SCHOOLING PARTICIPATION AMONG CHILDREN ΙΝ NIGERIA:...

ΕΠ Ι θ ΕΩΡΗΣΗ ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΚΩΝ ΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΩΝ - Τεύχος 11 (2007) , 49-70

SCHOOLING PARTICIPATION AMONG CHILDREN ΙΝ NIGERIA: EVIDENCE FROM ΕΚΙΤΙ STATE

Abstract

Thίs paper exami11es some detem1i11a111s of schooling parιίcipation αι11οιιg c/1ildre11 in Nigeria. T/1e resu/1 prese111ed ί11 1/1ίs paper was based 011 daιa collecιed fron1 α raιιdom sample of 250 hoιιseholds ί11 Ekiti Stale. Α deκriptiνe aιιalysis of hoιιsehold

heaι/s ' socίoeconon1ic characlerίstics ι·eνea/s t/ιαΙ 95 perceιιι are be/ow 1/1e age of 50 years α11ι/ thal /1o ιιse/10/d sίze ranges beΙween 1 and 28 wίι/1 α 111edia11 raιιge of 6- 10. Also, 53.2 percent has 12- 14 years of edιιcation αnι/ 55 perce111 of ιlιese houselιolds are below ιlιe po11erιy /ίιιe ι/rawn base(/ οιι ιhe tιvo-1/ιird ιιιeαn ρeι·-cαpίια eχpeιιι/ί1ιιre.

Mea11 wlιile, 1/1e ιοια/ ιιurnbeι-of clιilclreιι sιιινιyeι/ iιι ιhese lιouselιolds was 108 1. Of 1/1ese, 768 (72 ρeι-ceιιι) αι·e ίη ι/ιe ηιπι/ αι·eα wlιile 28 ρercerιι li11es ίιι ι/ιe ιπbαιι ceιιιι·es.

011 ac1iνities engaged ί11by 1/1e5·e clιildι·erι, 28.9 peι-cenι αι·e ίnιο hawkiιιg, 38.3 ρeι-ce111 α ι·e ί1110 farmiιιg, 10.4 perce111 are ίrι10 appre111iceslιip, 2.3 percenι are eιιgaged ί11 s/1oe maki11g a11c/ about 6. 4 percerιι work as bιιs conduc10rs in ιno10r parks. 111 α/Ι, 86 percenι of ιhe children 111ork ei1/1er as fιι/1- ιίιne or parι-ιinιe c/1i/d woι·keι-s wίι/1 011/y about 14 percent particiρa ιing fully in schooling. Α probiι αιια/ysίs enψloyed ιο exaιn ine 1/1e deιenni11anls of schooli11g parιicipaιion a111ong 1/1e childre11 reνea/s ιhαι /1oιιsehold size (/.209), region of residence-rura//ιιrban (Ο. 73 1), i11come (/.017), depeιιι/e11cy rαιίο (0.446) and hoιιselιold ' poνerty sΙatus ( 1. 467) are 1101 significa111 but posi1ίνe/y related 10 schooling participalioιι among ιhe childreιi. The non-sig11ifica11ce of these νariables cοιι/d be attribιιted ιο 1/ιe free educatio11 prograιnme embarked upon by bo1h the Federa/ and State go11ernme11ts. 1n oιher words, since 110 fee is charged for paι1icipaιion ί11 pιιblic schools (i.e. ιnajority rely 011 ιhese ιο edιιcate ιheir c/1ildre11 ), neiιlιeι· of 1/1ese νariables would matter in schooli11g ρα11ίcίpαιίοιι . Ho1ve11er. ge11cler of /1οιιse/ιο/d /ιead

(2.479**), 10gethe111ess of parents (- 1.644*), house/10/d head' years of edιιcαιίο11 (1.920*), 11101/ιers ' educatio11al sιαιιιs (2. 183***) hoιιse/10/d head' religio11 (2.389**) are impo11ant cletenni11ants explainiιιg sc/100/i11g parιiciρaιio11 amo11g ιhe c/1ilclre11. T/1erefoι·e, chilclι·eιι /rοιιι feιnale-/1eaded /1 oιιse/10/ds are n1ore likely ιο pa11icipaιe ί11

schooli11g ιhαη ι/ιοse from ιnale- /1eaded householιls. For /1oιιsehold /1eads ' religio11, ιhe resιι/Ι s/1ows tlιαΙ Christia11s are n1ore ίιι νο/νed ί11 edιιcαιίο11progran1mes1/1α11 ι/ιοse in 01/1er religio11s ίιι 1/1α11he fonner were origi11ally 1/1e owners of mosι of ιhe public schools 11ow co111rolled by govemr11e111 ί11 ι/ιe Sιαιe lιe11ce the higher 5·chooli11g parιicipaιio11 by Christia11 house/10/ds. Also, w/1ile 1ogethe111ess ο/ pare1115· ίs 11egatively Γelated 10 schooli11g pa11icipa ιio11, /1ousel1old /1eac/' years of education ίs posiιively ι·ela ιed 10 ίι.

More so, mothers' educa1io11al le11e/ was fou11d 10 be posiιively relaιed 10 sclιooli11g

pa11icipatio11 and t/1is mea11s ιhαι ιhe higlιer t/ιe educaιiona/ level αιιαίιιιed by won1e11, ιh e lιigher t/1e participa1io11. Τ/ιίs 1/1erefore coπobora ιes 1/1e sayi11gs 1/1αι whe11 yοιι

educate α wοι11α11, you educate α 11atio11.

JEL Classification: 060, 131, 138, J13. Key words: Schooling participation, Children, Households, Ekiti State, Nigeria.

