The Influence of Khat Market on Attainment of Primary Education in Mogadishu, Somalia

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of khat market on attainment of primary education in Mogadishu, Somalia. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design whose purpose is to describe the state of affairs and involves a method of collecting data by interviewing or administering questionnaires to a sample of individuals. The results of the questionnaire were then analyzed with the aid of SPSS. A sample size of 66 respondents of a targeted population of 220 was selected. The study found that there is a negative relationship between khat market and attainment of primary education.From the finding the study recommends that the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education in conjunction with the Ministry of Woman and Human Rights Development should recognize and enforce the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation at the family level and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education. And also the study recommended that the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education in conjunction with the school heads should provide special remedial and weekend programmes for school going children. These programmes should incorporate discussions on the impact of khat market on education. Keywords: khat market, selling of khat, awareness level, peer influence, attainment of primary education. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-12-13 Publication date: April 30 th 2020


Statement of the problem
Khat market has been increasing time after time. Khat is a vital trade in Somalia and has been increasing exponentially costing millions of dollars annually. In 2012, Transitional Federal Government, Puntland and Somaliland spent more than USD 300 million of foreign exchange (Kafi & Mberia, 2016). Khat has a negative and dangerous effect on school child, families, and the whole of the society. The use of khat; a substance that most Somalis perceive as a leisurely substance, has been associated with the social problems suffered by Somalis in Mogadishu. Using children as a cheap source of labour in khat market is likely to have far and wide reaching effects on the pupils' concentration in school. In Banadir Region, there are high poverty levels; approximately 70% of the households live below the poverty line despite the increase in khat markets in the region. Somalia has one of the world's lowest gross enrolment rates for primary school-aged children with only 30 percent children at primary education (Somalia Education Cluster, 2017).
According to a study by Nabuzoka and Badhadhe 2000, there is proof that the khat-chewing habit has changed quantitatively in the twenty first century such that what was previously a formalized and strongly regulated social habit presently has features of extremeness, casualness and lack of normal control. Consequently, several studies have been done on khat and its effects on almost all aspects of the lives of the inhabitants in these areas.
The negative effects of khat have been discussed globally , Hassan, 2007, Fitzgerald, 2009) but its effects on attainment of primary education has not been extensively done in Somalia. The use of khat results to substantial deleterious physiological, psychological and sociological impact on neurotic users (Patel, 2000;Odenwald, 2007). Peer influence is hereby most likely to be an influencing factor. A misconception that Khat can enhance performance in exams exists as part of the informal education that is misleading to the youth. Culture seems to bare much influence on the individual behavior (Ngeranwa, 2013).
In Banadir Region, khat trade is the one of the largest source of income for the Mogadishu people and much effort has been put on studying its effects on health but few or no studies have been done concerning effects of on attainment of primary education. However, it is manifest from diverse studies that, the psychosocial and medical effects of khat chewing are not only harmful to the individual but also to the community at large (Babu and Sikiru, 2009). Therefore, this study therefore sought to establish the influence of khat market on attainment of primary education in Mogadishu, Somalia. The paper has the following objectives: · To determine the effect of khat selling on attainment of primary school education in Mogadishu, Somalia. · To investigate the effects of awareness level on attainment of primary education in Mogadishu, Somalia. · To establish the extent to which peer influence in khat market influence on attainment of primary school education in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Selling of Khat and attainment of primary education
But as the community obtain money from khat, and extensively chew it, they lack the motivation to reinvest in other developmental projects that are income generating hence they remain poor. There is a strong relationship between child-labour and low school retention rate. School dropout is an alarming issue worldwide. Bridgelang (2006) and ILO (2007) revealed that child-labour is one of the main causes of school dropout.

