Constraints on Access to Basic Education for Out-of-School Children in Anambra State

The study was undertaken to investigate access to basic education for out-of-school children in Anambra State. The purpose of the study was to investigate factors that constrain access to basic education for out-of-school children in Anambra State of Nigeria. Three research questions were posed for the study. Two null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 14611 respondents made up of teachers and Parents Teachers Association (PTA) chairmen and secretaries of all the schools under study. Out of this number, 1,530 respondents were sampled and used for the study. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. Out of 1,530 copies of questionnaire given out, 1510 copies were returned duly completed and this represented 98.7% return rate. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for the research questions and t-test statistic for the hypotheses. The result of the analysis showed that government policies, funding and community factors constituted major constraints on access to basic education for out-of-school children in Anambra State. The study revealed no significant differences in the mean responses of teachers and PTA on fund and community related constraints on access to basic education for out-of-school children in Anambra State. Based on these findings the study recommended among others that government should improve the funding of basic education programme in the State to encourage and woo out-of-school children back to school.