Socioeconomic Challenges and Factors Influencing Primary Education Dropout in District Kotli Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

This study aims to identify the factors contributing to student dropout in district Kotli AJK. The student dropout rate in Pakistan is steadily rising, particularly at the primary level in public schools. A questionnaire is designed to gather data on the factors contributing to students' dropout rates in district Kotli Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s government primary schools. The responses of households were calculated and subsequently subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. We used the data of 200 households of district Kotli AJK and applied the logistic regression analysis technique for data analysis. The study findings indicate that various causes, such as household characteristics, child characteristics, financial difficulties, and distance from school to home, significantly impact the high dropout rate among children in government schools in district Kotli AJK. However, the government should pay attention to giving financial support to school-going children and increasing the number of schools to deal with the distance between schools and students' houses, which would reduce the dropout rate.