Awareness level and attainment of primary education
In many African cultures, the idea that children's work in the household is part of a normal socialization process, which prepares them for their future roles in life is a common perception. A study by Mureithi (2008) showed that child wage labour was found mostly on commercial agricultural plantations where children were estimated to account for 20 to 30 per cent of the casual labour force. A portion of child labourers tend to drop out of school because their parents think that education is immaterial. In a study by UNICEF (1999) on child labour in Nepal, it is noted that parents' awareness of the harmful effects of child labour has been increased through Parenting Education Initiative. Hopkins (1983) acknowledged that drug use among peers played the strongest part in adolescent drug use. Conger & Peterson (1984) reported that in a national survey conducted in 1981 in the United States, most youngsters said that they used drugs due to peer pressure especially those aged between13 to 18 years. Karechio (1994) also agrees that a young person will be encouraged by his friends to take drug when the rest of the group is doing so. A study done in Ethiopia's Jimma University College on the prevalence of khat showed that chewers were adolescents belonging to the age group of 21-25 years implying that when they are free from family supervision they are susceptible to be easily hooked with drugs (Gorfu, 2010).

Research Design and Target Population
The study used a descriptive research design to achieve the study objectives. The Office of Human Research Protection (2013) defines a descriptive study as a study that is conducted with the aim of establishing the relationship between variables without affecting the environment. The study involved five private primary schools targeting the standard 7 and 8 classes which have an enrolment of 220 pupils making up the population of this study. Simple random sampling method was used to select a sample of 66 pupils. The proportion of the sample was 30% of the population of 220 standard 7 and 8 pupils. Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) recommend 30% of the population as a good sample.

Sample Procedure
The primary data of this study collected by using questionnaire, Questionnaire is used in view of the realty that the study will concerned with variables that can't be observing such information, The questionnaires of this study was developed by the researcher and they based on literature review whose congruent their dimensions of research and research objectives through steps in order to get relevant information on the research questions then researchers structured questionnaires into three sections: part (A) profile of the respondents, part (B) research questions one. Part (C) research questions two; and format of questionnaire designed as five point liker's scale.

Reliability Test
To measure reliability the researchers used Cronbach's alpha. It is most commonly used when there are multiple Likert questions in a survey questionnaire that form a scale, and you wish to determine if the scale is reliable. Reliability test was made and the result shows a chronbach's alpha of 0. and this shows that it is reliable since there are some scholars who suggest that a chronbach's alpha of 0.71 is reliable, as it is argued by kathuri & palls (1993) the instrument with validity coefficient of at least 0.70 or 70% are accepted as valid in research.

Profile of Respondents
As shown in tables 4.1, the majority of the respondents, 37(56.1%) were male compared with, 29(43.9%) of female. Hence, the above finding reveals that majority of the respondents were male. In terms of age, 54 (81.8%) of the respondents were between 15-20years old. In terms of class, 50% were in class 7 and 50% were in class 8.

Selling of Khat and attainment of primary education
The study sought to establish whether khat affects attainment of primary education and the findings are presented in table 4.2. The findings indicate that 43.9 % agreed that they spend more time transporting and selling khat than going to school, 53% agreed that Khat trading has negatively affected school enrollment, 31.8 % agreed that they involved in selling khat and 40.9 % agreed that Khat market is more beneficial than going to school. The overall aggregate mean score for this khat selling was 3.135 and the standard deviation at 1.281. Psacharopaulus (2009) showed that children who devout their time to such activities, instead of utilizing their time to study, do it at the expense of their studies and this eventually affects their educational performance. Children who are involved in child labour lose two years of schooling.

Awareness Level and attainment of primary school education
The study sought to find out how awareness level affects attainment of primary education and the findings presented in table 4.3. 40.9% of the respondents agreed that there is readily available information on the impact of khat on attainment of education, 34.8 % agreed that teachers and parents organize discussions to enlighten me on the effects of khat and consumption, 48.5% agreed that education is more important than khat selling in helping reduce poverty, 28.8 % agreed that khat consumption can affect a student's ability to succeed in school, 24.2% agreed that their friends prefer khat market to going to school, 42.4 % agreed that the set rules and regulations give adequate guidance on the impact of khat and 37.9 % agreed that their friends know the importance of education as opposed to khat selling. The overall aggregate mean score for this awareness level was 2.99and the standard deviation at 1.278. A study by Grootaert and Kanbur (1995) indicates that there is ample evidence that the education and employment status of the parents affect child labour decision. In a study by UNICEF (1999) on child labour in Nepal, it is noted that parents' awareness of the harmful effects of child labour has been increased through Parenting Education Initiative.

