Factors affecting the discontinuation of learners in grade III in formal primary schools and Ebtedayee Madrasahs

Abstract

This study aimed to follow-up the learners who discontinued from grade III in primary school and Ebtedayee Madrassah. The specific objectives were to determine their socioeconomic background, identify the reasons for their discontinuation, look at their employment status and examine possibilities for their further enrollment in any type of school. The learners of the selected grade were chosen purposively from three rural-based primary schools and one Ebtedayee Madrassah located in two districts with low literacy rates. Twenty-five learners and their parents, 19 cohorts of the selected learners, 22 teachers of the selected schools and Madrassahs and 62 community people were interviewed through informal discussions using unstructured checklists. Major findings show that the tendency of discontinuation tends to be higher among the children of the extreme poor and illiterate families. Some socioeconomic and school-related factors such as lack of necessary guidance and support from families and the teaching-learning system in government primary schools were associated with such discontinuation. The rate of discontinuation of the learners in the formal primary schools may be reduced by modifying the teaching-learning system, which would be appropriate especially for the children of poor and illiterate families. To do this, the existing physical infrastructure may need to be extended or the discontinued learners may be served by promoting the non-formal primary education model operated by different NGOs