Parents’ perceptions towards investing in girls’ secondary school education: the case of rural communities of Urambo district, Tanzania

The study aimed at investigating parents’ perceptions towards investing in girls’ secondary education in Urambo District. Specifically the study intended to: examine the extent to which girls from rural communities access secondary school education; examine attitudes of the parents towards educating girls in secondary school; and explore barriers encountered by parents from rural communities on educating girls in secondary schools and recommend ways of overcoming such barriers. Data for this study were collected from 122 respondents which composed of parents, students, heads of schools, District Education Officials and a Ward Councilor. The methodology of this study drew on qualitative and quantitative approaches based on documentary review, interviews, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and questionnaires as data collection techniques. The study revealed that, there is disparity between boys and girls in access to secondary education. The findings exposed that, denial of girls’ access to secondary education is not due to parents’ negative attitudes towards female education, rather is due to inability of the parents to meet school related expenses for their children. It is expected that, improved parents’ incomes, sponsorship schemes, advocacy programs, increased school places and hostel and boarding facilities will increase girls’ participation in secondary education. At the same time sponsorship schemes organized at district level are expected to relieve the rural poor parents of the burden of meeting secondary schooling costs for their children. The study recommends that, in order to have increased parents’ investment in girls’ secondary education, rural parents should diversify their sources of income rather than solely depending on agriculture. The meager resources they have should be wisely used to invest in children’s education without preferential treatments. For further studies, it is recommended that similar studies should be conducted in rural areas of other districts. Also, a comparative study between girls and boys is suggested in order to establish magnitude of the problem.