Perception on Circumcision Rites and Schooling in Bungoma County, Kenya

Abstract

Kenya has reaffirmed its commitment to enabling majority of its citizen’s access education by introducing free and compulsory primary education (FPE). In Bungoma County, the primary school age population (6-13) is 245,000 (boys 48% and girls 52%) out of which the school enrolment is 97%. However, the dropout for boys is 57.5% and 53% for girls by Standard Eight. This negates the efforts and finances pumped in by the government to enable majority of its citizen’s access education. Bungoma County is considered conservative in cultural aspects especially circumcision rites, which is a way of preparing boys for adult life. The circumcision rites take place in between the school terms and tend to be disruptive to the education of the adolescent boys and girls. The rites also place a heavy economic burden on the parents and the community through diversion of financial and other resources to these celebrations. However, little research has been done on community perception regarding this rite. The study specifically assessed the perception of Bukusu community on circumcision rites and schooling. The study adopted a descriptive design. The target population included primary pupils, teachers, village leaders and key cultural informants from the County. A total of 591 respondents were selected from these categories to participate in the study. Interview schedules, focused group discussions and questionnaires were used to collect data that were analysed both descriptively and inferentially. Findings indicated that the community’s general perception towards traditional circumcision was divided and on the other hand the community had a positive attitude towards modern schooling. Traditional circumcision rites were important in preparing young boys for adulthood. Similarly, modern schooling was also very important in preparing young boys for adulthood backed with a formal curriculum. These two were found to be in competition and the young boys were torn in between which was affecting both girls and boys. From the findings it is recommended that there should be a deliberate move to educate the Bukusu community to embrace the modern method of circumcision and the formal school curriculum in Kenya should be enriched to include the positive traditional African virtues that are found in the diverse communities in an effort to ensuring that the learners are globally competitive but also relevant in their various communities of origin.