Access to secondary school education among girls from pastoral communities: a case of the Barbaig in Hanang district, Manyara Region of Tanzania

Abstract

Access to education for girls in many societies faces significant challenges, often leading to girls being viewed as inferior to boys. However, little is known about the unique challenges facing girls from pastoral societies and their access to schooling. Therefore, this paper sheds light on girls' access to secondary school education in the Barbaig pastoral community in the Hanang District, Manyara Region of Tanzania. Specifically, it examines the challenges girls face in accessing secondary education in their area. The study uses a cross-sectional research design and involved 210 girls from Dirma, Chief Gejaru, and Mwahu secondary schools. Proportional sampling and simple random sampling techniques were used to obtain respondents for this study. Data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions, and documentary reviews. Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in data analysis. The results revealed that a shortage of girls’ facilities and services in schools, families' low socio-economic status, and harmful gender norms, traditions, and practices were among the challenges. Other challenges include early pregnancies and early marriage, parents’ desire for wealth, nomadic lifestyle, large family size, and long distance from home to school. It is recommended that the Education Department in Hanang District implement educational policies that ensure students in every school have sufficient resources. Furthermore, community leaders should insist on the importance of girls’ education. This will only be possible if local authorities actively collaborate with relevant stakeholders to solve the educational challenges facing the girls from the Barbaig tribe.