'UAE high school dropouts on the rise'
The number of UAE high school students dropping out of school is increasing at an alarming rate, according to a new paper researched and written by three college students– Najla Abdulla Al Qubais, Sweatha Monichen and Maitha al Remeithi – who analysed the ground situation for their university college paper.
A study has suggested that children from low-income families in the Northern Emirates are three times more likely to drop out school than children from the capital.
Their paper notes that research shows that every 1 per cent reduction in a family’s income results in a 21 per cent increase in the chance of quitting education early.
“Approximately 56 per cent of dropouts said they had to leave [school] to support their families and 11.3 per cent said they could not afford to continue at school and left.”
Najla said: “We tried to find out the main reasons that lead to this issue. We interviewed a member of the Ministry of Education who gave us more insight into the situation.”
Their research highlighted that “boys are more likely to drop out than girls”.
Some of the key factors are “strict and arrogant teachers, uncomfortable school environment, family problems and school bullying,” according to their findings.
They also identified that irresponsible parenting was a major factor.
Najla said that many children drop out to support their parents. “This is common in single-parent households. Children quit school to start working and help in contributing to the household income.”
“Most dropouts happened in the 9th grade,” their paper highlighted.
The girls also listed out ways to avoid the situation.
“Identify the reason, talk to an expert, set (short-term and long-term) goals and get the parents involved in grooming their children.”
The government can also play an important role in solving this issue, the authors believe.
The project was undertaken by a group of six girls (Maryam Abdullah, Mona Ahmed, Nada Ibrahim, Maitha, Najla and Sweatha) from the Abu Dhabi University, but the paper was researched by only three from the group.
“We worked on it for a month. And, we started by researching online for local articles that spoke about this problem,” Najla said.
“We then approached the Ministry of Education to share more details and give us a clear idea of what was going on.”
The girls chose the topic as part of their college project that required them to choose a major problem faced in their society. “We decided to focus on school dropouts as it is something that concerns us all. I know of so many friends who have had to quit school mid-way due to various reasons,” Najla added.
(Home page image courtesy Shutterstock)
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