School Dropout in Cambodia
Poverty
First, one of many factors that poses acute challenges to students to continue their education path is poverty (No, 2012; McKeon, 2012; NEP, 2014; USAID 2015). The dropout rate is caused by the inability of students to purchase study-related materials and by the fact that they need to work to help their parents and/or to earn money to support their family. The poverty forces students to drop out of school and start in labor force. Entering in child labor and migrating to neighboring countries have been seen as common things for them after the dropout.
School Conditions
While students face financial difficulty to continue their study, school conditions also force students to depart the school earlier. This is explained by the fact that some schools are too far and it requires transport to access to school. “A lack of transport was the biggest difficulty they faced in terms of regularly attending school, and schools being too far away were also highlighted frequently as being a barrier to attending school,” NEP (2014). Moreover, it is also raised that the existence of informal school fees is another barrier for students to continue their schooling. Although all public schools in Cambodia are free of charge, students need to pay money in order to access to exam papers and attend extra classes offered outside their curriculums. Some students are unable to pay for that and the option is to leave school.
Family Obligations
Parents and family are also considered as a main influential factor to determine their children’s education. The decision to continue or leave the school is made by parents and/or by the conditions of the family. “The children whose parents were divorced or passed away were at high risks of ending their education career earlier,” No (2012). It is also found that parents can stop their children’s schooling based on the school ranks provided by the teachers to their children. If the students are ranked low, they are decided to stop studying and start career earlier because the parents believe that their children’s academic continuation will not result fruitfully in the future and it is better to start up a career rather than to waste time going to school. What’s more, parents’ education background also plays roles in determining the children’s education. As found, parents with high education background allow their children to study longer than those with low one.
Individuals
The children themselves are the predetermination for their own education path. It is found by NGO Education Partnership that students with disabilities leave school earlier because they are not understood well by the teachers about their disabilities and because of discrimination from their peers. Motivation to study and difficulty to catch up with lessons are additionally found to be a reason of giving up their education. Moreover, if students need to repeat the year, they also seem highly to leave school earlier because they find themselves older than other peers.
References:
No, F. (2012). School Dropout at Basic Education Level in Rural Cambodia. Retrieve from: https://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/files/public/3/34054/20141016200657185358/diss_ko5967.pdf
McKeon, A. (2012). Why do students drop out of school? Retrieve from Empower Youth: http://pepyempoweringyouth.org/why-do-students-drop-out-of-school/
NGO Education Partnership (NEP). (2014). Rights to Education in Cambodia 2014. Retrieve from: http://www.nepcambodia.org/nepcambodia/members/upload/file/Right%20to%20Education%20in%20Cambodia%20Report1.pdf
USAID. (2015). School Dropout Prevention Pilot Program. Retrieve from: http://schooldropoutprevention.com/country-data-activities/cambodia/
