Children’s work in the livestock sector: Herding and beyond

BOX 1 Potential challenges faced by pastoralist children seeking to benefit from formal
education
Education system often not suited to pastoral way of life. Nomadic communities are
constantly on the move in search of water and pasture for their livestock, and accessibility
to schools is a problem of distance and infrastructure (Zdunnek et al., 2008). The school
calendar does not take into account livestock responsibilities, which makes school attendance
difficult. An informant in Kenya therefore proposes: “rather than stopping children herding the
animals, adapt the schooling to suit the pastoral system” (Allport, 2011).
Teaching materials for pastoralists sometimes inaccurate, out of date or demeaning (Siele
et al., 2011: 10), and formal schooling of little relevance. Schools teaching that pastoralism is
outdated and destructive are not encouraging pastoralist parents to send their children there
(Allport, 2011). Formal education is usually unsuitable for a pastoral livelihood (Krätli, 2001)
as it tends to exclude components pastoralists find important in education.
Education in remote areas often of poor quality. There is a lack of qualified teachers from
pastoralist communities and other teachers are often unwilling to teach in remote areas
(Zdunnek et al., 2008). Language can also be an accompanying problem.
Limited possibilities of transition to higher levels of education or employment following
formal primary school. Secondary school opportunities can be a long distance away and boys
and girls may be obliged to move. The costs involved and protective attitudes towards the girl
child are potential constraints.
Long-term benefits not always fully appreciated by pastoralist parents and communities.
Considering the weaknesses of formal education in remote areas, the limited perceived
employment possibilities and the context of everyday life being a matter of survival, the
resources and incentives for education are limited (Carr-Hill and Peart, 2005).
Traditional values and lifestyles perceived to be threatened (Carr-Hill and Peart, 2005).
Afenyadu (2008, in Zdunnek et al., 2008: V11) describes how “some cattle owners see the
efforts to withdraw boys from herding as an ´attempt to crash the local economy´”. School
systems based on religious or other beliefs differing from those of pastoralists can be hard to
accept.
School sometimes perceived as a government venture. Krätli (2001: 42) describes this
perceived link and the way people see it as entangled with their general impression of the
state as “potentially helpful but ultimately unpredictable, and therefore not trustable”.
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