TEACHERS’ SEX AND STUDENTS’ DROPOUT-DOES IT MATTER?: A study of dropout boys and girls in primary schools in Paktia province, Afghanistan

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TEACHERS’ SEX AND STUDENTS’

DROPOUT-DOES IT MATTER?

A study of dropout boys and girls in primary schools in Paktia province, Afghanistan

HABIBULLAH HABIB

Faculty: Arts and Education Subject: Education

Points: 15 ECTS

Supervisor: Pia Karlsson

Examiner: Shu-Nu Chang Rundgren Date: April 2013

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ABSTRACT

Afghanistan, among other countries in the world, is counted as one of the poorest countries and has extremely large gender disparities in education in both urban and rural areas. Dropout is an issue in many countries, especially dropout of girls. In Afghanistan the main cause for girls’

dropout is lack of female teachers, hence Ministry of Education of Afghanistan has put decreasing dropout of girls as a priority and the key strategy is to increase the number of female teachers.

I intended to explore the phenomenon of boys’ and girls’ dropout rate in primary schools and I have found different causes of boys’ and girls’ dropout. The dropout of girls and boys are compared in relation to teacher’s sex, moreover, views of parents about the role of female teachers as regards education by girls is discussed. In order to find whether teacher’s sex has influence on girls’ and boys’ dropout and to know the thoughts of dropped out girls and boys about influence of teacher’s sex on their continuation in schools, this study was conducted.

The data was collected through questionnaires in 10 boys’ and girls’ schools from grade 1- 6 in the urban area of southeast Paktia province of Afghanistan. In addition, final grade exam results of all ten schools were collected and 39 male and 21 female teachers, 50 dropout girls and 50 dropout boys and 25 mothers and 25 fathers were involved.

In the above 10 schools one fourth of students were dropped out. The girls taught by male teacher dropped out more compared to girls taught by female teachers. The main cause for dropout was considered by the majority of respondents to be a need of children’s work at their families. Also, it is found that unavailability of female teachers contributes to increased girls’

dropout. The dropped out students and their parents also thought so. The teachers’ sex was not an issue for boys’ dropout.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to thank the organizers of this Master program, Dr. Amir Mansory, Dr.

Pia Karlsson together with the involved staff of Karlstad University, Sweden. Particularly, I express my deepest gratitude to both Professor Amir Mansory and my supervisor Professor Pia Karlsson. I have learnt so much from their precious guidance and detailed corrections for my research. I would like to thank Professor Pia Karlsson wholeheartedly for her constructive feedbacks, for sharing her research experiences with me and beyond all, for being so sympathetic to me.

I would also like to thank the respondents who asked the questionnaires and took time to respond the questions and provide me with the required data for my research.

I would also like to thank Ministry of Education, Teachers Education Directorate, SCA and Karlstad University who collaboratively designed such a useful program.

Finally, I would like to wholeheartedly thank my family members, my mother, wife and my little daughter who patiently afforded that I dedicate the weekends and evenings to the study which I should have ideally spent with them.

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List of Tables

Page No

Table 1: Schools, Teachers and Students 9

Table 2: Boys and girls taught by male and female teachers 9

Table 3: Number of students registered in schools, participated in final exams and dropped out10 Table 4: Drop out boys taught by male and female teachers 10

Table 5: Drop out (DO) girls taught by male (MT) and female teachers (FT) 11

Table 6: Teachers’ views related to dropout students’ future 12

Table 7: Teachers’ views about reasons of dropout 12

Table 8: Students’ thoughts about reasons for their dropout 13

Table 9: Parents’ (fathers’ and mothers’) about the reasons for their children’s DO 14

Table 10: Parents’ answers about the influence of teacher’s sex on their daughters’ dropout14 Table 11: Parents’ views of female teachers and girls’ education 15

Table 12: Parents’ answers about accepting male teachers for girls 15

Abbreviations

EFA Education for All MoE Ministry of Education

NGO Non Governmental Organization

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund

NESP National Education Strategic Plan

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INTRODUCTION Background

Afghanistan was in severe conditions before 2001, socially and economically. This bad situation harshly affected access to education. In the time of Taliban from 1996-2001 girls’ and women’s education was extremely limited. Very few girls were enrolled in school, because they were not allowed to attend school officially, also, female teachers were not allowed to work. The northern parts of Afghanistan were not fully controlled by Taliban and there as well as in other parts of rural Afghanistan there were girls who attended schools. Some girls were attending home based schools with female teachers, generally supported by private sources or NGOs. As a result of the long war in Afghanistan, the education infrastructure was seriously damaged or destroyed (Ministry of Education, 2006).

Afghanistan is counted as the poorest countries in the whole world, and having extremely large gender disparities in education. Although the literacy rate in urban areas is high, gender disparities exist but in rural areas of the country the disparities are very large (UNESCO, 2006).

After eleven years of removal of the Taliban government the number of enrolled students in schools has increased by nearly seven million and 63 percent of the enrolled students were boys and 37 percent were girls in 2011. However, school age boys and girls not enrolled in schools were 42 percent totally; most of them were females (Ministry of Education, 2011).

The main policy of the Ministry of Education (MoE) is to offer fair access to schools for all school age boys and girls, also for boys or girls who have disabilities but in spite of this aim insecurity in some parts of the country causes limitation of access to education for boys as well as girl. MoE plans to increase enrolment of children in basic education to 8,700,000 and in upper secondary education to 1,300,000, by the end of 2014 (Ministry of Education, 2010).

In Afghanistan, particularly in rural areas of the country increasing enrolment and decreasing dropout of girls is a priority for the Ministry of Education. The low enrolment and high dropout of girls are due to lack of female teachers, insecurity and some socio-cultural issues. In order to overcome the barriers, the MoE plans to establish and upgrade girls’ schools.

In addition, an awareness campaign is planned all over the country in order to expand girls’

education. The campaign will highlight the right for girls to get education as prescribed in Islam.

Moreover, the campaigns will emphasis on the benefits of girls’ education, for the society’s economy and human development. The key strategy is to increase the number of female teachers (Ministry of Education, 2010).

Dropout of students is a global phenomenon and is a big challenge in Afghanistan, as well as in many other developing countries (Karlsson, 2001). The girl or boy who leaves school before completing the cycle of education, for example the primary school level or secondary school level, is called a dropout student (UNESCO, 2000). Dropout in the Afghan context is a bit different compared to other countries. A student who is absent more than 25 per cent during the school year is called Mahroom and is not allowed to participate in the grade exam at the end of the school year but his/her name remains up to three years in the class register. The student can continue in same grade in the next or in coming three years (of course in the same grade from which he/she dropped out). A student who has left school and not returned within three years is considered as drop out (Ministry of Education, 2010).

