The Effects of Inaccessibility of Sanitary Pads on High Illiteracy Levels for Girls in Public Primary Schools in Njoro Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of the inaccessibility of sanitary pads on high illiteracy amongst girls in primary schools in Kenya, Njoro sub-county. The research study was conducted under these:

• To examine the provision of sanitary pads for girl's high illiteracy in public primary schools,


• To examine the contribution of sanitary pads towards deviant behavior on girl's high illiteracy in public primary schools,


• To examine how sanitary pads influence self-esteem on high illiteracy of girls in primary schools and


• To examine how sanitary pads influence peer relations on the high illiteracy of girls in primary schools in Njoro Sub-County.

A literature review on menstrual health for girls and high illiteracy was used as the foundation of the study in relation to past studies. The study was founded on Structural Functionalist Theory on social systems and the family and school structures. The study adopted a Descriptive research design. The target population was 18131, while the sample generated using Naisssuma's (2000) sample formula was 99 respondents comprising teachers and pupils. Data analysis involved the use of descriptive and inferential statistics for quantitative data. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically and presented in direct narrative form. The study found that:

• The influence of the provision of sanitary pads and high illiteracy had a strong correlation effect (r=0.781) which was significant at (p-value 0.12),


• The inaccessibility of sanitary pads and deviant behavior had a below-average association (r=0.451) which was significant at (p~value 0.033),


• The influence of sanitary pads and self-esteem for pubescent girls had a moderate positive relationship (r=0.55) which was significant at p-value (0.011) and


• The influence inaccessibility of sanitary pads and peer influence (r=0.52), which was significant at (p-value 0.010).

The study concluded that the inaccessibility of sanitary pads has hampered class progress for girl children during their menstruation period, especially in places where pupils are not provided with adequate sanitary pads. Adversely, a lack of sanitary pads has significantly contributed to deviant behavior, especially in early pregnancies. However, the lack of sanitary pads causes lower self-esteem in the girls, which makes girls have low confidence during the learning process.