ι. Β. Oluwιtayo ,

Lecturer 11, Depιrtment οι Λgriculturιl Economlcs and Extenιlon Serν lceι,

Unlνers lty οι Λdo-Ekltl,

Ρ .Μ . Β . 5363, Λdo-Eklt i,

Eklti State, Nlgerla

49

1. Β . OLUWATAYO - ΕΠΙθΕΩΡΗΣΗ ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΚΩΝ ΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΩΝ - Τεύχος 11 (2007) , 49-70

50

Introduction/Background to the Study

Education or schooling is a basic' human necessity and it can be described as the bringing up of individuals in the society. In other words, it is generally an initiation into the society and a preparation for adulthood. However, it should be noted that each society determines the type of education she wants for her citizens. In the developed countries, each society bears the financial burden of her education and the fo rm of education ava ilable to the citizens in any society, is more or less, a function of its entire value system in relation to the cultural background of the society. Education should therefore be seen as a continuous process which the society establishes to assist its members to understand the heritage of the past and to participate productive ly in the future. lt is the leading out of the in-born powers and potentialities of the individuals in the society and the acquisition of skjlls, aptitudes, and competencies necessary fo r selfrea lization and fo r coping with li fe 's problem (Osokoya, 1987; Okoro, 1998).

Schooling and education can be used interchangeably but it 's often mistaken as educat ion. Though it is part of educa tion, it is not every school that educates. In fact, educat ion is more than the systematized training received in schools, fo r it is the sum total of man's activities on ea rth . Schooling participation therefore connotes going to school with the motive of acquiring knowledge, understanding ones' environment (social, economic, politica l, cultural e. t.c) and eventually living a better life.

Schooling participation among the inhabitants of developing countries is a major challenge and more o ften than not, children are usually the most vulnerable to problems associated with schooling. Many times children seek employment simply because there is no access to schools (distance, no school at a ll). When there is access, the low quali ty of the education often makes attendance a waste of time for the students. Schools in many developing areas suffe r fro m problems such as overcrowding, inadequate sanitation and apathetic teachers. As a result, parents may find no use in sending their children to school when they could be home lea rning a skill (for example, agriculture) and supplementing the fa mily income. Because parents have so much control over their children, their perception of the value of school is a main determinant of child participation. Parents who are educated understand the importance of schooling fro m personal experi ence. As a result, parental educa tion plays a large role in determining child schooling and employment (Tienda, 1979). School attendance by a child is also highly correlated with fa mily income ( Ilon and Moock, 1991). The refo re, when children drop out of school, ίt is not necessa rily because of irresponsible parenting; it may be due to the fa mily's financial situation (Nkamleu, 2005).

Traditional and cultural facto rs are also important. The established female ro le in certain coun tries dictates that women will not fit into traditional roles if they become educated (Bequele and Boyden, 1988). There is a pervasive notion in some countries that educa ted fe males will not get married no r have children. Therefore, many fa milies raise daughters solely to take over the household

1. 8. OLUWATAYO - REVIEW OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES - Νο 11 (2007) , 49-70

duties in order to re lease the mother fo r paid labour. Such cultu ral practices restrict the educatio n of females and promote child employment. T he acceptance of social class separation perpetuates child labour as well (Weiner, 1991). For example, people of India's lower castes are expected to perfo rm manual labour and the refore are more apt not to attend school. Often parents in developing countries assign diffe rent roles to the ir children. This has been called child specialization, and may increase the number of working children (Chernichovsky, 1985). This phenomenon involves certa in siblings going to school while others work. Many times this depends on the birth order where the oldest is the one who attends school.

Rapid rural-urban migration is the cause fo r the increasing rate of child labour in urban areas o f deve \oping countries. Families leave the severi ty of agricultural workjng conditions fo r cities in order to search fo r economic oppo rtunities that often do not exist. School represents the most important means of drawing children away from the labour market. Studies have corre lated low enrollment with increased rates of child employment (ILO, 1992). School provides children with guidance and the opportuni ty to understand the ir role in society. T herefore, many insist on immediate ly abolishing child labour in developing countries and requiring children to go to school. Υ et this approach is unfeasible for a number of reasons. First, children will not attend these schools without an economic change in the ir condition. Schools must make it worthwhile for children to attend in order to make up fo r lost ea rnings. One necessary provision is that these schools be free. Another possibili ty is that these schools serve food supplements. Parents might view this nutrition as valuable and the refore keep their children in school. The quali ty of education can also be improved so that schooling is considered an important factor in the future success of a child and only after the introduction of such substitutes will school attendance increase.

Another problem with complete abo\ition of child labour is that education and employment for child ren are not mutually exclusive . As mentioned previously, many children work and go to school. In fact, many children have to work to go to school; otherwise, they could not afford the tuition and o ther fees associated with attendance. This underscores the fact that child \abour and education may work together in many cases. As mentioned above, specia lization a llows some children to acquire an education through support of the ir working siblings. The resu\t of abolishing child labour would then be a reduction in the educatio nal attainment of a population. Α study in Bolivia found that children who were not employed actually had the lowest educational achievement (U NICEF, 1992).

In short, this study tries to provide answers to the fo llowing questions which are considered relevant to stemming the spate of school drop out a_nd improving schooling participation:

Χ What is the level/extent of schooling participation in the area? Χ What a re the activities that these children get themselves involved in?

51

1. 8. OLUWATAYO - ΕΠΙθΕΩΡΗΣΗ ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΚΩΝ ΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΩΝ - Τεύχος 11 (2007), 49-70

52

Χ Do these activities impact οη their schooling participatio n? Χ What factors initiates their decisions ( either to work o r participate ίη

schooling)? · Χ Are there measures (formal or in formal) put ίη place to encourage

schooling participation ίη the area?

Justίficatίon/Motίνatίonfor the Study

The notion of many children (especially ίη developing countries) is that their stepping in to the work fo rce at an early age guarantees them a bette r chance of survival ίη the face of changing/uncertain micro-macro enviro nment and thus question the value of going to school. Owing to the inherent problems of schooling participation ίη developing countries (such as inadequate sanitatio n, standard of teachings and living conditions, and inadequate facili ties), pare nts send their children to fa rm and not school. Also the risk and abuses faced by these innocent children is another reason while this study becomes important. Others are sexual harassment and abuses of the children, especially the female children, the untimely death of these kids as a result of exposure to toxic substances e.g. pesticides, traps set fo r animals οη fa mily farms and car accidents when hawking farm produce and other consumables οη the streets and ίη motor parks. Ιη short, a nation that refuses to take care of her children is indirectly trading its futu re and bargaining fo r penu ry.

