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The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of livestock rustling on headteachers’ instructional leadership in public primary schools in Laikipia North Sub-County. This study was guided by the following objectives: to determine how livestock rustling affects headteachers’ supervision of instruction in public primary schools in Laikipia North Sub-County; to determine how livestock rustling affects headteachers’ provision of instructional resources in public primary schools in Laikipia North Sub- County; to establish the effect of livestock rustling on headteachers’ protection of instructional time in public primary schools in Laikipia North Sub-County and to establish the effects of livestock rustling on headteachers’ monitoring of learners’ progress in public primary schools in Laikipia North Sub-County. This study was anchored on Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of human needs theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population of this study comprised of 24 headteachers and 231 teachers in public primary schools in Laikipia North Sub-County. The researcher purposively sampled 18 primary schools for data collection. Therefore, 18 headteachers were purposively sampled from 24 public primary schools to participate in the study. Simple random sampling was used to select 108 teachers for data collection. Questionnaires and document analysis were used to collect data from the respondents. Prior to the study, a pilot study was carried out in two public primary schools which were not included in the actual study. Piloting ensured that research instruments were reliable for the main study. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, mode, median and percentages. Quantitative data were presented in descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution tables, pie charts, and tables. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically to provide more information to support quantitative data. The research found out that livestock rustling affected the supervision of instruction due to high absenteeism and regular displacement of families. Livestock rustling affects the provision of instructional resources and results to sponsors withdrawing their financial support to schools. Due to increased absenteeism and displacement, headteachers are not able to protect instructional time. Finally, as a result of livestock rustling, headteachers are not able to monitor learner’s progress in academics. Additionally, headteachers and teachers stated that livestock rustling affected academic achievement. The research recommends the government to provide security in schools in Laikipia North Sub-County in order to shun livestock rustling. Teachers in the region should be trained on guidance and counseling in order to counsel pupils traumatized by livestock rustling.
This chapter contains the background to the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the research, research questions, and significance of the study, assumptions of the study, limitation and delimitations of the study, theoretical and conceptual framework and operational definitions of terms.
Livestock rustling refers to the gaining of livestock from one community to another through stealing and by use of excessive force (Molegeta & Hagnmon, 2017). Livestock rustling is not a new phenomenon in the world. Historically, the act of stealing domestic animals can be traced over seven thousand years ago (Mkutu, 2008).
Livestock rustling is a major hurdle to the realization of strategic development goals SDG 4 Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities among pastoralist communities (UNESCO, 2018). Raiding affects the development and provision of essential services in pastoralists’ areas through disruption of the communities’ livelihood systems by restricting economic development. Raiding claims the lives of innocent people, causing terrific physical pain and psychological suffering. Conflict and fortified violence destroy schools’ facilities, disrupts markets and displaces families in the affected areas (Geneva Declaration, 2008).
According to the Geneva declaration (2010), livestock rustling leads to the damage of learning institutions and education infrastructure which hinders instructional leadership in schools. The country’s revenue is diverted from social expenditures to public security in situations of long term unending violence and insecurity. Unswerving government investment in schools is not a priority. The displacement of families as a result of conflict creates a lasting hurdle to achieving the SDG 4. Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, leaving already fragile and conflict-affected areas without an educated class to help rebuild society. It is clear that livestock rustling negatively affects education which in turn hinders development (UNESCO, 2015).
In Australia, livestock rustling is referred to as duffing and the individual involved is called the duffer. In the old American West, cattle’s rustling was taken as a very serious criminal offense. People involved in cattle rustling were executed by mob vigilantes. During the American civil war, Mexicans practiced cattle rustling. The government of Mexico was accused of supporting cattle rustling. In Wyoming, the United States 1889 cattle rustlers were lynched without a trial. In the 19thcentury, livestock rustling was a big problem in ranches in the United States of America (UIS Fact Sheet, 2011). In the United States, State of Wyoming, Johnson County livestock rustling was a major
cause of conflict which resulted in war. The shift from open assortment to fenced grazing progressively reduced the carry out of rustling in North America. In the 21st Century, livestock rustling has become more common, with rustlers anesthetizing livestock and taking them to the markets to sell them. Livestock rustling in North America takes place at night making it a problem for ranches with many livestock to notice and report to the authorities (UIS Fact Sheet, 2011).
