Are we learning from school dropout rates?

 

Associate Prof Mohamad Ali Hassan, the president of the National Parent-Teacher Association Collaborative Council, wants to know why children drop out of secondary school.

He has urged the government to conduct a study to determine the root causes of secondary students dropping out of school, before fines or imprisonment were meted out to the parents.

Citing several reasons for students refusing to attend school, he said the students and their parents and guardians should all be counselled.

How bad is the problem of school dropouts? Has the education ministry any figures? What is the dropout percentage in relation to the national secondary school population?

Is the problem worse in the cities and towns than in the rural areas? We are aware that the dropout rate is high for Orang Asli schools, but what about boarding schools which cater to the children who live in the inaccessible villages in the interior of East Malaysia?

Do more girls drop out of schools than boys? Are there different dropout rates for the different types of schools? Is it because the parents don’t value education? Are dropout rates higher or lower after the pandemic?

A friend who lived in Penang said that in her residential block of flats, there were a number of families whose teenage children were not in secondary school.

When asked, one mother said: “What use is there to go to school? If my son works in my rice stall, he can look after the drinks and clear the tables.” Her son helped in her business because, among other things, it was difficult to find workers and cheaper to have family members giving a hand.

Another friend who used to go to a village near Gopeng, Perak, for agriculture work, said he would find teenage boys, still in their school uniforms, in shacks in the clearings in undergrowth taking drugs. So, how common is drug-taking in our secondary schools?

There are also parents who say their children dropped out because of bullying or sexual harassment. The victims may be afraid to speak up and confide in their parents and, in some cases, their teachers and wardens may be unaware of what is going on. According to one teenage boy at a government boarding school, teachers can also be bullies.

There are many subtle signs from bullying: Prolonged absence from school; a drop in the quality of work; bruises; lack of sleep; and lack of concentration in class.

Is bullying in schools taken seriously and are bullies severely reprimanded to prevent a recurrence? A victim of bullying does not just suffer physical or mental scars, he also compromises his future. When the victim is afraid to attend class, he suffers a setback in his studies. Or he may drop out of school altogether because his fear of his bullies is greater than his fear of not getting an education.

One child in a boarding school said the reason his tormentor was not punished was because he was the son of a VVIP. In the end, the victim dropped out of school, despite his parents complaining about the bullying. As a society, we must ask this question: Should we keep one eye closed just because the bully is from a VVIP family, or does the victim deserve justice?

Some children have also complained that they dropped out because school was boring, Their teachers did not make the lessons interesting, while the high academic standards gave them mental health problems.

A number of parents also said they were not happy with the curriculum and the decreased focus on STEM subjects.

According to a news report, one parent’s solution to tackle the dropout issue was for the government to provide free education, especially at the primary and secondary levels. “Going to school requires so much money. Not everyone can afford it. If education is free, with all the help available, then it is appropriate to take legal action against parents who refuse to send their children to school,” she said.

Will free education make a student more motivated and want to remain at school, despite the lessons remaining boring, the teachers disinterested in teaching, bullying continuing to be a major issue, or the curriculum being too tedious?

Perhaps, the ministry should also realise that another reason for high dropout rates is that not all students are academic. There are some who can be skilled in other subjects, like carpentry, welding, graphic design, repair work, woodworking, dressmaking, plumbing or bricklaying. These are skills which can earn them a lot of money when they leave their vocational school, providing services which are in high demand by the public. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.