ABSTRACT
Education is a key to a country‟s development. This is the reason why countries all over the world invest heavily in education. In spite of this committment, low girls‟ access and participation in education remains an obstacle to realizing an ideal equality and universality of primary education in Merti district .The purpose of the study is to investigate the influence of socio-cultural and economic factors on girls‟ access and participation in primary education in Merti district. The research design of the study is descriptive survey design. The study involved a sample of 300 pupils (150 males, 150 females) from upper class, 10 headteachers (male) 40 teachers (20 males, 20 females) and 30 parents (15 males and 15 females). It also comprised the District Education Officer. The data was collected through questionnaires administered to pupils, interview schedules for headteachers and District Education Officer. A focus group discussion was undertaken with the sampled teachers and parents. The data was analyzed through qualitative and quantitative approaches. The research findings show that community‟s attitude towards girls‟ access to education has gradually changed but complete support for girl child education is still lacking. The researcher recommends a sensitization programme be conducted on the significance of the girl child education to the community. It is also recommended that government should enforce laws to deal with perpetrators of early and forced marriages. It is further recommended that boarding schools be constructed to take care of girls from pastoral communities. It is also recommended that government formulate policies that address gender imbalances in acquisition of education among pastoral communities.