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2 According to the Ministry of Education, the dropout rate of boys and girls in Afghanistan in 2010 was more than 6 %. Besides lack of female teachers for girls’ schools, local traditions, poverty, lack of quality schooling, insecurity in some parts of Afghanistan and limited numbers of girls’ schools, especially near to girls’ homes, contribute to girls’ dropout. Similarly, in Paktia province, located in southeast part of Afghanistan, where this study is conducted these factors contribute and cause girls to dropout or to have limited participation in schooling (ibid).

Aims and Objectives

The aim of this study is to explore the phenomenon of boys’ and girls’ dropout rate in primary schools in Gardiz city, Paktia province. In order to achieve the aim the objectives are:

To explore the reasons for drop out

To compare drop out of girls and boys in relation to teacher’s sex

To find parents’ views about the role of female teachers as regards education of girls

Research questions

The below research questions are formulated in order to fulfil the aim of the study

 What are the reasons for drop out according to teachers, students and parents?

 Do the teacher’s sex affect students’, in particular, girls’ dropout?

 What are parents’ views regarding the influence of teacher’s sex on girls’ dropouts?

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LITERATURE REVIEW Gender in Education

Gender is a socially created concept and is different from the biological concept of sex. Gender means the behaviours and performance of males and females in a social context, in other words learned behaviours and different roles for males and females. The society culture sets the roles, expectations, rights and duties of men and women, boys and girls.

It is difficult and definitely a challenge to eliminate different social perspectives on behaviours of men and women. The stereotypes are reinforced with different plays and games for both girls and boys in schools (Karlsson and Mansory, 2007).

Gender has particular importance in education. Equal participation of boys and girls is needed for a balanced education, while gender inequality in education has negative effects on socio-economic development, moreover girls are not equally participated in schools like boys, hence beside other negative effects on girls these girls won’t be able to sustenance and take care of their children in a best way in the future and will be a weak member of tomorrow’s society (UNESCO, 2003/4).

In Afghanistan, the Ministry of Education and the supportive organs have used many sources in order to meet EFA goals, also to facilitate girls and women to have access to good quality of education. They have planned policies for addressing gender disparity in education which are due to different reasons. In all programs of development and qualitative improvement the elimination of gender gaps in education are considered as a first priority (UNESCO, 2003).

Globally, more girls go to school now than before but up to now gender parity is not achieved all over the world, which is a loss for individuals as well as for societies. Educated girls can reinforce the workforce and economy of their country (UNICEF, 2011).

In Afghanistan both Islamic and Western types of educations are highly demanded maybe due to the Islamic concept of farz (obligation, responsibility).There is a famous hadith which states:

“To seek knowledge is compulsory”. As a result, education of girls is generally accepted in Afghanistan and girls are apparent in both Islamic and Western type of education, but there are still some obstacles for girls’ participation in education (Karlsson and Mansory, 2007).

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, one with the least formally educated population, also with significant gender and rural-urban disparities (Ministry of Education, 2006). In Afghanistan only 58 percent of school age boys and girls are enrolled in schools and among the students there are around 37 percent girls. Schools are operating in multiple shifts due to weather or security causes, which together with high dropout and repetition rates have caused an internally inefficient educational system. Causes of external inefficiency are lack of access to more educational opportunities and a poor labor market (Ministry of Education, 2011).

Boys’ and girls’ drop out of education

Educational wastage

Frequently, the concept of ‘educational wastage’ refers to effects or impacts of dropout and repetition. Dropout and repetition are described as educational wastage. When a student is leaving the school or teachers make this decision for a student, before completing the defined

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4 educational cycle, maybe to dropout or to repeat a grade, it is called wastage (Karlsson, 2001).

Students who leave school before completing the cycle of education are called dropouts and students who are obliged to repeat the same grade or the same school year once again are called repeaters (UNESCO, 2000).

The question arises, why is it called wastage? UNESCO offers an answer: “[A] drop out is wasteful even if the pupil who drops out after several grades without finishing the cycle did, in fact, gain a basic knowledge that raised his level of educational attainment. In the same way, repetition is considered wasteful since repeaters reduce intake capacity at their grade, i.e. the resulting overcrowding prevents the entry of other children, thereby raising educational costs”

(UNESCO, 1975, quoted by Karlsson, 2001, p. 19).

The word wastage is linked to garbage, nonsense or other words in similar negative range, while the student who represents the educational wastage as dropped out or repeater may not accept this definition. These students or their families may think that they have gained some knowledge, personal development, thoughts, changes, a wider view of the world and some social gains before their dropped out repeated and the year in school are not wasted(ibid).

Causes of drop out

According to Holcamp (2009) females receive less education than males and females and tend to dropout from school to a higher extent than males due to socio-cultural and economic factors, although those factors also contribute to boys’ drop out. Similar findings are found in a study by Ali Khan et al. (2011) in Pakistan. Many causes can contribute to dropping out from school.

Some causes have roots in socio-cultural issues like for example early marriages. Others emerge from boys’ or girls’ families such as poverty, child labour or migration. School factors also contribute to dropout from school such as lack of female teacher in girls’ school (Create, 2011).

In a study by Harper and Marcus (year unknown) in sub-Saharan Africa it was found that the main reasons for boys’ and girls’ dropout were that boys through work can bring long term economic earnings to their families while girls are more likely to be asked to drop out of school because their families want the girls to do housework (ibid).

Socio-cultural factors

In the above mentioned study by Holcamp (2009) it was found that in rural areas where girls are married early, there is a high dropout rate because no benefit of schooling is perceived by their parents since they leave their own family when marrying. Pregnancies, health problems and bad school conditions are also reported as reasons for girls’ dropout. However, parents who are involved in their children’s education, who motivate and monitor the school activities of both girls and boys, who encourage their participation in decision-making and support them emotionally, their girls and boys are less prone to dropout or repeat (ibid).In a study by Mansory (2007) it was found that in Afghanistan early marriages are reported as an important cause for girls’ dropout.

