Mobility Pattern and Education Delivery among Pastoralists in South West Ethiopia: Challenges in the Context of Recurrent Conflict

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the reasons behind mobility patterns, seasonality, structural and labor division, and education delivery among pastoralists who move seasonally to search for pasture and water for their large livestock flocks during winter amid ongoing national and international conflict. Mobility patterns and education delivery during pastoralists’ seasonal movements. This cross-sectional study employed qualitative data collection methods. Purposive sampling (convenience) was used to select the samples for this study. A total of 76 samples were included in the study, of which 12 were for in-depth interviews, 10 for key informant interviews (KIIs), and six focus group discussions (FGDs) with an average of nine discussants. The findings revealed the patterns of mobility, social structure, education delivery, and escalating conflicts. Thus, the findings revealed a logical and well-developed social structure and distinct division of labor among pastoralists. Moreover, the education services delivered do not align with mobility patterns or corridors. Mobility is highly experienced for the culturally valued number of cattle, which requires enough open space for pasture and water during the dry season, and coming back during the wet season to escape from a flood. Due to the above shortcomings, children drop out of schooling once they started mobile school turns to the sedentary schooling system, which is not compatible with mobility and needs viable attention from concerned bodies to make the education delivery system compatible with their inevitable mobility.