Several studies have examined the de terminants of schooling and child labour ίη Africa but only a few actually focused (if any) οη Nigeria. T he main motivation fo r this study came out of the clamour fo r the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)-achieving universa l primary education and promoting gender equali ty and empowerment of women as these are very fundamental to global prosperity (Harcourt, 2005 ; G rown, 2005 ; UN, 2005a). This study therefore aims at ascertaining some determinants of schooling participation amo ng children ίη the E kiti State, Nigeria with a view to stemming the spate of school drop outs and thus reducing the tempo of these children being used as labourers either οη fa mily fa rms or other non-fa rm enterprises.

From the forego ing, this paper aims at achieving the fo llowing objectives:

3 Identi fying the socioeconomic characteristics of households ίη the area. 3 Investigating the determinants of schooling participation ίη the area. 3 Establishing the relationship between households' poverty status and

schooling participatio n and 3 Classifying the children by the activities they engage themselves ίη .

Theoretical Framework/Literature Review

The theoretica l fra mework underlining this study is the luxury axiom of Basu and Van (1998) where it was postulated that a household would send her children to the labour market only if the households' income from non-child

1. 8. OLUWATAYO - REVIEW OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES - Νο 11 (2007) , 49 -70

labour sources drops very low. And that adult labour is a substitute for child labour, or that adults can do what children do. This is contrary to the peIΎasive belief that for some activities, · such as carpet-weaving, children are most appropriate. Strengthening the two assumptions, let us take that for every household ί , there exists a critical wage w ί such that the household will send its children out to work if and only if the adult wage prevailing ίη the market is less than w ί and that adult labour and child labour are perfect substitutes subject to an adult equivalence correction.

Ιη Figure 1, DDI shows the total effective labour demanded by firms for every possible adult wage W i.e. the aggregate demand cuJΎe for labour in the economy. Suppose a child 's labour is equivalent to y units of an adults labour where Ο < y < 1, and assuming production depends οη the total amount of labour used; and that adult, working all day, produces 1 unit of labour, whereas each ch ild working all day produces y unit of labour. Then considering a competitive model ίη which all agents are price takers. Let AA I be the supply cuJΎe of the aggregate adult labour ίη the economy which is perfectly inelastic. Then the total amount of "effective labour" that the children can supply if there are χ children ίη the economy will be equal tοΎχ and πl is the effective labour that the children supply ίη the economy. This AIT is equal to yx.

Figure 1

Wage D Α τι

(Adult)

ΕΙ

w ------------

Wι ------------- -----------

D

ο ΑΙ Τ Labour

53


54

From Figυre 1, if the market (adult) wage is below W, then all children are sent to work; so total labour supply is ΟΤ. l f the market wage exceeds W, ηο child is sent to work; so total labour supply is ΟΑ 1. As wages rises from W to W one household after another withdraws its children from the labour market; so the total supply of labour keeps decreasing, as shown by the cuJΎe CB. Hence the total supply of all labour (adult + child) plotted aga inst alte rnative adult wages gives υs the cuΙΎe ABCT.

We can deduce from the graph that families/households would not send their children to work if their income from non-child labour were sufficiently high. This is more established considering the monopolistic nature of the labour market ίη areas where child labour strives. Such areas are characterized with low wages, the family here cannot choose between alternative employers since there are few industries ready to hire their seΙΎices, and hence they are price takers. Even, the issue of forming a trade υηίοη to act as monopoly supplier of labour by the households, so as to counter the market power of their employers is sometimes impossible becaυse the number of unemployed hands is too large to the extent that what households look out fo r is getting something done to have a living so there is absence of bilateral bargaining between the employees and their employers hence, the low wage paid associated with poor condition of seJΎίce.

There are claims ίη support of the Basu and Van work. Ray (1998) study lends support for the luxury axiom ίη his work ίη Peru . What does come out ra ther interestingly from Ray's paper is, as ίη Basu ( 1998) , the diffe rential response of child labour to ch anges ίη the mother's and the fa ther's wages. Grootaert (1998) work οη Cote d'lvoire also corroborates that the characteristics of the parents matter and that who has these characteristics, the fa ther or the mother, matters. lt is evident from his study that the very poor househo lds often critica lly rely οη the children's income.

The Nexus between Chίldren Actίvίtίes (Labour) and Schooling Partίcίpatίon

One of the problems associated with estimating the global preva lence of child labour is the definition of child labour itself, which makes ίt di fficult to determine even the scope of the exercise ίη terms of ages and activities covered. For example, ίη the preparatory documentation for the In fo rmal Tripartite meeting at the ministe rial Level (12th June, 1996) and more generally, the ILO uses the te rm "child labour" to refer to all economic activities (production of goods or seΙΎices fo r market, barter or own consumption) ca rried out by persons under 15 which diffe rs from that of U nited States Department of Labour which adopts a double standard covering children under 15 ίη

developed countries and those under 14 ίη developing countries (United States Department of Labour, 1996).

