This research focused on Children’s enrolment and gender inequality in primary schools in a post-conflict situation in Yambio County. Generally, some researchers have reported low enrolment of boys and girls in primary schools in South Sudan (Berenger et al., 2015; Ministry of General Education and Instruction, Juba, Republic of South Sudan, 2017; Clugston, 2018; Ajak, 2019; UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2015). Therefore, this study is aimed to understand the reasons for the low enrolment of children in schools, gender inequality in enrolment and its effects on livelihood and female teachers’ representation in primary schools, especially in rural areas, and establish solutions for improvement. The effects of the ongoing conflict on enrolment have also been examined.
A mixed methods research approach (Bracio & Szaruki, 2020; Dawadi & Giri, 2021) was employed to collect and analyse the findings of this study, in order to have an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon. The ethnographic case study and parallel convergent research designs were applied alongside the purposive sampling strategy (Reis et al., 2017; Shagrir, 2017). The liberal and radical feminist theories (Kivunja, 2018; Eyayu & Mihrete, 2018) and the social capital theory (Mikiewicz, 2021) were used as the world views to understand the educational issues in the primary schools, and parents or communities’ contribution toward learning in Yambio County.
This research involved questionnaires for thirty-two student respondents and interviews conducted with thirty-eight participants, comprising of students from primary five to primary eight, teachers, parents, and community leaders both in the urban and rural areas. The results of the research uncovered that the low enrolment rate was due to cultural norms, distance to school, high cost of schooling, and the conflict, to mention a few.
This research was helpful to education stakeholders to help them formulate education policies aiming at improving enrolment of children in schools, and the promotion of gender equity based on its recommendations. However, there is need for more research in order to understand the role of the community in removing barriers to children’s enrolment, especially girls, and encouraging them to enrol in school.