PhD thesis Title Page Final _Richard Juma - Victoria University ...

secondary schools, as compared to boys’. I realized that this is related to
cultural practices, as most informants argued that educating a girl is seen
as “a waste of money”, as they will move away from their family when they
marry. A key informant (an old man from Morulem village) summarized the
situation as follows:
They [girls] are visitors; they will get married and move
with their husbands. It is better to spend money in
education of boys than girls (Key Informant Interview
6 th February 2007, Morulem village).
A woman respondent (from Morulem village) added to this
statement as follows:
Some girls are sent to school, but in many cases
parents do not see any benefits of investing money in a
daughter’s education when they will marry her to
another family. A woman’s voice cannot be heard, so
when a father decides when his girls are to marry so he
can get riches and cows, the mother keeps quiet,
because traditionally mothers should not say anything
(Key Informant Interview 15 th February 2007, Morulem
village).
These views about school enrolment in the Turkana District were
summarised by one informant (an old man from Lokichar village). His
opinion was shared by many people interviewed during the fieldwork. He
stated as follows:
Some children are not sent to school because the family
needs their labour; some cannot afford to pay the fees
and uniforms; many have no access to schools; and
others see it as misuse of resources to send children to
school when there are very few employment
opportunities for those who have education (Key
Informant Interview 7 th May 2007, Lokichar Village).
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