In the mentioned study by Ali Khan et al. (2011) in Pakistan it was found that families preferred sons over daughters, because of the boys’ role as bread winner, hence parents do not spend their family income on their girls’ education. Additionally, they argued that beside other reasons students’ low personal interest was also a significant reason for dropout, especially of girls’ dropout. In the same country, Pakistan, Sawada and Lokshin (2009) found that purdah or

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5 seclusion of women was a factor for girls’ dropout, particularly when girls have to cross the road, bazaar or river on the way to school the danger of breaking purdah was increasing.

Contribution towards girls’ dropout can be from peoples’ attitudes and traditional values and can be different from location to location or society to society. However, in rural areas in many developing countries where traditional values are stronger than in urban areas, people often do not allow girls to go out of their homes, not even to schools, when they have grown up (UNESCO, 2010).

Poverty

In Afghanistan poverty is the main obstacle for students’, particularly girls' participation in education because generally, fathers, mothers and the society underestimate boys’ and girls’

education (Ministry of Education, 2007). Even though, education is free in Afghanistan, it can still be difficult for the poor family to buy uniforms, shoes, note books, stationary and pay for the student’s proper health care, in particular, if the family has many school age children. As a consequence one or several boys and more often the girls of the family drop out (ibid).

Another study in Afghanistan also found that poverty is reported as a significant reason for limited access to education (Solotaroff, et al. 2007). In Malawi, the dropout reasons were reported as mainly due to poverty and also other problems related to families, for example, boys went searching for work and girls to get married (Holkamp, 2009). Also, in a study by Anjum and Uzma (2007) in Pakistan and in a study by Hongmei Yi, et al. (2011) in China has found poverty related causes for dropout. Dropouts were mostly from families who had few assets and many children.

A study about dropout in basic education level in Afghanistan by Mansory (2007) found some causes of dropout, among which the main one was poverty of the student’s family. The family needs the sons and daughters to work, hence girls or boys leave the school. Also, indicated as a reason for dropout was that no important things were learnt in schools(ibid).In Malawi, lack of parental care was indicated as a vital cause of dropout for both girls and boys (Holkamp, 2009).

School factors

In a study in Afghanistan it has been found that lack of female teachers is an obstacle for girls’

participation in school and an obstacle for girls’ enrolment (Solotaroff, et al, 2007).The same was found in a study in a rural area of Pakistan. Need of female teachers to teach girls were because of socio-cultural forces and there was lack of female teachers. Even, the continual shortage of female teachers examined when the girls’ school was in the village, it means there was no long way to school for teachers. Finally, lack of female teachers caused girls dropout (Sawada and Lokshin, 2009).Besides, travelling a long distance to school may also affect girls’

participation in schools; especially in rural areas it can cause dropout of girls (Holkamp, 2009).Similarly, Anjum and Uzma (2007) found that a long distance from residences to schools affected girls’ schooling. Moreover, the study argued that gender discrimination in schooling was also a cause for girls’ dropout. Gender discrimination was claimed to be higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. Generally, to decrease girls’ dropout female teachers have a vital role to play and people in Afghanistan believe that girls should study, if taught by female teachers.

However, the society is suffering from lack of female teachers (Karlsson & Mansory, 2007).

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6 Moreover, aged teachers and unqualified teachers were also contributing factors for dropout of both boys and girls in Pakistan (Ali Khan, et al. 2011).In a study in Bangladesh teacher absenteeism, the school location and poor quality of education were indicated as contributing factors for dropout (Create, 2011).

Boys’ and girls’ dropout is a big challenge globally, while the causes are different as found in several studies globally and in Afghanistan as mentioned above. In sum, the main factors for dropout in Afghanistan found so far are girls’ early marriages among socio-cultural factors, poverty among family factors and lack of female teachers for girls among school factors.

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METHODS

This study aims at exploring the phenomenon of boys’ and girls’ dropout rate in primary schools.

To achieve this aim I collected data from final grade exams results and also have sought to find out the reasons of dropout according to teachers, students and parents, also whether the teacher’s sex has any relation to girls’ dropout. Moreover, the study explores the views of parents and dropout students on the importance of the teachers’ sex. I decided to use a quantitative strategy in order to explore the reasons for dropout and compare the dropout rate of boys and girls in relation to teacher’s sex. In order to find answers for the research questions and have enough time for designing the research, data collection and analysis of the findings I have chosen a quantitative strategy, also, since I had many straight forward questions it was needed to collect from respondents which was easily possible through quantitative strategy (Denscombe, (2010).

Since the involved respondents are anonymous they will not be harmed through this research. I could find the answers to why, when and where dropout through a quantitative approach and the research could be conducted in the limited time that I had for this study (ibid). I have chosen and used questionnaires, which required the respondents just to give straightforward and brief information as well as, in some parts, their views and opinions; hence this method was chosen and helped me to get responses to the research questions of the study. Similarly, with questionnaire as a method we can reach wider amount of respondents and can collect a lot of data in limited time (ibid).

The study was planned and conducted in Gardiz city, the capital of the southeast province, Paktia. The study covered four mixed schools, one girls’ school (all except one in Gardiz) and five boys’ schools (out of 40 boy schools totally). The boy schools were selected because they were located in the same area as the girl schools. The interviews with dropout students and parents were conducted in their respective homes. The study was planned and took place within one month (10^th Feb 2013 up to 10^th Mar 2013).

Before starting to collect the data I piloted the questionnaires on 3-5 respondents of each category, i.e. dropout students (male and female), parents (fathers and mothers) and teachers (male and female) but I did not find anything important to change in the questionnaires. The questionnaires were responded by teachers in grades1-6 (teachers from whom the students had dropped out): 39 male and 21 female teachers in ten boys’ and girls’ schools were respondents (see annex 5). Similarly, the dropout boys and girls were from grades 1-6 in the boys’ and girls’

schools. The questionnaires for teachers included information about teachers’ background and questions about the number of dropouts in his/her class, also their views about causes of girls’

and boys’ dropout, etc.

Moreover, there were questionnaires for 50 parents (25 mothers and 25 fathers), also the questionnaires for parents included some questions requiring information about his/herself, his/her children and the role of female teachers (see annex 4). Questionnaires for 50 dropout boys and 50 dropout girls (see annex 3) were also distributed and responded to. The questions were about their parents’ background, the cause of their dropout, when they had dropped out about teacher’s sex, etc.

Although finding parents was difficult we succeeded, my assistant (a female teacher) and I, after having tried a lot. To find all the parents of the 100 students who were involved in the study was impossible since it had been too time consuming; hence, we have asked only half the number of parents of the involved dropout students.