The other obstacle is the absence of re liable, let alone comparable, national stati stics οη the problem. Estimation of working children is usually based οη the di ffe rence between the number of school-age children actua lly attending school


and the total numbe r of children in that age group which, are of limited va lue for estimating child labour. Aga in , only few countries keep specific statistics o n child labour, fa ilure of others to do so may be because children are legally not supposed to be at work or due to a comple te oversight on the part of those countries. The developed countries are not left out as well. Child labour emergence in these countries dated back to the era of industrial revolution in Europe and from mid-nineteenth centu ry in America (Basu, 1998). lt is mostly prevalent in the developing regio ns fo r economic reasons and simply because majori ty (about 87 percent) of the world 's children under 18 live there. (UNICEF, 1997) Through experimental surveys in a number of countries, the ILO's Bureau o f Statistics nο\ν estimate that "in the developing countries alo ne there are at least 120 millioι1 children between the ages of 5 and 14 who are fully at work, and more than twice as many as about 250 million as part-time workers" . (ILO, 1996d). Asia has the la rgest absolute number of child wo rker with an estimated 61 percent of the wo rld total, as aga inst 7 percent for Latin America. But Africa has the highest incidence. "There now seems to be a broad international consensus on the ILO's estimate that child labour is the lot o f up to 250 million children under 14 years worldwide. UNI CEF agree οη a world total of some 250 million, but with 190 million in the 10-14 age group, of whom three quarter work six days a week or more and one-half work nine hours a day or more" (UNI CEF, 1997). So me non-governmental organizations reckon that the worst explo itatio n happens to children as young as 4 o r 5 years and they put the fi gure a t 200 millio n.

The vast majori ty o f child wo rkers are unpaid family workers employed in small production units. With the process o f urbanization taking place in the developing countries, there is increase in the share of urban child labour which is still low when compared with the participation rates of children ίη economic activity in rural areas globa lly. Surveys of Ghana, India, Indonesia and Senegal found that more than three-quarters of all child labour occurs in rural areas where, on the average , nine out of 10 working children are engaged in agriculture or related activities (ILO, 1996d). This is depicted in Tables 1 and 2 below:

Table 1: Child Labour: Aggregate and Distribution

Conlinenι Number of children (< 15 years) working (ίπ thousands)

1980 1985 1990

Wo rld 87,867 80,611 78,516 Africa 14,950 14,536 16,763 Americas 4,122 4,536 4,723 Asia 68,324 61 ,210 56,784 t:ast Asia 39,725 33,463 22,448 Soulh-t::asl Asia 6,518 6,079 5,587 ::iou ιtι Asia 20,192 19,&'W 27 ,hi'I

Source: A .5hagι1e, 1998

55


56

Table 2: Number of Children and School Enrolment Rate

:)ub-ι.:ootlneσts 1995 Populatloo Pήmary ιcbool Seωodary ιcbool

between 3 & 18 Eorolment ratio eorolmeot ratiu (Mllioo) 1996-95

Μ F Μ ...

υcvelopιng countnes 1267 86 81 51 41

~ύb - Sahara Africa 190 58 50 26 21 Middle Πast and North Afήca 102 92 82 62 4':1

South Asιa 371 - - 51 jl.

t:::ast Asιa anά l'acιtic 432 97 95 57 49 Latin Ameήcan and Caribbean 134 86 86 45 21 Central & Eastem Europe/ClS 105 - - 80 82 Least Developed Countries 193 56 45 21 12 lndustrialized countries 138 97 97 97 99 World 1473 88 84 57 49

Source: Extractedfron1 UNICEF Database, 1997.

Generally, children work for a variety of reasons. The most important is poverty. (S iddiqi and Pat rinos, 1995). Children work to ensure the suΙΎiνal of their families and themselves. The number of children in the household determines the potential supply of child workers; hence fertility behaviour is a determinant of supply of child labour. In a traditional agricultural society, parents are motivated to have a large family due to perceived high labour value of children, children 's value as old age security or risk insurance, low economic cost of child rea ring and high level of infant and child mortali ty. These factors for determining large fa mily size associated with the fertility behaviour of parent. In reali ty, this behaviour ultimately pushes parents living in a marginal subsistence level in difficult situation for family management and family suΙΎiνa l. When the poor parents themselves are unemployed or underemployed and desperate for securing employment and income, the suΙΎiνal strategy either of the family or of the successive elder child has to set out for searching job. Hence, parent 's expectation from children is concerned both with their works and their potential support in old age (Gorotaert and Kanbur, 1995).

Occupational health and safety experts refer agriculture to be among the most dangerous occupation for both adults and children with more emphasis on the children because they are fragile and their exposure to severe climatic conditions, works that are too heavy for young bodies and accidents such as cut from sharpened tools are some of the hazards and/or can be detrimental to their heal th . Other dangers are exposure to pesticides, herbicides and this poses a considerably high risk to children and adults and has been lurked to an increased risk of cancer, neuropathy and immune system abnormalities. Exposure to organic dust is also widespread in farms and plantations, (ILO, 1999; ILO/SIMPOC, 2002) .


From the foregoing, ίt is evident that schooling partιcιpa tion among children is not only affected by the activities that the children engage in but also by social, economic, political, cultural and environmental factors.

Research Methodology

The Study Area

The study area is Ekiti State. Ekiti State is one of the s ίχ states created on the l st of October, 1996 by the Provision Rul ing Council (PRC) of the then Head of State, General Sanni Abacha. This makes Ekiti State one of the thirtysίx States in the Federa l Republic of Nigeria. The state was curved out of the former Ondo State. Before its creation, Ekiti has twelve Local Government Areas but fo ur more Local Government Areas were created making the number to be sίxteen on its creation. Ekiti State is located between latitudes 7°25 and 80 °5 'Ν and between longitude 4°45 ' and 5 '46Ν East. The State is bounded to the south of Kwara and Kogi States while ίt is bounded by Osun State to the west. Το the East of Ekiti State is Edo State and to the South is Ondo State. Ekiti State is a landlocked State, having no coastal boundary.

The Ekitis are culturally homogenous and speaks a dialect of the Yoruba language known as Ekiti . Ιη terms of arts and culture, Ekiti State is among the richest in the federation in the variety and quali ty of its tradition, arts, music, poetry and wit ty sayings. The Ekitis are good wood carvers, blacksmith , and ornamental potters, mat weavers and basket makers. The main occupation of Ekiti people is farming. There are 123,000 fa rm fa milies in Ekiti State, hence the State is agrarian ίη nature and therefore has many rural settlements. According to the population census of 1991, the State had 824,224 males and 804, 538 females making a total of 1,628,782.