In African culture among the pastoralist communities like the Maasai of Kenya, livestock rustling was a legal activity done regularly for various reasons. Livestock rustling was practiced to restock cattle lost during drought, for payment of dowry and heroism among the young people. However, livestock rustling never advocated violence or loss of life. In case life was lost, it was compensated with a herd of cattle. In Africa, insecurity such as livestock rustling affects the quality, functioning of learning institutions and the expansion of technology (Otach, 2008). African countries ravaged by livestock rustling characterized by destruction of school properties and as a result interrupt educational management through damage of schools, killing of pupils, teachers, parents, and fear of insecurity and changes of family structures (Lolchuraki, 2013). According to UNHCR (2008), African countries ravaged by civil wars are characterized by physical damage and as a result, interrupted
management of learning institutions. In Sudan livestock rustling in 2009 led to conflicts where more than 2,500 people were killed in Darfur and over 350,000 people were displaced. Livestock rustling kills and displaces people each year in South Sudan. This violence causes hunger, families are displaced from their farm and they are not able to harvest their crops.
Currently, traditional cattle raiding with spears have been replaced with deadly guns by men with army experience getting power through violence. This has disrupted the management of the educational system in Southern Sudan (Khisa, 2016). According to Blattman & Migual (2010), about 28 million children of primary school age in conflict-affected areas in African countries are out of school. Civil wars in Africa such as the one in Somalia have led to classrooms, teaching staff and learners being perceived as valid targets. This has instilled distress among pupils who are attending schools, educators are afraid of teaching and parents are afraid of sending their children to school.
According to Hendrickson, Armon & Mearns (1996), livestock rustling in Kenya have led to poor academic achievement in schools, regular transfers of teachers, incompetent school managers, lose of life, rape of learners and teachers, poor performance in national examinations and increase in the number of school dropouts.
Displacements of individuals from their homes interfere with the normal instructional process of primary school education. This shifts away learners due to increased insecurity. Some learners lose their parents hence they are both affected psychologically and cannot concentrate on their studies in schools. Learners schooling in areas that experience livestock rustling are not able to enjoy their right to access basic education (Greiner, 2013).
In 2015 as a result of cattle rustling in Kerio Valley, 39 schools were closed and 23 schools abandoned completely. Residents, teachers, and pupils flee away to safer places. In 2013 during the Marakwet-Pokot conflict, 27 primary schools were closed as a result of increased insecurity due to cattle rustling (Adan & Pkalya, 2014).
In Baringo County’s Arabal primary school, cattle rustlers invaded the school, killed the guard and destroyed many school properties leaving the learners to run for their safety in the bushes. Parents migrated to other places and this led to the closure of the schools (Mwendwa, 2015). Teachers from other regions fled leaving only teachers from the locality. When the school reopened, the headteachers experienced many challenges in running school activities. The homegrown feeding program could not provide the school with food because the school was closed for several months. The headteacher was unable to run the school efficiently with hungry learners and inadequate teachers (Mwendwa,
2015). During periods of livestock rustling, learners are not able to access education. The majority of school girls end up being married because their parents are not able to take care of them effectively. Learners are killed by livestock rustlers while going to school, others lose their parents and they end up not attending schools. This affects the completion rate of children attending basic education (Mwendwa, 2015).
In Laikipia North, cases of insecurity are high, regular intercommunity war and livestock rustling affect the region vastly. Insecurity led to the closure of schools and health centers after livestock rustlers invaded these institutions and destroyed infrastructure. In 2018, Arijiju primary school was closed due to insecurity which forced teachers and pupils to relocate to Chumvi because they were targeted and could be attacked any time by livestock rustlers (Obare, 2018).
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