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8 Information of the schools, such as number and sex of teachers and students, was also needed in order to better analyse the findings of the conducted study. Ten questionnaires were given to every school’s administrator who was asked to fill in the form (see annex 2). Finally, and not least important,, I collected final grade exam results of one section of each from 1-6 grades through a pre-prepared table for every school in order to identify dropout of boys and girls (see annex 1).

The drop out students and their parents were divided into groups of male and female and a female teacher from the area was asked to be my assistant, because of two reasons. The main reason was problem in interrogating females in the area and another was time constraints. In some areas it was impossible for me as male to ask someone’s wife or daughter; hence the female assistant was better suited. She was already familiar with several teachers and principals too. I went myself to the homes of drop out boys and also to their fathers in order to ask them the pre-prepared questions. Since I am an employee of Paktia Provincial Education Directorate I got help with transportation. Some respondents were ready with answering the questions immediately, while others needed a few days, even up to a week. All respondents have responded to all questions.

Limitations

The questionnaire method for this research was very useful. However, as mentioned, there were some obstacles, for example to give questionnaires to mothers and dropout girls due to traditional customs (females may not talk freely with unknown males). Female respondents may not feel confident with a male researcher, especially if they are illiterate. The female assistant, a teacher, was instructed by me and gave the questionnaires to drop out girls and their mothers and thereafter collected the responses.

Moreover, parents and students had sometimes problem in understanding the questions of the questionnaires due to their low reading skills or sometimes illiteracy. This affected our plan, in other words, it took more time than expected when we had to read the questionnaires for the respondents and fill in their answers. In addition, by reading aloud the questions and response alternatives I, as researcher, may have influenced the respondents in a way that is less evident when respondents can read and answer on their own. What influence the female assistant may have had I have even less knowledge about.

I had assumed to have equal numbers of drop outs from each grade from all the boys’ and girls’ schools, but this turned out not to be the case, which may have affected the conducted study too.

The bad security was an obvious limitation; hence I selected boys’ and girls’ schools from just the capital of Paktia province since travelling to rural areas was problematic. In case both rural and urban schools had been included a comparison could have been made, which probably had enriched the study. Thus, the capital of Paktia province cannot be generalized or said to represent the whole Paktia province, or for that matter, other provinces in Afghanistan. Neither can Gardiz represent other provincial capitals. However, similar findings may be found in areas which experience similar situations and conditions as the people of this study.

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FINDINGS

This chapter summarises the findings about boys’ and girls’ dropout, collected through final grade examination sheets and questionnaires, filled in by teachers, dropout students and their parents in Gardiz city of Paktia province.

General Information

The number of schools, teachers and students in grade 1-6 in all ten schools are displayed in the below table 1.

Table 1: Schools, Teachers and Students

Schools Teachers Students

No Type Grades Male Female Total Boys Girls Total

1 M 1-6 2 38 40 381 1641 2022

2 M 1-6 19 21 40 800 2950 3750

3 M 1-6 6 6 12 526 581 1107

4 M 1-6 22 21 43 1030 804 1834

5 G 1-6 9 9 470 470

6 B 1-6 50 50 3026 3026

7 B 1-6 36 36 2884 2884

8 B 1-6 16 16 906 35 941

9 B 1-6 12 2 14 919 440 1359

10 B 1-6 18 18 736 307 1043

Total 190 88 278 11208 7228 18436

Next table shows the distribution of male and female teachers per grade and students.

Table 2: Boys and girls taught by male and female teachers

Grades

Boys taught by MT

Boys taught

by FT

Boys total

Girls taught by MT

Girls taught

by FT

Girls

total Total

1 1258 777 2035 357 1088 1445 3480

2 1547 447 1994 375 926 1301 3295

3 1689 112 1801 567 685 1252 3053

4 1780 1780 968 140 1108 2888

5 1848 1848 741 319 1060 2908

6 1750 1750 780 282 1062 2812

Total 9872 1336 11208 3788 3440 7228 18436

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10 As indicated in the table above, there are nearly eight times more boys in classes taught by male teachers compared to classes taught by female teachers. On the other hand, girls taught by male teachers are also more than those taught by female teachers but the difference is small.

Boys taught by female teachers are just in grades 1, 2 and 3.

Students’ dropout rates

One of the main questions of this study is whether the teacher’s sex has influence on students’

dropout, and whether the teacher’s sex affect girls’ dropout more than boys’. Some information is found in the below tables.

Table 3: Number of students registered in schools, participated in final exams and dropped out (2012/1391)

Gr ad es

Registered students Participated in final exam

Drop out

boys Drop out girls Drop out total Boys Girls Total Boys Girl

s Total No % No % No %

1 2035 1445 3480 1925 1178 3103 110 5.4 267 18.4 377 10.8 2 1994 1301 3295 1445 1003 2448 549 27.5 298 22.9 847 25.7 3 1801 1252 3053 1383 956 2339 418 23.2 296 23.6 714 23.3 4 1780 1108 2888 1374 666 2040 406 22.8 442 39.8 848 29.3 5 1848 1060 2908 1270 671 1941 578 31.2 389 36.6 967 33.2 6 1750 1062 2812 1303 670 1973 447 25.5 392 36.9 839 29.8 To

tal 11208 7228 18436 8700 5144 13844 2508 22.3

% 2084 28.8% 4592 24.9

% The table above shows that there is a very high dropout rate, almost 25 % of total students.

In grade five it is 33 %. Girls have dropped out more than boys (29 % and 22 %). Similarly, girls have dropped out more than boys in grades 1, 4 and 6. Girls’ dropout in grades 4, 5 and 6 is more than 37 %. Moreover, the percentage of boys’ dropout in grade 2 has increased significantly from grade 1.

The boys’ dropout in relation to teacher’s sex is indicated in the below table 4.

Table 4: Drop out boys taught by male and female teachers

Grades

Total boys taught by

MT

DO boys taught by MT

Total boys taught by

FT

DO boys taught by FT

Drop out boys, total

No % No % No %

1 1258 68 5 777 42 5.5 110 5.4

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2 1547 426 27 447 123 28 549 27.5

3 1689 392 23 112 26 23 418 23.2

4 1780 406 23 406 22.8

5 1848 578 31 578 31.2

6 1750 447 25.5 447 25.5

Total 9872 2317 23% 1336 191 14% 2508 22.30%

As shown in the table above, boys drop out to similar extent regardless of the teacher’s sex in grades 1-3 (no female teacher above grade 3). Also, the high increase of drop out from grade 1 to 2 is similar regardless of who the teacher is. The highest dropout of boys is in grade five.

