The impact of petty business on school aged children and schooling in urban areas of Tanzania: a case study of Tabora urban.

This dissertation examines the involvement of school aged children in petty business in urban areas of Tanzania and its effects in their schooling process. It also examines the extent in which school aged children are engaged in petty business in urban areas and their rate of school drop-outs. The study tried to answer four basic questions: 1. Do the children who are conducting petty business in urban streets still attending school. 2. Do the children who are enrolled for primary education but are engaged in petty business attending school regularly? 3. Do the children engaged in petty business have extra time for their school homework? 4. Is the school education valued equal to petty business by school aged children?. In order to answer these questions three hypotheses were tested. Data were collected using questionnaire, interview, observation and documentary review. Respondents of the study included all school aged children sighted conducting petty business in urban streets in Tabora urban and primary school head teachers who gave information on the rate of school drop outs, and the extent of children's involvement in petty business in their schools. The findings of the study indicated that school aged children engaged in petty business have a risk of not completing primary education, because they don't attend school regularly. Most of their time is spent in business. Also it was noted that, majority of the school aged children engaged in petty business were from low income families who value petty business due to the fact that it supplements their income. On the basis of the research findings it is recommended that children should not be used in petty business. Parents should be discouraged to engage their children in business. For further research, it is recommended that, similar study covering a wider range of urban areas should be conducted since the findings of this case study can not be enough for the purpose of generalization for the whole country. This is because the study was conducted only in one urban area which is Tabora municipality.