school. The study recommends that the Government through the Ministry of Education, Local Authorities, Civil Society Organizations, and Non Governmental Organizations should put mechanisms in place to support orphaned children, since they are more vulnerable compared to non-orphans. Research should also be carried out on the causes of orphan hood and the link with education.