PUBLIC PERCEPTION ON STREET BEGGING IN AWKA METROPOLIS, ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper assesses public perception on street begging in Awka Metropolis, Anambra State, Nigeria. The population of this study involves adult residents of the area within aged 18 years and above at the period of this study. A sample of 204 respondents was selected through the purposive convenient/availability and accidental sampling techniques. The structured questionnaire and in-depth interview (IDI) were used to collect the data for the study. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software was used to code and process the quantitative data; while the IDI was analyzed using theme-based method of content analysis. Simple frequency count and percentage was used to analyze the quantitative data, while the study hypotheses were tested with chi-square inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed among other things that street begging was high in Awka metropolis and the members of the public considered it as very bad for the urban socio-economic development. Based on the findings obtained through the study, it was recommended that government should improve the educational infrastructures by introducing measures to ensure that all children of educational ages are included in the compulsory education system and that education is provided virtually free of charge, as it will help to a large extent to keep child beggars off the street.