Peer influence and attainment of primary education
The study sought to find out how peer influence affects attainment of primary education and the findings presented in table 4.4. From the findings 53.0% agreed that learners are easily influenced by their peers to join khat trade, 25.8% agreed that learners sneak out of school in groups to go khat market, 60.6% agreed that boys drop out of school to chew khat. The overall aggregate mean score for this peer influence was 3.47 and the standard deviation at 1.217.

Attainment of education
The study sought to establish the effects on attainment of primary education. Table 4.5 presents the findings from the respondents 34.8% agreed that they value khat as opposed to getting an education, 31.8% agreed that Khat effects on their performance in school, 75.8% agreed that Khat has led to school drop outs and 80.3% agreed that participating in selling of khat affects the attainment of education. The overall aggregate mean score for this attainment of education was 3.22 and the standard deviation at 1.023.

Head teacher responses
The study sought to seek the head teacher's responses on the effects of khat on attainment of primary education. The findings are presented in table 4.6. The findings indicate that 80.3% agreed that they regularly hold meetings with class 7 and 8 pupils to discuss their awareness on the impact of khat on their education, 94% agreed that they are aware of pupils in class 7 and 8 who have dropped out of school in order to fully participate in khat selling,94% agreed that they take follow up actions to bring school drop outs back to class , 65.2% agreed that parents support the school in ensuring that the pupils attend classes instead of going Khat market, 45.5% agreed that the current education policies are sufficient in addressing the issue of the involvement of minors in the khat trade, 84.8% agreed that khat selling has led to an increase of school drop-outs, 80.3% agreed that they have encountered challenges in regularity of attendance of class 7 and 8 pupils in relation to khat market. The overall aggregate mean score for this Head teacher responses was 3.986 and the standard deviation at 0.935.  Vol.11, No.12, 2020

THE INFLUENCE OF THE KHAT MARKET ON ATTAINMENT OF PRIMARY EDUCATION
Pearson correlation coefficient was used to test the assumption of linearity between the dependent and the independent variables. Table 4.7 indicates that there was a significant negative linear relationship (r= -.108, p<0.05) between khat selling and Attainment of education at 5% level of significance. The results also indicate existence of a significant negative linear relationship (r= -0.057, p<0.05) between awareness level and Attainment of education at 5% level of significance. Peer influence was found to have a significant negative linear relationship (r= -0.237, p<0.05) with Attainment of education at 5% level of significance.

DISCUSSIONS
This study examined the influence of khat market on attainment of primary education in Mogadishu, Somalia. The effects of khat were conceptualized to have three major determinants: khat selling, awareness level and peer influence. These three determinants were used to form the independent variables while attainment of primary education was the dependent variable.
The study found that there is a negative relationship between khat market and attainment of primary education. These findings reflect a similarity to the findings by Psucharopaulos (2009), in Venezuela and Bolivia conducted on children who were involved in child labour, against those who did not engage in it, indicated that, child labour leads to loss of two years schooling of the children. The loss of pupils schooling time consequently affected their educational performance.

CONCLUSION
The main purpose of this study was to determine the interrelationships among khat selling, awareness levels and peer influence on attainment of primary school education in Somalia. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires that comprised of head teachers' and pupils questionnaire.
The study findings showed that khat traders preferred children labourers since they were paid cheaply and they were ready available. The money earned by children in khat trade was spent on luxuries. These children eventually drop out of school since they find no need of wasting time in school while they can make easy money from khat trade.
According to the findings of the study, peer influence is the most significant trigger of the learners to join khat market. Youngsters of the same age group tend to influence each other into doing things together. Majority of the pupils in Mogadishu indicated that they use drugs because their friends use. Peer influence prompts learners to engage in vices so as to fit in the peer groups.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations were made based on the literature review and the empirical investigations in the study: Ø The Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education in conjunction with the Ministry of Woman and Human Rights Development should recognize and enforce the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation at the family level and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education. Ø The government should institute mechanisms that control khat consumption and selling within the community through the establishment of Cooperative Societies. Ø The Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education in conjunction with the school heads should provide special remedial and weekend programmes for school going children. These programmes should incorporate discussions on the impact of khat market on education. Ø The Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education should start rehabilitation programmes for pupils who have already been adversely affected by the effects of khat consumption and selling. These programmes should incorporate back to school policies to enable dropouts to be absorbed back into the education system without stigmatization.