Girls’ dropout in relation to the teacher’s sex is described in the below table number 5.

Table 5: Drop out (DO) girls taught by male (MT) and female teachers (FT)

Grades

Total girls taught by

MT

DO girls taught by MT

Total girls taught by FT

DO girls taught by FT

Drop out girls, total

No % No % No %

1 357 66 18% 1088 201 18% 267 18.40%

2 375 86 23% 926 212 23% 298 22.90%

3 567 134 24% 685 162 24% 296 23.60%

4 968 386 40% 140 56 40% 442 39.80%

5 741 272 37% 319 117 37% 389 36.60%

6 780 288 37% 282 104 37% 392 36.90%

Total 3788 1232 32.5% 3440 852 24.5% 2084 28.80%

As illustrated in the table above, girls drop out to a higher extent when taught by male teachers (32.5 %), as compared to when taught by female teachers (24.5 %) However, per grade there is no difference: in each grade girls drop out to similar extent regardless of the teacher’s sex but since around one third of the total girls taught by male teachers have dropped out and only one fourth of the girls of female teachers had dropped out the difference become quite big¹.

1 School No 5 is a girl school with only male teachers for all grades 1-6. When comparing the dropout rate in this school with the total dropout rate of girls taught by male teachers no difference was found. Likewise, when the drop out of boys in a school in the same village there was no difference compared to the findings of the total drop out of boys taught by male teachers.

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What did the teachers say about boys’ and girls’ dropout?

The teachers were asked about, what they thought usually happened to dropout boys and girls after they had dropped out? Their responses were different according to their experiences, which are shown in the below table 6.

Table 6: Teachers’ views related to dropout students’ future

What happens usually with dropout students?

Male teachers’ responses Female teachers’ responses About boys About girls About boys About girls

# % # % # % # %

They come again next year 10 26 5 13 1 5 13 62

They continue in another school 1 2 2 5 13 62 3 14

They leave school definitely 16 41 22 56 4 19 4 19

I don't know 12 31 10 26 3 14 1 5

Total 39 100% 39 100% 21 100% 21 100%

As illustrated in the table above, more female teachers (62 %) thought that girls come again next year after dropout while male teachers believed that only 26 % did so. Male teachers were more pessimistic as regards return: 41 % thought boys and 56 % thought that girls had left definitively while only female teachers thought so for both groups. Many more female teachers believed that boys continue in another school (62%) compared to male teachers (only 2 %).

There are different reasons of boys and girls dropout according to the teachers in the below table 7.

Table 7: Teachers’ views about reasons of dropout

What are the main reasons of girls’ dropout from school?

Male teachers’ thoughts Female teachers’

thoughts About boys About girls About boys About

girls

No % No % No % No %

The family needs their work 14 36 11 28 6 28 5 23

Parents are not motivated 7 18 4 10 4 19 4 19

Parents are illiterate and cannot

support in homework 7 18 8 20 3 14 4 19

There are no female teachers 0 0 2 5 0 0 1 5

Other reasons 11 28 14 37 8 39 7 34

Total 39 100% 39 100% 21 100% 21 100%

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13 The table above shows, male as well as female teachers said as main reason that the families needed their children’s work Other important reasons mentioned by both male and female teachers (with minor differences)were that parents were not motivated or illiterate and therefore could support their children with homework. Lack of female teacher was indicated as cause for girls only by a few teachers.

What did the students say about their drop out?

Drop out students’ answers regarding the reason of dropout differed as described in the below table 8.

Table 8: Students’ thoughts about reasons for their dropout

Why did you drop out from school?

Dropout Boys’ Thoughts Dropout Girls’ Thoughts

Number Percentage Number Percentage

My family needs me to work 27 54 13 26

School was far away 10 20 10 20

I didn't like the teachers 2 4 6 12

The way to school was insecure 2 4 5 10

The teacher was male 0 0 3 6

The teacher was female 0 0 0 0

Other reasons 9 18 13 26

Total 50 100 % 50 100 %

As seen in the table above, more than half of the boys said that they needed to work as reason for drop out while only one fourth of the girls said so. The second most important reason was the long distance to school, similarly for boys and girls.12 % of the girls indicated as reason that they did not like the teacher while only 4 % of the boys did so. Furthermore, 6 % of the girls said about the reason that the teacher was male. Thus, the lack of female teacher was not a big issue.

What did the parents say about their children’s drop out?

When parents (25 fathers and 25 mothers) were asked about reasons for their children’s dropout they gave different reasons for their sons and daughters. More details are described in below table 9.

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14 Table 9: Parents (fathers and mothers) about the reasons for their children’s DO

Why has your son/daughter left school?

Fathers’ views Mothers’ views About

son

About daughter

About son

About daughter

The family need him/her to work at home 22 % 28 % 18 % 28 %

The family need him/her to earn money 24 % 5 % 27 % 7 %

The school was far from home 24 % 17 % 12 % 17 %

The way to school was insecure 12 % 26 % 9 % 19 %

The teacher was male 0 % 16 % 0 % 7 %

The teacher was female 0 % 0 % 0 % 0 %

Other reasons 18 % 8 % 34 % 22 %

Total 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %

As it seen in the table above, 28 % of fathers and 28 % of mothers said that family need their daughters in order to work at home. Earning money as cause for dropout said by 24 % fathers for their sons and 5 % of fathers for their daughters. Also, 27 % of mothers said for their sons and 7 % for their daughters. Moreover, 17 % of the fathers and 17 % of the mothers equally responded that their daughters had dropped out because of a long way to school. According to fathers the long distance was problematic also for the sons – 24 % of the fathers considered the distance a reason for sons’ drop out, while less 12 % of mothers considered the long distance as a reason for sons’ dropout.

More fathers than mothers (26% and 19%) said that their daughters dropout, because of insecure way to school. While, almost equally fathers and mothers (12% and 9%) considered insecure way to school for their sons. More fathers than mothers (16 and 7 % respectively) said that a reason was that their daughters’ teacher was male.

In addition, when parents were asked about effects of teacher’s sex on their daughters’

dropout their responses were different which are displayed in the below table 10.

