STREET CHILDREN, HAWKING AND TOUTING IN NIGERIA SOCIETY: THE ROLE OF NON STATE ACTORS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS IN MITIGATING THEM

Table 4: Community supports needed 45 ABSTRACT This study focuses on the perceptions of street children and the role of community in supporting them to access education. It specifically explored the perceptions that primary school teachers have about street children; and how the street children identify themselves. It also examined the role of the community in supporting street children to access education. Questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and observation were used to solicit information from 10 street children, 32 primary school teachers, 35 pupils, 40 community members, and 2 district officials from the department of social welfare in Ajegunle Municipality. The key findings revealed that there are mixed feelings in identifying and talking about street children. There are those who identified street children as just like any other children and can be accepted to school again and there are those who considered them as polluted by the street life, and impossible to be normal. Street children on their side, identified themselves as normal kids, but there are those who identified themselves with the names that other people identify them with, such as chokoraa, watoto wa mitaani, thugs, homeless, and the like. Furthermore, the role of the community in supporting the street children to go to school were identified as offering these children shelter, home and other necessities, and none considered helping them to go to school as important. The study recommends that effective charter on child rights is needed to provide all the children their right to education. This will help these street children to be recognized, secured and protected by law. For further studies, it is recommended that research should be undertaken to explore whether Nigerians beliefs about street children before liberalization of economy in the 1960s-1980s and after in the 1990s to date have changed or not.