Sources and Method of Data Collectίon

Basically, primary data were collected with the aid of structυred

questionnaires using random sampling method. Α total of 300 questionnaires were randomly administered οη households covering ten out of the s ίxteen

local government areas in the state. In all , only 250 questionnaires were used fo r the analysis because of incomplete information given by some of the respondents.

Analytίcal Technίques

The data collected fo r this study were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative tools. Descriptive statistics ( quali tative) was used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents while a probit model ( quantitative) was employed to examine the determinants of schooling participation in the area. The probit model tries to estimate the facto rs that influence the probability of child 's schooling participation behaviour in a

57


58

reduced form with a view to exploiting the rich info rmation in schooling participation. Thus, the probi t model was used to test the like lihood of children participating in schooling. ·

In the probit model (Gujarati , 1995) , let the latent va riable Yi* represent the decision of schooling participation. Therefore the genera l specification for the model would be :

yi* = β ι ι + ε ι , Υί = 1 ifyi * > Oand zero ifotherwise

Ε (ε ι ) = Ε ( ε2 ) = Ο Var (ε ι ) = Var (ε2) = 1

Cov (ε ι , ε 2) = Ο

For the probit model, a household may decide to send a child to school or not. Given the dichotomous nature of the decision, a probit model was fo und to be more appropriate.

Suppose that schooling participa tio n is represented by 'Ύ i " , where Yi is 1 for schooling participation and zero if not.

Then Yi is the dependent va riable which takes the values o f e ithe r 1 or Ο depending on househo ld decision. Thus, the estimated equation is of the fo rm :

Explanatory variables considered are:

Yi Schooling Participation decision (1 or Ο) Χ 1 Age of household head in yea rs Χ2 Gender ( male = Ο, female = 1) Χ3 Dependency ratio Χ4 Household size Χ5 Educational level of household head in years Χ6 Mothers' educational level ίπ years Χ7 Togetherness o f parents (Υ es = 1, Νο = Ο) Χ8 Income of household head (Naira) Χ9 Poverty status o f household head (Non-poor = 1, Poor = Ο) Χ10 = Region of Residence (Rural = Ο U rban = 1) Χ 1 ι = Religion of househo ld head (Christian = 1, Others = Ο) ε; = Error te rm.

Data Presentation and Interpretation of Results

Socioeconomic Characteristics of Respondents

These are characte ristics that have to do with the ability o f the respondents to make some decisions in the househo ld. These characte ristics include: age, sex, marita l status, household size, the number of male children, the number of female children, number of wives, e. t.c.


Age of Respondents

Table 3 gives an explicit distribution of the age structure of the respondents in the study area. The modal age category was 41 to 50 years constituting about 58 percent of the total respondents. The age group 31-40 and 51-60 yea rs made up about 36 percent and 3 percent respectively, while respondents with age above 60 yea rs constitute less than 2 percent of the respondents. This shows that majority of the respondent are still in the active/working age bracket.

Table 3: Distribution of Households by Age

Age Frequency % Respondents

26 - 30 6 2.4

31 - 40 89 35.6

41 - 50 144 57.6

51 - 60 7 2.8

> 60 4 1.6

Total 250 100.0

Source: Field Survey; 2005

Gender of Respondents

The majority of the respondents are males while the minorities are females. As presented in the Table 4 below, male constitutes 87.0 percent of the total respondents and fe male only account for 13.0 pe rcent of the total respondents.

Table 4: Distribution of Households by Gender

Gender

Female

Male

Total

Frequency

54

196

250

Source: Fielιl Sιιrvey; 2005

Relίgίon of Respondents

% Respondents

21.6

78.4

100.0

As shown in Table 5, about 9 percent of the sampled respondents practice othe r religions (traditionalist, atheists e.t.c), about 35 percent are Muslims and 56 percent are Christi ans. This generally reveals that there are more Christians than people in other religions in the area.

59

1. Β. OLUWATAYO - ΕΠΙθΕΩΡΗΣΗ ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΚΩΝ ΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΩΝ - Τεύχος 11 (2007) , 49-70

60

Table 5: Households' Distribution by Religion

Religion Frequency ο/ο Respondents

Christiani ty 140 56.0

Islam 88 35.2

Others 22 8.8

Total 250 100.0

Source: Field Suιvey; 2005

Marital Status of Respondents

Going by the dist ribution of respondents in Table 6, about 7 percent of the sampled respondents are single and 69 percent are married, 12 percent are divorced or separated, and about 13 percent are either widowed or widower. This genera lly gives an indication that larger num bers of the respondents are married while only a few of the respondents are not. Also, it can be seen that the total number of the respondents that were once married is greater than the number of the single respondents.

Table 6: Households' Distribution by Marital Status

Marital Status

Single

Married

Divorced/separated

Widow/Widower

Total

Soιιrce: Fίeld Suιvey; 2005

Frequency

17

172

29 32

250

Household Size of Respondents

ο/ο Respondents

6.8

68.8

11.6

12.8

100.Ο

Household size can be best explained by the total number of children, number of wife or wives, and husband ίη the household. Ιη the rural household, this may also include the dependants. Table 7 presents the respondents by size of households. Generally, household size ίη the study area ranges between 1 and 28. About 19 percent of the respondents had household size of < 5 members, 48 percent had household size of between 6 and 10, 18 percent had household size of between 11 and 15, about 7 percent had household size of between 16 and 20 while 8 percent of the respondents had household size of more than 20 members. This therefore shows that majori ty of the respondents had household size of between 6 and 10, indicating that household size ίη the area is fa irly large.


