Primary School Dropout

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All parents were in low paid occupations and most were illiterate.

Specific reasons given by the parents for withdrawing the children from schooling were:

In Pakistan, in spite of all the efforts made to decrease the drop out rate and increase retention of students to the end of primary education, students are leaving primary education at a constant rate. This study was designed to identify the causes of primary school drop out in Pakistan and compare these data with that from a number of other countries.(p.3 Farooq,2001).

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General reasons given by the boys in the study who had dropped out were:

• personal (47%), parents (28%), teacher related (14%), societal environment (11%)

Specific reasons given by the boys in the study who had dropped out were:

                Difficulty in learning (12.5%), lack of interest in studies (11.62%), lack of interest in school (10.56%), corporal punishment (10.56%), class repetition (9.61%), lack of co-curricular activities(8.65%), harsh attitude of teachers (7.7%).

Education is acknowledged as a basic human right and acts as a significant catalyst for change in the field of human development and economic uplift of a country (World Bank, 2005) The prosperity and growth of a nation depends upon the variety of educational opportunities and choices offered to its youth. This can be the most effective lever of transformation in the fate and destiny of a nation. Young minds equipped with latest knowledge, competencies, life skills and values guarantee a bright future for the nation. (p.1 Farooq, 2011).

The editors give this Guide a T4 rating

Translational Research- levels used for MESHGuides

With thanks to Professor James O’Meara President International Council on Education for Teaching (www.icet4u.org):

—T1 - Local findings that translate no wider than the setting investigated

—T2 - Local findings that translate to  comparable settings in the same/similar region(s)

—T3  Local findings that translate to  a comparable setting in another international region

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The comparative analysis of reasons for dropouts as reported by parents, their teachers and dropouts were the same but their order of importance was different. …[the] top three reasons …included lack of interest in studies, lack of interest in school and difficulties in learning. There seemed to be consensus on the following causes in terms of their priority:

Friendship with out of school children

Financial burden

Family crises

Attitude of class fellows

Inappropriate curricula.

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