�The Problems Of The School Drop Out In  North Karnataka � A Sociological Study�

Rajashree S. Maranoor; Dr. C. A. Somashekharappappa

Volume : I, Issue : XII, September - 2012

�The Problems Of The School Drop Out In North Karnataka � A Sociological Study�

Rajashree S. Maranoor, Dr. C. A. Somashekharappappa

Abstract :

Dropout is a universal phenomenon of education system in India, spread over all levels of education, in all parts of the country and across all the socio–economic groups of population. The dropout rates are much higher for educationally backward states and districts. Girls in India tend to have higher dropout rates than boys. Similarly, children belonging to the socially disadvantaged groups like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have the higher dropout rates in comparison to general population. There are also regional and location wise differences and the children living in remote areas/urban slums are more likely to drop out of school. Failure to complete high school not only produces negative outcome for the individuals, but also widens the existing social and economic inequalities. In order to reduce wastage and improve the efficiency of education system, the educational planners need to understand and identify the social groups that are more susceptible to dropout and the reasons for their dropping out. Keeping the above context in perspective, the present paper tries to examine the factors that contribute to dropping out by children at the School level. The findings reveal that both the family and school related factors were responsible and appeared to be highly correlated with each other. It was also found that adolescents dropout not merely due to poverty and financial constraints but also because the schools did not respond appropriately to their special educational needs forcing them to dropout. The paper proposes that the State needs to adopt a holistic approach to dropout issue and not treat it as merely a discrete problem that can be tackled without reference to the oader socio economic setting and poor delivery of education in which it is rooted. Preventive and restorative approaches, iefly discussed in the paper, are needed to tackle the issue of dropout for children living in study areas.