Table 10: Parents’ answers about the influence of teacher’s sex on their daughters’ dropout

Do you think teacher's sex affect girls DO? Father Mother

# % # %

To a large extent 14 56 12 48

To some extent 6 24 10 40

I don't know 4 16 3 12

Not at all 1 4

Total 25 100% 25 100%

As viewed in the table above, more than half (56 %) of the fathers think that the teacher’s sex affects girls’ dropout to a large extent, also nearly half of the mothers think so. 88 % of the mothers and 80 % of the fathers thought that the teacher’s sex affect the drop out of girls to a large or some extent.

Furthermore, views of parents about need of female teacher for girls are described in the below table 11.

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15 Table 11: Parents’ views of female teachers and girls’ education

Girls can be taught by male teacher, when female is not available

Father Mother

# % # %

Strongly disagree 7 28 5 20

Disagree 11 44 10 40

Neither agree nor

disagree 3 12 7 28

Agree 4 16 3 12

Strongly agree

Total 25 100% 25 100%

Fathers and mothers couldn’t accept male teachers for girls even when no female teacher was available. However, almost a third of the mothers were indecisive and a few mothers as well as fathers could accept a male teacher (12 and 16 %), respectively.

Additionally, the parents were asked whether they could accept a young or an aged male teachers for their girls. The results are shown in the below table 12.

Table 12: Parents’ answers about accepting male teachers for girls

Male Teachers Fathers Mothers

No Up to Grade 3 Up to Grade 6 All Grade I don’t know Total No Up to Grade 3 Up to Grade 6 All Grade I don’t know Total

Young 72% 16% 12% 0% 0% 100% 56% 32% 4% 4% 4% 100%

Aged 20% 32% 16% 32% 0% 100% 20% 24% 16% 36% 4% 100%

As shown in the table above, an aged male teacher was accepted by almost all mothers and fathers, for many even in all grades while young male teachers were unacceptable for practically all, with a few exceptions. However, also aged male teachers were unacceptable for 20 % of both fathers and mothers.

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16

DISCUSSION

Getting education is a right for every boy and girl worldwide. In Afghanistan the Islamic concept of farz (obligation, responsibility) in education provides a rational and opportunity for education for every boy and girl. However, the drop out of boys and girls tend to stop schooling for many pupils in Afghanistan, as well as in many other developing countries. According to the Ministry of Education (2010), in Afghanistan lack of female teachers, insecurity, poverty and some other socio-cultural factors have caused low enrolment rate as well as high dropout rate of girls.

The current study has explored the phenomenon of dropout in primary schools and compared the dropout of boys and girls in relation to teachers’ sex. The study found that the dropout rate of girls is higher than that of boys (29 % and 22%, respectively) in the ten involved schools. In grades 1-3 the dropout rate of girls was lower, around 20 % while it increased to almost 40 % in grades 4-6.

The dropout percentage of girls taught by male teachers was found to be higher than the dropout percentage of girls taught by female teachers (32 % and 25 %, respectively). For boys there was no difference regardless of the teacher’s sex. This finding confirms what is often found in other research, namely that girls drop out to a higher extent than boys do. What I have not found elsewhere are studies, which show that girls drop out to a higher extent when taught by male teachers. This finding was also confirmed when I did a special investigation of School No 5, a girl school with only male teachers. If this pattern turns out to be true all over Afghanistan it is very serious and something the MoE should investigate. Moreover, the findings of this study do not at all match the dropout rate of 6 % that is claimed by the MoE in 2010 (Ministry of Education, 2010). The reason is likely due to the fact that MoE is using another way of calculating drop outs.

There are many socio-cultural and economic factors that contribute to students’ dropout as found by for example Holcamp (2009) and Ali Khan et al. (2011). Such reasons are also mentioned by the respondents of this study. The main reason mentioned by teachers, as well as parents and students was the families’ need for child labour, a finding which is confirmed by Mansory’s study (2010). Boys are more needed for paid labour, a reflection of the gender roles in Afghanistan, while girls are helping their mothers with household issues and care of siblings.

Thus, the fact that many families are very poor has serious implications for Afghan children’s possibility to get education even when access to school is no problem. Poverty as reason for drop out are also found in studies by Solotaroff et al. (2007) in Afghanistan, Holcamp (2009) in Malawi, Anjum and Uzma (2007) in Pakistan and Hongmei Yi et al. (2011) in China.

Another interesting finding was the teachers’ different perceptions of what happens to students after they have dropped out. More than 60 % of the female teachers believed that the drop out girls later returned to school while only some 25 % of the male teachers thought so. If this divide is based on their experience it further confirms that girls leave school definitively to a higher extent when taught by male teachers compared to when the teachers is female.

However, the lack of female teacher was not a common reason for drop out in this study.

No single parent indicated lack of female teacher as a reason and only 5 % of the teachers and girl students did so. This is surprising and contradicts other studies in Afghanistan by Solotaroff et al. (2007) and Karlsson & Mansory (2007) as well as studies by Sawada and Lokshin (2009) and Anjum & Uzma (2007) in Pakistan and by Create (2011) in Bangladesh. My finding could

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17 possibly be explained by the fact that the number of female teachers in this study was quite high and a lack of female teacher had not been experienced by so many girls.

On the other side, when parents were asked whether the teacher’s sex had any influence on girls’ drop out around 90 % of both fathers and mothers said yes. Moreover, when asked whether they could accept male teachers for their girls if no female teacher was available the response was NO! When the question was developed and parents got two alternatives – young male teachers and aged male teachers – some 80 % of the parents could accept an aged male teacher.

The future for girls seems dark if they have to wait for the male teachers to grow old before they can go to school. The prospects for female teachers seem even more pessimistic: if girls cannot go to school there will be no girls to train as teachers!

However, there were some 25 % of the fathers and 40 % of the mothers for whom it was possible to allow also young males to teach their girls, which hopefully implies that changes are under way.

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18

CONCLUSION

The aim of the study was to explore the phenomenon of boys’ and girls’ dropout rate in primary schools and it is explored from different aspects. Mainly, in this study causes of dropout are asked from teachers, dropout students and their parents, also dropout of boys and girls are compared with each other in relation to teacher’s sex. In addition, views of parents about the role of female teachers as regards education of girls have been explored. The research was conducted in the southeast part of Afghanistan, Paktia province with deteriorated security.

The study revealed that one fourth of total boys and girls dropped out, also girls who were taught by male teachers dropped out more than girls who were taught by female teachers. The different causes for boys’ and girls’ were found in responses of teachers, dropout students and their parents.

