SCHOOL DROPOUT RATE IS STILL UNACCEPTABLE

       The government's free education programme must be reviewed in the face of large numbers of students quitting early
       The Office of the Basic Education Commission has released an alarming figure. In spite of the government's effort to achieve educational reform, 113,432 students dropped out of school during the last academic year. Over 45,000 of the dropouts cited poverty as the main reason for discontinuing their education. Another 4,571 students left to find jobs to support their families. The other reasons given were family problems and relocation of the family. Ubon Ratchathani had the largest number of dropouts at 2,771.
       The overall figure deserves careful consideration. Many dropouts tend to casually respond that they have been forced out of school because of a lack of financial support. But the authorities should not be content with this excuse.
       The government's free education programme should cover all students who want to go to school. If more and more students decide to drop out of school and cite a lack of financial resources as the reason, then the free education programme should be subject to review because it is evidently failing to achieve its goal of keeping all children in school throughout the mandatory period. The programme is seemingly not working.
       Parents play a big part in a child's school attendance. If parents do not believe in the importance of education, then it is hard to keep children in school. The students who drop out often have parents with a poor educational background or low social-economic status. These parents have low expectations of education and they don't see the need to support their children at the highest level of education they can.
       Schools and communities thus must play a part in showing to parents the necessity of sending their children to school, at least for the mandatory period. Inspirational stories of people who have been successful in life, thanks to education, should be promoted to highlight the importance of attending school.
       Family problems are the second most common reason given by students who decided to quit school. This issue should be looked at thoroughly. Indeed, many students quit school because of a multitude of family problems. The study of dropouts should look into the real causes. For instance, have students left school because their families think that education is not useful for the child's future? Or have they faced abuse problems at home? Do they suffer a dysfunctional home life?
       In addition, schools need to provide a curriculum and environment that give students a desire to go to school. The statistics do not provide details of students who might have quit simply out of boredom. Instead of simply accepting the reasons given for dropping out, the schools and agencies in charge must try to prevent students leaving prematurely.
       Some students show early signs of dropping out, starting with irregular attendance. Some begin to show a lack of motivation. Some perform poorly or show signs of stress. Some face too much peer pressure or are bullied. Early detection of these problems is one of the best ways to discourage students from leaving. The Education Ministry must provide resources for counselling to help students with such problems.
       The dropout rate is not only a problem for students but for all involved, including the school, the community, parents, and society in general. Educational reform will not be realised if such a high number of students continue every year to forgo their education and quit school.