Determinants of pastoral youth participation to formal education in Itang Special District, Gambella Region, South-Western Ethiopia

Abstract

There is a lack of nomadic youth participation in education in Itang District. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the factors that influence pastoral youth participation in formal education in the study area. This study used a multi-stage sampling technique to choose the participants. Similarly, the primary data was collected through focus group discussions and household interview schedules. Meanwhile, this study applied descriptive data (frequency, percentage, and chi-square), a binary logistic regression model, and thematic analysis methods. The result indicated that 40.8%, 37.6%, and 21.6% of youth have participated in mobile, multi-grade, and basic education, respectively, in the study area. In the same way, the result showed that about 44.8% of respondents have participated in formal education in the study area. Moreover, the binary logit model found that perceptions of education, mobility, parent occupation, parent education, livestock holding size, distance to school, and insecurity significantly influenced participation in education. As a result, many factors influenced the participation of nomadic youth in formal education. Therefore, the concerned organizations should provide capacity-building training, boarding schools, and school feeding programs to improve pastoral youth participation in formal education.

Keywords:

• Formal education
• participation
• pastoral youth
• Itang District

Reviewing Editor:

• Arif H Kabir, School of Education, Deakin University School of Education, Australia

Subjects:

• Adult Education and Lifelong Learning
• Education Policy and Politics
• Inclusion and Special Educational Needs
• Multicultural Education
• Primary/Elementary Education

Acknowledgement

Thank you to the enumerators, district lowest administrators, district chief administrator, focus group discussion participants, and survey respondents.

Disclosure statement

The author declared that there was no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chayot Gatdet

Chayot Gatdet is a PhD candidate at the University of Gondar in Rural Development and Food Security. He earned his M.Sc. Degree in Rural Livelihood and Food Security at the same university. He is a lecturer in the Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Extension at Gambella University. His research areas are livelihood, food security, agricultural extension, sustainable development, and pastoralism. Thus, the author has participated in many Ethiopian national research conferences and published eleven journal articles and one book from 2021 to 2022. He is a reviewer in some refutable journals, and hence, he has received the credit certificates as well.