vulnerable position. Girls bear the heaviest burden for household responsibilities, including care of sick parents and siblings, and are first ones to drop out of school. In the South eastern Nigeria more boys than girls drop out of school (UBEC, 2003). The drop-out syndrome is a function of some factors that distract the children from schools. These factors include: preference for a trade, quest for money, parental decision, lack of employment opportunities, hawking/street trading, long process of education and lack of counseling. 2.5 Factors Influencing Performance of Girl-Child in Primary Education Granting an equal opportunity to all school-age children to attend school is only the first step. ICFE (2000) report noted that once pupils find seats in a classroom, they need quality instruction otherwise there will be little motivation to persist in school. Unsatisfactory quality is one of the factors leading to low performance of children in much school. The quality of instructions determines student achievement. There are four commonly applied measures of student achievement: school-based assessment, public examinations, national assessment and international assessments. School-based assessments measure performance against curricular goals. They are done on a continuous basis and offer immediate feedback. In this respect they provide a more actual picture than standardized national tests. Public examinations are intended for selecting pupils/students to next level of education, certifying graduates for the job market and fostering accountability for school and school performance. In developing countries, public examinations are more important given the limited alternative opportunities for advancement. National assessments are intended to inform policy and take the form of tests to a sample of pupils, questionnaires etc. They are not very common in Africa though they are common practice in developed economies and in Latin America. International assessments compare results of examining samples of students from many different countries. Chinapah et al (2000) assessed the relative importance of the factors that influence children performance in primary schools in eleven African countries. The assessment pointed out the following factors that could possibly influence the performance of children in primary school: Learner background (gender, age, home language, pre-school attendance, repetition); Home background (meals, both parents in the home etc.); Home learning support (help with homework, parents, education etc.); Teacher background (age, gender, experience, qualification etc.). Teaching conditions (classroom furniture, learning materials, etc.). Teachers’ work environment
additional burden to the family in term of labor provision. This means that it’s more likely for girls to drop out and look after the herds 4.3.2.8 Ignorance/Failure to Appreciate Value of Education Failure of girls and parents to appreciate the value of education is another factor which influences school enrolment. Most of the times parents and girls who live in these areas are not exposed to other cultures and lifestyles especially of literate societies and this may limit their knowledge on benefits of education. They fail to realize that the benefits of education are intergenerational and accumulate over time. The parents are therefore not privy any information regarding the benefits of education. They will not at any one time feel obligated to take the girls to school. 4.3.2.9 Conflicts The Gabra community is very prone to inter clan conflict and cattle rustling. It’s a common norm to see fights erupting, families getting displaced and fleeing from such conflict zones. In most times parents would be reluctant to enroll their girls in school since they will see it as an inconvenience for them to run around and look for children in school when fights break out. Also in most of these remote areas, there are no schools and the few mobile schools do not even have boarding facilities to ensure children who are enrolled can still continues with education even in instances where their parents migrate to other areas. In case where parents of the children pass on, older girls in the family are usually entrusted with the role of taking care of the rest of the children. Most girls in such households are not enrolled and even when enrolled such girls would eventually be forced to drop out of school so as to undertake the role of managing the households and other issues in the family. 4.3.3 Factors Influencing Girls’ Academic Performance In School In objective number three, the researcher wanted to find out what factors influence girls school performance in Gabra of Marsabit County and the following responses were obtained from all the respondents: academic performance: lack of a motivation scheme that rewards girls for their exemplary performance; lack of parental involvement towards girls’ education; lack of enough