EDUCATIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF HERDERS-FARMER CONFLICTS: CASE STUDIES OF PRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELPOPMENT IN GWER WEST LGA, BENUE STATE

Abstract

The study examined the effects of herders-farmers conflicts on primary school pupils’ enrolment and infrastructural development in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State. The study adopted a survey research design. Three objectives were raised by the study and were answered with three research questions. The population of the study consisted of 425 primary school teachers, and a sample size of 206 was obtained using Taro Yamane's formula. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled Farmers Herders’ Conflicts: Its Effect on Primary School Enrollment and Infrastructural Development (FHCIPSEID). The questionnaire was face and content validated by three experts, one from the Justices’ Peace and Development Commission, Makurdi and two from Gwer West local Government Education Authority. The instrument was trial
tested on 20 primary school teachers in Guma, and retrieved copies were tested using Cronbach's alpha reliability method, and a reliability coefficient of 0.92 was obtained. The data collected was analysed using frequency, simple percentage, mean and standard deviation. Based on the Findings of the study, conflicts between farmers and herdsmen have significant effect on the functionality and operations of primary schools in Gwer-West Local Government Areas of Benue State and all infrastructural facilities ranging from classrooms, staff offices and quarter, laboratories among others are destroyed as a result of farmers and herders’ conflicts, the findings also indicated that there was a continuous decline in pupil’s enrolment from 2013/2014 to 2023/2024 Academic Sessions.. It was therefore recommended that the Government should beef up security around the communities and around schools to ensure that schools are not shut down, laws restriction open grazing should be enacted, enforced, and ranching should be encouraged to protect primary school infrastructure, while Parents should be encouraged to enrol pupils in schools where there’s security.