Clear indicators of deteriorating educational conditions are high crime rates, the spread of poverty, and many others. But the most dangerous of these indicators – which can be both a cause and an effect – is a school dropout.
This issue is one of the most serious problems a nation can encounter because it is a glaring indicator of poor living conditions, not to mention its detrimental effects on society, including the spread of ignorance and begging, as well as the disastrous outcomes that will manifest in the near and long term.
The Definition of School Dropout
The school dropout phenomenon is defined as the student’s interruption and non-completion of education. It is considered one of the most dangerous phenomena that are widely spread in various societies, as it affects children negatively and abstracts the growth and development of society in different areas of life. [1]
In order to address the phenomenon of school dropout, it is necessary to shed light on the factors that lead to it.
Causes
The main causes of school dropouts are as follows:
- The deterioration of the economic situation:
Economic conditions play a major factor in the spread of this problem in any country, and the high cost of education is undeniable. It is true that enrollment in public schools in many countries is free, but the cost of school supplies and the need for private lessons often increase the cost of education to a great extent, which is challenging for parents, especially if there is more than one student in the family. - Child labor:
Poor economic conditions push many parents to utilize their children as laborers rather than allowing them to exercise their right to education. This not only deprives children of their right to education but also forces them to perform arduous professions because they do not have a degree and these professions do not correspond with their abilities and age. - Neglect in schools:
Negligence is widespread in schools, especially public ones, with regard to the issue of school dropouts. This is due to the lack of care many teachers, principals, and mentors have for students who drop out of school because they feel it has become a common occurrence in our communities or that it doesn’t directly affect them. - Educational principles in schools:
Recently, many teachers prefer to take the easy way of helping and supporting outstanding students to provide them with opportunities and possibilities for success. This is accompanied by teachers forgetting their primary role in supporting disadvantaged students. That is because of school dropouts, as they often attribute characteristics to such students that make them feel useless going to school, which then becomes a place associated with negative feelings such as feeling inferior and not being welcomed. - Outcomes of school commitment:
The situation of graduates in many countries, especially Arab ones, has a direct impact on the way children and their families view school. When graduates’ financial situations are discussed frequently and the challenges they encounter finding jobs paying a good wage, parents’ and even students’ opinions of education generally shift. It makes them see studying as a failed investment of time and financial resources. Therefore, they prefer to shorten the path – according to their words – and follow other methods that may guarantee them a more stable future in their view compared to what may be included in the study, and this matter encourages school dropouts. - Underage marriages:
Child marriage is a widespread problem in Arab society in general and Syrian society in particular. Many families resort to this matter because of outdated cultural legacies, in addition to using poor economic conditions as a reasonable excuse, according to society, for child trafficking. Unfortunately, at the local level, the war had the greatest role in reinforcing the causes of school dropouts. In fact, it was a major cause of school dropouts in many Syrian regions.
School Dropout Risks
Dropping out of school entails many risks, such as:
- High crime rate due to neglecting children and leaving them vulnerable to situations that could make them easy victims for criminals. At the same time, inadequate ideals are planted in them that prepare them to become criminals in the future.
- The scientific and social advances of a society regressing and descending into ignorance. To overcome social ignorance, society must adopt a culture of study, which goes beyond simply learning facts.
- It must be noted that children’s distance from the school atmosphere – which should be an example of social and cultural diversity – makes them confined to a closed environment, which leads to the emergence of intolerant individuals who are not accepting of others.
Proposed Solutions to Reduce this Phenomenon
The solutions lie in the hands of the law. Clear laws and severe penalties must be put in place for anyone who prevents a child from completing his education.
It is also important to apply the following:
- Teachers monitor all students with the same level of interest.
- Providing the necessary tools for free education within schools in order to make education available to all and to reduce the phenomenon of school dropouts.
- Provide salaries commensurate with the teachers’ efforts, in order to ensure the quality of their work, and prevent private lessons in general.
- Enforce strict punishment with regard to child labor and child marriage to prevent parents from exploiting their children.
- Improving the general economic situation of citizens.
- Providing job opportunities for fresh graduates, which gives motivation to children and their families to take an interest in education and study.
School Dropout in Syria
Although there are laws that support compulsory and free education and criminalize child labor, such as:
- Article 36 of Law No. 21 of 2021 prevents child labor under the age of fifteen. It tries to achieve suitable working conditions for children over the age of fifteen. [2]
- Article 6 of the same previous law states: “Every child has the right to enjoy public rights and freedoms, and to obtain protection and care without any discrimination based on gender, origin, race, color, language, religion, or any other basis.” [2]
- Article 2 of Law No. 7 of 2012 states: “All parents of Syrian children (male and female) whose children are between 6-15 years old are required to enroll their children in basic education schools.” [3]
Unfortunately, all the previous laws are not applied on the ground, and therefore we see that the phenomenon of school dropout is still widespread. Aspects of discrimination between male and female children remain unsupervised, except rarely, in addition to children working under arduous and difficult conditions, even for those who are older than them.
According to the United Nations report for the year 2021: “Inside Syria, there are more than 2.4 million children who suffer from school dropouts, and about 40% of them are girls, and this number may increase in 2020 due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, which has exacerbated the disruption of education in Syria.” One out of every three schools inside Syria has been destroyed or damaged, which has led to a decrease in the number of schools compared to the number of attending students.
Children who are able to attend school often learn in overcrowded classrooms, and in buildings without sufficient water and sanitation facilities, electricity, heating or ventilation. The United Nations is able to confirm nearly 700 attacks on education facilities and personnel in Syria since the investigation of grave violations against children began. Last year, 52 attacks were confirmed. [4]
In our initiative, we realize that building and protecting the homeland stems from building an educated and cultured society. This is what drives us to make science accessible to all, and to work together to reduce the phenomenon of school dropouts, especially among women. In an attempt to reach all those who have not been fortunate in education for one of the aforementioned reasons, school dropout is a clear problem in our society. Thinking that this problem is small and unimportant leads to exacerbation. The only way to a better future is to be eager to teach and educate future generations. It is our responsibility as individuals to inform parents and kids about the negative effects of dropping out of school and assist them in making the best choice.
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References:
[1] Mawdoo3
[2] SANA
[3] Parliament Government
[4] Relief Web
