Primary education lays the foundation of literacy in every country. Thereby, it plays the most instrumental role in making positive changes in social, economic and cultural development of any society. However, in recent years, the elementary education has been struggling hard to recover the loss caused by the devastating covid pandemic throughout the world.

One of the most crucial damages the pandemic has done is that it led to long-time closure of schools which ultimately accelerated dropout of students from schools. This phenomenon is more acute in the rural areas where the guardians are comparatively less conscious about the importance of schooling of their kids.

Similar to other countries, Bangladesh is still bearing the brunt of covid-19 from a plethora of perspectives. One of the most significant impacts that the elementary schools are encountering is the dropouts which has got a negative impetus after the post-pandemic years.

A large number of students have left schools during the pandemic and many of them have not resumed schools. Apart from the pandemic effect, a host of factors are working behind the dropout even in the normal days. Based on the nature and characteristics, we can categorize the factors behind dropouts in primary schools in two broad frames. One is pull-out factor and another is push-out factors.

By pull-out factors we can refer those factors that pull or force students to leave their schools due to family, social or economic issues happening outside the schools. In Bangladesh, the poverty rate is almost 18.7% according to the Asian Development Bank(2022) data and the extreme poverty rate is approximately 5%.

The poverty rate in remote areas especially from islands and hilly regions are higher than the plane lands. Due to poverty and financial constraints, hard pressed families very often choose not to send their children to schools. Sometimes before completing the 5^th grade, parents bring them back and engage in different income generating activities to support their family.

Consequently, once engaged in economic activities, these children never come back to school and remain illiterate throughout their life. In addition, some parents do not consider educating their children as an important issue.

This is one of the stumbling blocks that thwarts 100% enrolment of children in primary schools. In many families, spending money for girls’ education is thought to be a mere wastage of time. Besides, many families treat female children as burden and try to marry their daughters off at an early age.

This tendency among parents poses some major challenges towards educating the girls in rural areas. The age-old mindset of the unlettered parents combined with poverty work as a major pull-out factor for dropout in primary schools. Apart from these, the familial uncongenial environment, social superstitions and lack of security also fall in the aforesaid category.

Shifting focus from family to school, we can easily come across with some push- out factors that force students to leave schools directly and indirectly. Schools must ensure that the students feel at home in schools. However, many primary schools fail to provide that healthy environment both in class and outside class.

Very often teachers do not care much if their students learn the lessons properly. The class size is sometimes disproportionately big and because of this the class teachers cannot pay equal attention to each and every student in the class. As a result, many students feel detached and alienated from the classes.

Thus, a number of students feel unheard and unattended and thereby start to miss classes. In addition, many teachers very often they use harsh language and behave rudely with students which act as a major deterrent towards 100% attendance in classes.

Students should be treated friendly and teachers must softly handle their problems so that they don’t feel uncomfortable. But unfortunately, in many schools, teachers use canes to beat the students if they somehow fail to comply with their guidance. This is completely an erroneous strategy at this foundational level where students should learn through love, affection and care rather than fear and punishment.

Low academic achievement is another push -out factor that disheartens students to carry their study on. Some students find it comparatively harder than their peers to grasp their lessons. They struggle hard to cope with their peers. However, in most cases, they cannot score well and feel tremendously demotivated.

In the long run, they lose all motivation and leave schools forever. Besides, bullying in the class and school campus also pushes a considerable number of students out of schools. In our primary schools, bullying and juvenile delinquency are not treated seriously which encourage some students to bully the youngers pupils and treat badly through fear and intimidation. Extremely serious demeanour, unfriendly behaviour and disrespectful attitude of teachers also work as major push -out factors of dropouts in elementary schools.

To prevent dropouts and ensure 100% attendance in our primary schools, we have to work on several fronts. One of the key steps that can reduce dropouts is to engage parents in academic activities and consult them about the development of their children’ academic performance. To make this happen, schools can arrange monthly meetings with parents and discuss different issues.

This will make the parents responsible for their children proper learning along with the teachers. Another effective strategy is to make learning fun and stress-free. Teachers should make the students feel completely relaxed and at home inside and outside the classrooms. A good understanding and a cordial bond between teachers and students can accelerate students’ performance and prevent dropouts.

Maintaining a database including the necessary information of students and their guardians is another impactful strategy to prevent dropouts. If any student is absent consecutively for few days, teachers should contact the guardian and know the reason behind absence. I suggest that teachers maintain a registrar of all relevant information if digital database is not possible to follow.

This tracking system will help reduce the gap between schools and guardians. Providing additional academic support to weaker students can help prevent dropouts. One of the prime reasons for dropout is that some students feel that they cannot cope with the peers in academic performance.

As a result, they feel shy and demotivated. If teachers identify the weaker students and provide additional support outside the class, they will continue schooling. Even parents will be pleased and encouraged to send their kids to schools. In addressing the financial issue behind dropouts, schools may provide some monetary support for poor students if possible. A fund can be created in schools where the solvent section of the society can donate for the financial support of the poor students.

There is no one-way solution to dropout. Just as the reasons behind it are various, so the strategies should be diverse and multidimensional analysing the necessity and suitability. The government, teachers, guardians, and the relevant community must work together to bring all the children within the periphery of basic education. Failing to do so will pose a bigger and more complicated challenges in future.

Writer : Shahadat Hussein , Upazila Nirbahi Officer , Kalihati, Tangail