Table 7: Distribution of Respondents by Household Size

Household Size Category

< 5

6- 10

11-15

16-20

> 20

Total

Soιιrce: Field Sιιινey; 2005

Frequency

48

120

45 17

20

250

Educatίonal Leνel of Respondents

% Respondents

19.2

48.0

18.0

6.8

8.0

100.0

As can be seen in Tab le 8, about 22 percent of the respondents had no fo rmal educa tio n, 19 percent had only primary school education and 34 percent had secondary educa tio n. The percentage of the respo ndents with tertiary educatio n is 25. This explains the genera lly high level of education in the state. Thus, it can be co ncluded that the largest number o f the households (53.2 percent) had about 12- 14 yea rs of educatio n i. e. primary and secondary education.

Table 8: Respondents' Distribution by Educational Level

Educational Level

Νο. formal education

Primary educa tion

Secondary education

Tertiary education

Total

Source: Field Sιιινey; 2005

Frequency

54 47 86

63

250

Prίmary Occupatίon of Respondents

% Respondents

21.6

18.8

34.4

25.2

100.0

The number of respondents re lying οη farming as their main occupatio n is 167 (66.8 percent) while those engaged ίη other occupation constitutes about 33.2 percent o f all the respondents. These other occupations include trading, government sala ried job, private salaried job, artisans, and e. t.c. In other words, majori ty of the respondents are full-time farme rs and this is depicted ίη Table 9. This distribution generally shows the relative importance of farming to other occupations ίη the study area.

61


62

Table 9: Distribution of Households Head by Primary. Occupation

Primary Occupation

Farming

Other job

Total

Source: Fίeld Survey; 2005

lncome of Respondents

Frequency

167

83

250

% Respondents

66.8

33.2

100.Ο

Table 10 below presents the monthly income of the respondents. As shown in the Table, about 48 percent of the respondents fa lls into income group of less than or equal to Ν5 , 000; 16 percent fa ll into the income of group between Ν5 ,

001 and NlO, 000; about 11 percent fa ll in to the income group of between NlO, 001 and Ν 15 , 000 while about 12 percent of them are in the income group of between Ν15 , 001 and Ν20, 000. Meanwhile, only about 12 percent had their income exceeding Ν20, 000. In short it can be deduced that majori ty of the respondents ea rn less than Ν5, 000 monthly thus depicting the generally low income level of respondents in the study area.

Table 10: Households' Distribution by Income Group

Income Group Frequency % Respondents

.s. 5,000 121 48.4

5,001 -10,000 40 16.0

10,001-15,000 28 11.2

15,001-20,000 31 12.4

> 20,000 30 12.0

Total 250 100.Ο

Source: Fίeld Sιιrvey; 2005

Region of Residence of Respondents ' Children

Respondents' children distribution by region of residence (Table 11) indicates that the grea ter majori ty of the children reside in the rural area. In all 768 (72 percent) lives in the rural area while about 313 (28 percent are in the urban.

1. Β . OLUWATAYO - REVIEW OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES - Νο 11 (2007) , 49-70

Table 11: Children' Distribution by Region of Residence

Regίon Frequency %Respondents

Rural 768 72.0

Urban 313 28.0

Total 1081 100.Ο

Soιιrce: Field Sιιrvey; 2005

Nature of Activities of the Children

The distribution depicted in Table 12 was arrived at by probing into the va rious activities that the childre n e ngage themselves in e ithe r on pa rt-time or full -time basis in the State to ascertain the ir degree of involveme nt ίη these

activities. As can be seen from the T able, majo rity (about 38 pe rcent) o f the children are e ngaged in fa rming (be ing the ma in means of live lihood in the area) to augme nt household income while only about 14 pe rcent actually participate fully in schooling. The scenario shown below expla ins the extent o f involveme nt of school children in othe r activities outside schooling and the implicatio n of this on the ir perfo rmance could be e no rmous.

Table 12: Distribution of Households by the Nature of Activities of Children

Description Total Νο of Children

Male Female

Hawking 62 251 313

Farming 160 254 414

Apprenticeship 25 87 11 2

Shoe Making 21 4 25

Bus Conductor 69 ο 69

Schooling (Full-time) 87 61 148

Total 424 657 1081

Source: Field Sιιινey; 2005.

Participation Rate of Children in Schooling and Other Activities by Age Group

Percent Total

28.9

38.3

10.4

2.3

6.4

13.7

100.0

T able 13 below presents the age specific participation rate of the children in

63

1. 8. OLUWATAYO - ΕΠΙθΕΩΡΗΣΗ ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΚΩΝ ΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΩΝ - Τεύχος 11 (2007) , 49-70

A.ee 5-<i ---7-8 9-10 11-1 2 -13- 14 15-16 17-18 Total

64

Βογs

6

schooling and other activities ίη the study area. From the Table, it is observed that children's involvement ίη other activities increase with age while ίη the case of schooling, the involvement rates drop at 11- 12 years for boys (5.6 percent) and 7-8 yea rs fo r girls (6.8 percent). AJso, there is di ffe rential rate of participation ίη other activities between boys and girls at the ea rly age with girls having higher participation rate than boys. However at age 15 to 18 years, boys have higher participation rates than girls ίη other activities. !η the case of schooling participation, this is higher ίη girls (9.3 percent) at the ea rly age while at the o lder age, boys have higher schooling participation. !η short, there are generally more girls engaged ίη other activities than boys especia lly at younger age while the opposi te ho lds fo r schooling participation. The situation presented ίη Table 13 portends a serious danger fo r the educat ion of the girl child and this problem could be attributed to cultural and economic facto rs associated with the households.

Table 13: Children's Participation Rates ίη Schooling and Other Activities by Age Group.

