Exploring the Impact of the Benue Herder-Farmer Crisis on Basic Mathematics Education: Parents’ and Teachers’ Experiences

Abstract

The Benue herders-farmers crisis is an enduring conflict primarily between nomadic Fulani herders and indigenous farming communities over access to land and water resources. Rising competition, environmental pressures, and inadequate conflict resolution mechanisms have intensified violence, resulting in displacement, loss of lives, and property destruction. This crisis has significantly disrupted livelihoods, social cohesion, and access to essential services, particularly education. Existing research on the crisis has largely focused on socio-economic indicators, often overlooking the direct impact on education. The scale and complexity of the crisis demand a more holistic research approach to understand its effects on school enrollment and the lived experiences of displaced parents, pupils, and teachers. This study employed document analysis and phenomenology within a qualitative research framework, guided by an interpretivist approach and post-positivist philosophy, to examine the experiences of internally displaced parents and public primary school teachers regarding school closures caused by the ongoing herders-farmers conflict in Benue State, Nigeria. Using thematic analysis to interpret interview transcripts and documents, five major themes emerged: psychological trauma, economic hardship, social upheaval, educational delay, and health challenges. These themes highlight the critical ways the crisis has affected basic mathematics education in the region. The study offers recommendations for targeted interventions and psychosocial support for affected pupils, teachers, and parents, particularly addressing issues such as forced early marriage and child labor. By combining document analysis with phenomenology, this research uncovers dimensions often overlooked in recent studies on the Benue herders-farmers crisis. The firsthand accounts of public primary school teachers and parents provide nuanced insights that should not be generalized or overlooked in scholarly discussion.