The Factors Responsible for Girl's Low Retention in Primary Schools in Kiryandongo Refugees Settlement Camp: A Case for Kibanda-County Masin Di- District

ABSTRACT. The study was qualitative in nature, investigating the factors responsible for girls' low retention in primary schools in Kiryandongo refugee settlement camp, Kibanda county-Masindi district. Its objectives was to investigate the cultural or social beliefs of the community on girl-child education, to assess whether poverty among the people that perpetuates girls' low retention rn primary school, to investigate the challenge posed by early marriages and pregnancy amongst the young girls in the camp and to assess the environmental factors that perpetuates poor enrolment of girls in school. The challenges that perpetuate girls' low retention were both interactive in nature and include cultural beliefs, early marriages, pregnancies, poverty, high domestic work burden, environmental factors and negative attitudes of some girls towards education in the camp Girls' low retention in primary school are brought by monetary costs in terms of school fees, exercise books, failure of promotional end of years' examinations, class repletion, child perception that he or she had enough schooling. domestic violence at schools and homes, sexual harassment by male pupils/ teachers. pre-marital pregnancy, early marriages amongst young girls, negative cultural practices, lack of sexual education from the female teachers to motivate girls and many others Generally, there are great challenges faced by girls in relation to retention are many and most of the primary school young girls do get married while at the ages of 14-16 years and the parents are less concern about the education of their daughters and therefore, to improve girls' retention in primary schools, there is need to sensitize all the masses about the importance of educating a girl and more especially gender issues, voluntary educators should be emphasized so t11at girls who do not have the chance of re-entering to school can get information from girls who are being trained to act as role models for other girls and the nongovernmental organization should start project that will bring back girls who have dropped out from school. VIII