Oιher Activities Schoolin % Girls % Overall % Βονs % Girls % Overall 3.2 16 7.4 22 5.5 18 7.6 41 9.3 59 - - -

10 5.3 25 11 .6 35 8.7 23 9.7 30 6.8 53 14 7.4 27 12.6 41 10.2 33 13.9 59 13.3 92 29 15.4 31 14.4 60 14.9 13 5.6 67 15 .2 80 Τι - - 16J 36 - -- - -

16.5 35 16.3 66 15.3 70 15.8 106 43 55 188

22.9 37 17.2 80 19.8 52 22 .1 85 19.2 137 29.3 44 20.5 99 24.6 61 25 .8 90 20.4 151

--··-100 215 100 403 100 236 100 442 100 678

Source: Field Sι.ιrvey; 2005

Poverty Status of Respondents

Ιη arriving at the poverty status of the households under study as shown ίη Table 15, the two-third mean per-capita expenditure (food and non-food) was used. About 138 (55 percent of the respondents were fo und to be below (poor) the poverty line while about 112 (representing 45 percent) were above (nonpoor) the poverty line drawn. Thus, there are more poor households ίη the study area than non-poor households and this could have contributed to the high rate of participation ίη other activities than schooling ίη the study area.

% 8.7 7.8 13.6 11 .8 15.6 20.2 22.3 -100

1. Β . OLUWATAYO - REVIEW OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES - Νο 11 (2007) , 49-70

Table 14: Households' Distribution by Poνerty Status

Poverty Status

Poor

Non-Poor

Total

Source: Field Suιvey; 2005

Frequency

138

112

250

% Respondents

55.0

45.0

100.Ο

Effects oj Engagement ίn Other Actiνίtίes on Schoolίng

Yariou effects were given by the children and these are summarised under four categories as depicted in T able 15. The set of children conside red he re are those who combined schooling with work. Only a few (0.7 pe rcent) o f the children be lieve that working do no t have any effect on the ir schooling. This may be tha t they have taken working at ea rly age the best o r possibly as a means of surviva l. Over 99 pe rcent of the children were of the view that working does affect the ir schooling but majori ty could not quit working so as to be able to keep themselves in school.

Table 15: Children's Actiνities Effects οπ Schooling Participation

Description F requency Pe rcent

There 's no time to read 192 17.8

Lateness to school 114 10.5

Loss of concentration 358 33.2

Absenteeism{fruancy 409 37.8

Has no effect 8 0.7

Total 1081 100.0

Source: Field Sιιινey Dαια; 2005

Explaίnίng the Determίnants of Schoolίng Partίcίpatίon

The Probit model was used in this analysis because of the dichotomous nature of the dependent variable ( i.e. participation in schooling o r no t). This model tries to estimate the facto rs that influence the probability of schooling pa rticipation behaviour in a reduced fo rm. ln all , a tota l of 11 independent va ri ables were used to determine factors respo nsible fo r schooling pa rticipation

65


66

among the children. Το further buttress the evidence of the above, further analysis was carried out based on gender and location to find out if there is going to be vari ation in the determinants of the dependent variable in question.

From the resul t in Table 16, it was obserνed that gender of household head (2.479**), togetherness of parents (-1 .644*), Household heads' years of education (1.920*), mother's educational level (2.183 *** ) and religion of household head (2.389**) are important determinants explaining the probabili ty of schooling participation among the children. Therefo re, children from fe male-headed households are more likely to participate in schooling than those from male-headed households since the t-value of gender is positive and significant at 5 percent. For household head' religion Christians are more likely to participate in schooling than those in other religions in that the fo rmer were originally the owners of most of the public schools now taken over by government in the State. Also, while togetherness of parents is negatively related to the probability of schooling participation household head' years of education is positively related to ίt and the t-values of these va riables are signi ficant at 10 percent levels. More so, mother's educational level was found to be positively related to schooling participation and significant at one percent. This means that the higher the educational level attained by women (mothers) the higher the probabili ty of their children attending school. T he finding here corroborates the sayings that when you educa te a woman, you educate a nation.

On the other hand, the t-values of household size (1.209) , region of residence (0.731), household head' income (1 .017), dependency ration (0.446) and household poverty status (1.467) are not significant but positively related to the probability of schooling participation among children in the area. T he nonsigni ficance some of these variables could be attributed to the free education programme embarked upon by both the fede ral and state governments especially at the primary and secondary levels. ln other words, since no fee is charged fo r participating in public schools neither of these variables ( e .g. income, poverty Jevel e. t.c.) would matter in schooling participation among the child ren.

1. 8. OLUWATAYO • REVIEW OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES • Νο 11 (2007) , 49-70

Table 16: Determinants of School Participation among Children

Variable

Age (Χ 1 )

Gender (Χ2)

Dependency Ratio (Χ3)

Household Size (Χ4)

Educat ional Years of Hhead (Χ5)

Mother's Educational Υ ears (Χ6)

Togetherness of Parents (Χ7)

lncome of Hhead (Χ8)

Poverty Status (Χ9)

Region of Residence (Χ 10)

Religion (Χ11 )

t-values are in parenthesis

•• Coefficients significant at 5 perceιιt

Source: Computedfrom Survey Data; 2005

Coefficient

0.2061

(0.2561)

0.1261 **

(2.4790)

0.8542

(0.4460)

0.2076

(1.2090)

0.2335 *

(1.9200)

0.8066***

(2.1830)

-0.2451 *

(-1 .6440)

0.4942

(1.0170)

0.2327

(1.4670)

0.5624

(0.1420)

0.4217**

(2.3890)

••• Coefficίents significant at 1 percent • Coefficίents Sίgιιίficαιιt at 10 percent

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

Summary and Conclusίon

Of the 250 households sampled, 55 percent are below the poverty line drawn for the study area based οη the two-third mean per capita expenditure. AJso, 768 (72 percent) lives ίη the rural area while about 313 (28 percent)

67


68

resides in the urban. ln the same ve in, childre n in the study area are engaged in seve ra l activities e ither on full - tiιτιe or part-time basis. These activities ranges from hawking, farming, appre nticeship and shoe making to bus conducto r with only about 14 percent participating fully in schooling ( i. e. those combining no o the r activities with schooling) . In fact, of these activities farming has the highest population of childre n indicating the prime importance of fa rming to the inhabitants o f the study area. On the determinants o f schooling participation therefore, gende r, togetherness o f parents, household heads' educational level, re ligion, and are important in expla ining the probabili ty of schooling participation among the children.

ln conclusion, the re are gene rally low schooling pa rticipation rates amo ng the children with more participation rates among the girls than the boys especially at younge r age but the reverse ho lds fo r participation in othe r activi ties.