Majority of the respondents (teachers, students and parents) believed that family need children’s work at home. However, some of the teachers also believed that parents are not motivated enough to help their children to complete school education. Also some teachers considered lack of female teachers for girls as causes of dropout. Some of the dropped out students said long distance or insecurity along the way to school as cause for their dropout.

Others believed that they dropout because they didn’t like the teachers. Although, lack of female teacher was not considered by anyone as big issue, some of them still considered it as an issue for girls compared to the fact that teachers’ sex was not considered as an issue for boys. On the other hand, majority of the parents considered lack of female teachers as hindering factor for girls’ participation in education. When it comes to the alternative of having aged male teachers to teach the girls’ the parents seemed positive towards sending their girls to school compared to young teachers.

Almost all parents were rejecting male teacher for their daughters, when female teacher is not available. On the other hand more parents preferred aged male teacher in compare to young male teacher to teach their daughters. This was the fact that more than half of the parents who accepted male teacher regardless of young or aged were educated.

The fact that the prominent reason mentioned by all respondents for dropout is the need for children’s labour at home can anecdotally indicate the indirect effect of poverty on children’s participation in education. Thus, in order to improve continued participation of children in education, the state should undertake a holistic approach towards development encompassing balanced and integrated development by measures to alleviate the prevailing poverty.

If the Education for All (EFA) goals regarding gender equality is to be achieved by the Afghan government by 2020, there seem to be an urgent need to address the shortage of female teachers. In Afghan society as in many other countries, parents decide about sending or not sending their children to school. Since the study revealed that majority of the parents indicated lack of female teachers as hindering factor to girls’ participation in education, it becomes paramount to address the challenge.

The study achieved the set objectives in terms of highlighting the main causes of drop out in of the urban areas of Paktia province. It would have been great if a comparative picture of how the rural population compared to urban was presented about the causes of drop out but for this particular study it was not possible due to security constraints. Since Paktia is one of the conservative provinces, the findings of the study can’t be attributed to the situation all over the country. However, the findings are still in line with other studies conducted on the main causes

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19 of drop out in Afghanistan and other countries. Thus, it is safe to say that in general the causes for the drop out are universal among the developing countries but still with some degree of contextual variations for example the availability of female teachers might not be as hot issue as it is in a society like Afghanistan compared to secular communities.

For the future studies in Afghanistan on drop out, it is recommended that provinces from different regions are targeted as well as comparison of the views of rural and urban population is made. The perception of the people of different regions based on the intensity of valuing cultural values might vary.

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20

REFERENCES

Ali Khan, G. &Tahir, M. & Shah, S. (2011) Gender Dimensions of Drop out in Basic Education in Pakistan: A Probit Analysis. Volume 24, Number 1

Anjum, S. &Uzma, I. (2007), Socio-economic determinants of school progression in Pakistan, Vol. 7: No. 2

Bennett, L. & Abele, M. (2009) “Girls Tend to Stop Going; boys Get Told Not to Come Back”.

A Report on Gender in the Dropout Problem in Colorado Schools, Colorado: Johns Hopkins University.

Create, (2011) Preventing Dropout in Bangladesh. Bangladesh

Denscombe, M. (2010) The Good Research Guide For Small-Scale Research Projects. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

Harper, C. & Marcus, R. (Year unknown) Child Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Save the Children Fund (UK)

Holkamp, G. (2009) Researching the girls drop-out rate in Malawi, Malawi

Hongmei Yi, et al, (2011) Dropping out: Why are students leaving junior high in China’s poor rural areas? China: Elsevier Ltd.

Karlsson, P. &Mansory, A. (2007) An Afghan Dilemma: Education, Gender and Globalisation in an Islamic Context. Stockholm: Stockholm University.

Karlsson, P. (2001) Wastes or Gains? A discussion about education wastage, with examples from Afghanistan. Stockholm: Institute of International Education, Stockholm University.

Karlsson, P. (2001), Wastes or Gains? A discussion about education wastage, with examples from Afghanistan. Stockholm: Institute of International Education, Stockholm University.

Mansory, A. (2007), Drop out Study in Basic Education Level of Schools in Afghanistan, Kabul:

Swedish committee for Afghanistan

Ministry of Education, (2006) National Education Strategic Plan. Kabul: Planning Department Ministry of Education, (2006) National Education Strategic Plan. Kabul: Planning Department Ministry of Education, (2007-2017), National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan. Kabul:

(Printing press is not mentioned).

Ministry of Education, (2010-2014), National Education Strategic Plan for Afghanistan. Kabul:

Planning Department.

Ministry of Education, (2011) Education Interim Plan 2011-13. Kabul: Planning Department

Ministry of Education. (2011) Education Interim Plan (2011-2013). Kabul: Ministry of Education

Sawada, Y. & Lokshin, M. (2009) Obstacles to school progression in rural Pakistan: An analysis of gender and sibling rivalry using field survey data. Journal of Development Economics, 88(2009), pp. 335-347.

Solotaroff, J. et al (2007),Afghanistan Gender Mainstreaming Implementation Note Series, No.1:

The World Bank in south Asia

UNESCO (2000) Education for All, Status and Trends 2000, Assessing learning Achievement, Paris: UNESCO.

UNESCO (2003) EFA Global Monitoring Report: Gender Strategies for Paris: UNESCO

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21 UNESCO (2003/4) EFA Global Monitoring Report: Gender and Education for All-The Leap to

Equality

UNESCO (2009) Education for All (EFA). Overcoming inequality: why governance matters Paris: UNESCO

UNESCO (2010) EFA Global Monitoring Report: Reaching the marginalized. Paris: UNESCO UNESCO (2011) EFA Global Monitoring Report, The hidden crisis: Armed Conflict and

Education, Paris: UNESCO.

UNESCO, (2006) EFA. LITERACY FOR LIFE, Paris: UNESCO UNICEF (2011).UNICEF Annual Report, New York: UNICEF

World Bank, (2005) National Reconstruction and Poverty Reduction, the Role of Women in Afghanistan’s Future. World Bank

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22

ANNEXES

QUESTIONNAIRES:

Form No 1:

Final grade exam result form:

School Name: ... School No: ...

Form No 2:

School Background Information:

1391 (2012) Final Exam Results

Grades

Total Registered

Students

Participated

in Exam Passed Failed Conditionally Passed

Drop out (Mahrooms)

Boys Girls

Boys Girls 1

2 3 4 5 6 Total

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23 1. School Name: ...

