High School Dropouts A Serious Challenge

Dropping out of school is a major issue faced by our country today. There are many reasons like family problems, poverty, migration of families and child marriage misguidance and influence of social media that leads to dropping out of school. A recent study reveals that India has 47 million youth of secondary and higher secondary school-going age dropping out of school. 

Another reason why drop rates rise after class V is that this is the stage when a child reaches the age of 10 -11 when it is considered suitable for introducing into child labour. The role of the teacher too, is critical as drop outs often speak of teachers beating them and complain that teachers waste class time in different ways other than teaching.

Image courtesy The Hindu

Students often drop out of high school and college due to boredom. High school students often report that academic content isn't interesting and they don't have a personal connection with their teachers. Some of them may struggle academically. Some high school students don't want to risk failing, which could mean summer school or another year of high school. 

Some high school students and college students drop out because they want to work to earn money. They may need money to finance a car, pay for auto insurance, buy clothes or electronics, pay for housing or support unhealthy addictions. Most high school and college students don't have the time and energy to go to school all day, complete homework assignments and still work enough hours to support lofty expenses. Dropouts who are concerned about their immediate, short-term financial situation may see a full-time job as the best way to maintain the lifestyle they desire.

The lack of parental involvement is a problem that often leads to higher dropout rates, especially with high school students. Parents play an important role when it comes to high school attendance. High school dropouts often have parents who weren't engaged or concerned with their academic success. If a parent doesn't encourage her child to stay in school, show interest in classes and teachers, communicate with administration, or pay attention to homework assignments, the child might not see any reason to follow through with the coursework. When parents don't prioritize their child's high school education, the child may choose to drop out.

By providing proper counseling to children the rate of dropping out can be reduced to a certain extent.

Our learning from:  ‘Can you teach a Zebra some Algebra’-by Debashis Chatterjee

- Kavitha Devda, Byju Joseph, Krishna Gopal Dave & Vineet Kumar from The Fabindia School