Recommendations

It is can be deduced from this study that childre n wo rk fo r a numbe r of reasons ranging fro m the poor eco nomic status o f the ir pa re nts to the sociocultura l, infrastructural as we ll as e nviro nme ntal proble rns. Aga in, having unraveled some dete rminants of schooling participa tion in the study area with a view to stemming the tempo of school drop outs, the fo llowing recommenda tio ns are he reby made:

• Effo rt should be directed at integrating the rural areas into the main fabric of deve lopment programmes of government at all levels (federal, state and local) in the country so as to bette r the lots o f rural dwellers ( especially children) as this will translate to better living conditions and high schooling participation.

• Investme nt in social and institutional infrastructures ( education as a

priority) should be inte nsified through building of more schools to accommodate the teeming population of childre n in the country - the Unive rsal Basic Education (UBE) of the federal government o f Nigeria is a good policy in this regard .

• Education of the girl child should be made a prio rity and all fo rms of

gender discrimination abo lished having found that wome n's educational leve l is an important de te rminant o f schooling participation in the study area.

References

Ashagrie, Κ. , 1998. "Statistics on Working Childre n and H azardous Child Labour in Brief ' Mimeo, Inte rnational Labour Office, Inte rnational Labour Organization . G e neva.

1. Β. OLUWATAYO - REVIEW OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES - Νο 11 (2007) , 49-70

Basu, Κ. , 1998 "Child Labour. Causes, Consequence and Cure, with remarks on Inte rnational Labour Standard. Journal of Economίc Lίterature. Yol. 37 ΡΡ,

1083-1119.

Basu, Κ. and Ρ.Η . Van 1998. "The Eco nomics of Child Labour" Amerίcan

Economίc Review. Yol. 88, Νο. 3.

Bequele, Α. and J. Boyden. 1988. "Working Children: Current Trends and Policy Responses". lntematίonal Labor Revίew 127 (2): 153-171.

Chernichovsky, D. 1985. "Socioeconomic and Demographic Aspects of School Enro llment and Attendance in Rural Botswana". Economίc Development and Cultural Change 32: 319-332.

Grootaert, C. and R . Kanbur, (1995) , Child Labour. Α Review: Background Paper for the 1995. World Developιnent Report on Labour, World Bank, Washington, D.C. U .S.A.

Grootaert , C. (1998). "Child Labour in the lvory Coast". World Bank Polίcy

Workίng Papa , 1905: 459-7. Washington, D .C. U .S.A.

Grown, C. 2005. Answering the Skeptics: Achieving Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals. Development, 48(3), 82-86, Socίety for International Development (SID) 1011-6370/05.

Gujara ti , D .N. (1995) Basίc Econometrίcs, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Singapore. Third Edition

H arcourt, W. 2005 . The Millennium Development Goals: Α Μί sed Oppo rtunity? Development, 48(1), 1-4, Socίety for lntematίonal Development (SID) 10/ 1-6370/05.

Inte rnatio nal Labour Office (ILO). 1992. Wo rld Labour Report 1992. Geneva.

ILO. 1998. Chίld Labour: Targeting th.e lntolerable. Confe rence Report ΥΙ (1 ). Inte rna tional Labour Conference, 86'h Session 1998, Geneva.

ILO. 1996d. Child Labo ur Surveys; Results of Methodological Experiments in 4 Countries 1992-1993. Geneva, ILO-IPEC/Buι·eau of Statίstίcs.

ILO/SIMPOC. 2002. 'Έvery Child Counts - New Global Estimates on Child Labour" Inte rnational Labour Offices, Geneva ISBN 92-2-11311-0.

llon, L. and Ρ. Moock. 1991. "School Attributes, Household Characte ristics and Demand fo r Schooling: Α Case Study of Rural Peru". Intemational Review of Education 37,4: 429-452.

Nkamleu, G .B. (2005). Dete rminants of Child Labour and Schooling in the Cocoa Sector of Cote d'lvo re. (Mimeo ).

Okoro, D.C.U. 1998. Basίc Edιιca tion: Emeιging Iss· ιι es, Challenges and Constraints ίn the State of Edu.ca tίon ίn Nίgerίa. Lagos: U NESCO.

69


70

Osokoya, 1.0. 1987. 6-3-3-4 Education ίη Nige ri a: History, Strategies, Issues and Problems. Lagos. Bisinaike Educational Publishers.

Ray, R. 1998. "Child Labour, Child Schooling and their Interactions with Adult Labour". The World Bank Economίc Review, Vol. 14, Νο. 2 pp 347-367.

Tienda, Μ. 1979. "Economic Activity of Children in Peru : Labour Force Behavior in Rural and Urban Contexts". Rural Socίology 44: 370-39 1.

United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). 1992. Children of the Americas: Chίld Surviva l, Protection and Integrated Development in the 1990's. Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia.

UNICEF. 1997. "The State of the World 's Children", Oxford University Press, Oxford.

United Nations (UN). 2005a. Ίnvesting ίn Developιnent: Α Practίca l P/an to Achίeνe the MDGs' UN Millennium Project London: Earthscan.

United State Department of Labour (USDL). 1996. The Apparel lndustry and Codes of Conduct. Α solution to the lnternational Child Labour Problem. Washington D.C. Bureau of lnternational Labour Affa irs.

Weiner, Μ. 1991. The Child and the State in India. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Univer ity Press.

SCHOOLING PARTICIPATION AMONG CHILDREN ΙΝ NIGERIA:...

Documents

Transcript of SCHOOLING PARTICIPATION AMONG CHILDREN ΙΝ NIGERIA:...