2. School establishment date is...

3. School is:

a) Boy school b) girl school c) mixed school 4. Students sit in:

a) Proper school building b) Open area c) In tents d) In Masjid e) In private home 5. Is the school surrounded by wall?

a) Yes b) No c) Yes, but partly 6. Teachers number:

a) Male teachers: ... b) Female teachers: ...

7. Students’ number:

a) Boys... b) Girls...

8. Are there other forms of schooling for girls in the village around this school (e.g.

accelerated learning classes, literacy class, home base school for girls, etc)?

a) Yes b) No c) If yes, which form: ...

9. Is there any Madrasa for girls in this village?

a) Yes b) No

10. Is there any Madrasa for boys in this village?

a) Yes b) No

Form No 3:

Questionnaire for drop out Girls and Boys:

1. School Name: ...

2. Sex:

a) Boy b) Girl 3. Age: ...

4. Parents’ Education:

Father:

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24 a) Islamic Education b) Less than grade 12 c) Grade 12 d) Universitye) Non

Educated Mother:

a) Islamic Education b) Less than grade 12 c) Grade 12 d) Universitye) Non Educated

5. Parents’ Occupation:

Father:

a) Farmer b) Business c) Paid labour d) Gov. Worker e) other...

Mother:

a) Household worker b)Gov. Worker c) Business e) Paid labour f) other...

6. How do you think your family’s economic status is compared to others in the village?

a) Poor b) Middle c) Rich

7. In which grade did you drop out of school?

a) Grade one b)Grade two c)Grade three d)Grade four e)Grade five f)Grade six 8. Why did you dropout from school? (several options can be chosen)

a) School was far away

b) My family needs me to work c) I didn't like the teachers d) I didn't like my classmates e) I didn’t learn anything

f) The way to school was insecure g) I was sick

h) The teacher was male i) The teacher was female j) I failed in exams

9. What do you think your parents would say as reasons for your leaving school?

(several options can be chosen) a) The school is far from home b) You should earn money

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25 c) You should work at home

d) Your teacher is male e) Your teacher is female f) You failed several times g) You didn’t learn anything h) You are sick

i) The way to school is insecure

10. What do you think are the main reasons for other girls/boys who have left school?

(several options can be chosen) a) The school is for from them b) They should work and earn money c) They should work at home

d) The way to school is insecure e) Their teacher is male

f) Their teacher is female g) They failed several times h) They didn’t learn anything 11. Will you come back to school?

a) Yes b) No c) If yes, why? ...d) if no, why not? ...

12. What are you doing now?

...

Form No 4:

Questionnaire for Parents:

1. Sex:

a) Male b) Female 2. Age: ...

3. Your Education is:

a) Islamic Education b) Less than grade 12 c) Grade 12 d) University g) None educated

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26 4. Your Occupation is:

a) Household worker b) Farmer c) Business d) Labour e)Gov. Workerf) other...

5. How many children aged 7-14 do you have?

a) Boys: ... b) Girls: ...

6. How many are in school?

a) Boys ... b) Girls...

7. Why has your son/ daughter left school? (several options can be chosen) a) The school was far from home

b) The family need him/her to earn money c) The family need him/her to work at home d) He/ She was sick

e) He/ She failed several times f) He/ She didn’t learn anything g) The way to school was insecure h) The teacher was male

i) The teacher was female

8. In general, do you think the teacher’ssex affects girls’ dropout?

a) To a large extent b) To some extent c) I don’t know d) Not at all 9. In general, do you think the teacher’ssexaffectsboys’ dropout?

a) To a large extent b) To some extent c) I don’t know d) Not at all 10. I prefer female teachers to teach in girls’ schools.

a) Strongly disagree b) Disagree c) Neither agree nor disagree d) Agree e)Strongly agree

11. In case, female teacher is not available girls can be taught by a male teacher.

a) Strongly disagree b) Disagree c) Neither agree nor disagree d) Agree e)Strongly agree

12. Do you accept young male teachers to teach girls?

a) No b) Yes, up to grade 3 c) Yes, up to grade 6 d) Yes, all grades e) I don’t know

13. Do you accept aged male teachers to teach girls?

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27 a) No b) yes, up to grade 3 c) Yes, up to grade 6 d) Yes, all grades e) I don’t know

14. You can provide more opinions regard teachers’ sex and girls’ dropout here.

...

From No 5:

Questionnaire for Grade Teachers (of a class from which student dropped out):

1. School No: (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) 2. Sex:

a) Male b) Female 3. Age: ...

4. Your Education is:

a) Islamic Education b) Less than grade 12 c) Grade 12 d) University g) None educated

5. Experience as a teacher: ... Years

6. How many students dropped out this year in your class?

a) Boys: ... b) Girls: ...

7. What are the MAIN reasons according to your experience that girls dropout from schools? (several options can be chosen)

a) School is far away from their home b) The family needstheirwork

c) They don't like school d) The teachers are unqualified e) They are unable to learn f) They have failed in exams g) Parents are not motivated

h) Parents are illiterate and cannot support in homework i) There are no female teachers

j) The way to school isinsecure

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28 k) They are afraid of teachers

l) They are over aged

m) The curriculum is not useful for their life

n) Other, please specify……….

8. What are the MAIN reasons according to your experience that boys dropout from schools? (several options can be chosen)

a) School is far away from their home b) The family needstheirwork

c) They don't like school d) The teachers are unqualified e) They are unable to learn f) They have failed in exams g) Parents are not motivated

h) Parents are illiterate and cannot support in homework i) The way to school isinsecure

j) They are afraid of teachers k) They are over aged

l) The curriculum is not useful for their life

m) Other, please specify……….

9. According to your experience, what happens usually with drop out girls?

a) They come again next year b) They continue in another school c) They leave school definitely d) I don't know

10. According to your experience, what happens usually with drop out boys?

a) They come again next year e) They continue in another school f) They leave school definitely g) I don't know

11. In which grades do girls mostly drop out in your school?

a) Grade1 b) Grade 2 c) Grade 3 d) Grade 4 e) Grade 5 f) Grade 6

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29 12. In which grades do boys mostly drop out in your school?

a) Grade1 b) Grade 2 c) Grade 3 d) Grade 4 e) Grade 5 f) Grade 6

13. What should be improved in schools to decrease the dropout of boys and girls respectively?

………

……….

TEACHERS’ SEX AND STUDENTS’ DROPOUT-DOES IT MATTER?: A study of dropout boys and girls in primary schools in Paktia province, Afghanistan