The Risk for Boys from Poor Communities to Drop out from School: The Case of Khartoum, Sudan
Abstract
In the current world, poverty and education are interconnected. Low level of education is the cause of poverty, as extreme forms of poverty do not allow many children to get a good education. This study investigates the risk factors that significantly increase the likelihood of pupils dropping out of school in Khartoum, Sudan. To accomplish the research, two factors are selected, namely absenteeism and low performance of pupils from poor, disadvantaged communities. A comprehensive interviewing is used to collect the necessary primary data along with the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) data. The life of pupils is characterised by multi-dimensional poverty apace with illiteracy, displacement and large family size, parents' engagement in low paid jobs. The pupils presented multiple reasons (related to poverty) for their absenteeism and low performance. The results indicate that pupils are not clear with their future perspectives whether to drop out of the school or to continue their studies. The study concludes that poverty is the main reason for absenteeism and low performance that increases the likelihood of pupils dropping out of school.
Keywords
Primary School Education, Poor Communities, Absenteeism, Migration, Performance, Sudan
References
Abusin, A. (2004). Governance in Khartoum State. United Nations Development Programme/ Ministry of Finance – Support to Local Governance Project Khartoum State, Sudan.
Abusin, A. (2005). Understanding sustainable livelihood: Changing patterns in poor urban settlements in the Sudan. Khartoum: ITDG, Practical Action Research.
Bakker, C., Elings-Pels, M., & Reis, M. (2009). The impact of migration on children in the Caribbean. Bridgetown, Barbados: UNICEF Office for Barbados and Eastern Caribbean.
Başer, Z., & Karaman, A. C. (2015). Enacting the national curriculum in a rural elementary school: A qualitative study of a beginning language teacher's experiences. İlköğretim Online, 14(1). doi: 10.17051/io.2015.67314
Bhattacharyya, R., & Vauquline, P. (2013). A mirage or a rural life line? Analysing the impact of Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act on women beneficiaries of Assam. Journal Space and Culture, India, 1(1), 83-101.
Cardoso, A.R., & Verner, D. (2007). School drop-out and push-out factors in Brazil: The role of early parenthood, child labor, and poverty. IZA Discussion Paper, No 2515. Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA).
Chapman, C., Laird, J., Ifill, N., & KewalRamani, A. (2011). Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972-2009. Compendium Report. NCES 2012-006. National Center for Education Statistics.
Colclough, C., Rose, P. and Tembon, M. (2000). Gender inequalities in primary schooling: the roles of poverty and adverse cultural practice. International Journal of Educational Development, 20, 5-27. doi: 10.1016/S0738-0593(99)00046-2
Croft, A. M. (2002). Pedagogy in School Context: An intercultural study of the quality of learning, teaching and teacher education in lower primary classes in Southern Malawi: doctoral dissertation. University of Sussex.
Daoud, S. A. M. (2013). A critical review of gender equality in Education: Reflecting on the issues among poor communities in Sudan. In Gendered Voices (pp. 63-76). Brill Sense. doi: 10.1007/9789462091375_006
Datzberger, S. (2018). Why education is not helping the poor. Findings from Uganda. World Development, 110, 124-139. doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.05.022
Filmer, D. (2008). Disability, poverty, and schooling in developing countries: results from 14 household surveys. The World Bank Economic Review, 22(1), 141-163. doi: 10.1093/wber/lhm021
Guarcello, L., Lyon, S., & Rosati, F. C. (2011). Labour Market in South Sudan. Understanding Children’s Work Programme Working Paper, 11-12.
Hungi, N., Njagi, J., Wekulo, P., & Ngware, M. (2018). Effects of language of instruction on learning of literacy skills among pre-primary school children from low-income urban communities in Kenya. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(2), 187-199. doi: 10.1007/s10643-017-0850-1
Kadzamira, E., & Rose, P. (2003). Can free primary education meet the needs of the poor? Evidence from Malawi. International journal of educational development, 23(5), 501-516. doi: 10.1016/S0738-0593(03)00026-9
Manna, P. (2018). Measuring Functionality of the Low-cost Housing for the Urban Poor: Unheard Voices of Asansol City, West Bengal. Space and Culture, India, 6(1), 91-106. doi: 10.20896/saci.v6i1.288
Ministry of Education (2013). Educational Statistics Yearbook. Ministry of Education.
Roy, A. K., Singh, P., & Roy, U. N. (2015). Impact of rural-urban labour migration on education of children: A case study of left behind and accompanied migrant children in India. Space and Culture, India, 2(4), 17-34. doi: 10.20896/saci.v2i4.74
Rumberger R., & Thomas S. (2000). The distribution of dropout and turnover rates among urban and suburban high schools. Sociology of Education, 73, 39-67. doi: 10.2307/2673198
Sudan Household Health Survey (SHHS) (2010). Ministry of Health and Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-household-and-health-survey-second-round-2010-summary-report
Tokareva, E. A., Malysheva, O. G., & Smirnova, Y. V. (2019). Prospects of the liberal arts educational model in the national history study. [Perspectivas del modelo educativo de las artes liberales en el estudio de historia nacional] Opcion, 35(Special Issue 20), 11-29.
UNICEF (2014). All In School Sudan Country Report On Out-Of-School Children UNICEF Sudan.