Effect of Household’s Food Security on Educational Outcomes of The Students in Public Primary Schools in Tehsil Shorkot

Abstract

Millions of people in both developed and developing nations are affected by the serious problem of household food security. Household food security is a situation where members of a household have access to enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs. The main objective of the current study is to explore the effect of household food security on the educational outcomes of the students in public primary schools in tehsil Shorkot. The study was quantitative. From the total number of primary schools in tehsil Shorkot, twenty-five primary schools were selected conveniently. According to the list obtained from DEO, there are a total 119 teachers who are currently working in selected schools. A sample size of 91 respondents was selected with a confidence interval of 5 and a confidence level of 95%. For data collection a well-structured and well-prepared questionnaire was used for data collection as a research instrument. Data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to calculate the frequency, mean value, standard deviation, and weighted score for variables for further results and study recommendations. It was concluded that less than half (40.7%) had master-level qualifications, while less than one-fifth (16.5%) had the bachelor-level qualification. More than one-third (34.1%) of the respondents had more than 15 years of experience at the school level, while about one-fifth (25.3%) of the respondents had 6-10 years of teaching experience. Lack of knowledge about food security was at 1^st in rank order according to the weighted score of 358 and mean value of 3.93, followed by the low-income level at 2^nd rank order with a weighted score of 353 and mean value of 3.87. The chi-square value of 13.20 indicates a moderate association between the teaching experience of teachers and their perception of factors affecting food security. The p-value of 0.047 is less than 0.05. This suggests that teaching experience might play a role in teachers' perceptions of food security factors. They should encourage the creation of jobs and opportunities for income generation while supporting entrepreneurship. Increasing small-scale farmers', rural entrepreneurs, and marginalized communities' access to credit and financial services and creating sustainable livelihoods encourage economic diversification and value chain development in the agricultural and other sectors.