摘要：The educational choices available to the people of any country guarantee the human andeconomic wellbeing of the country. This right of easy access to educational opportunities issafe guarded by the states across the globe. In addition to the focus on increasing theparticipation rate of Pakistani students in educational activities, their retention at school hasbecome a serious concern for the authorities. The dropout of primary school students inschools is also a very common phenomenon. A lot of efforts are made to cope with thealarming situation of dropping out but in vain. This study was planned to explore the causes ofprimary school students’ dropout by documenting the views of primary school teachers.Although, students of primary school age group are unable to participate in any kind ofeconomic activity, but they are dropping out continuously. This descriptive inquiry was basedon a survey of opinion of 379 male and 402 female primary school teachers (N=781) of publicsector schools from eight districts of the biggest province Punjab of Pakistan. Data collectedwere analyzed by using the Green’s Successive Categories Scaling Method and otherstatistical measures. The class repetition, out of school friendships and difficulties in learningcame out as major causes of dropout. The male and female teachers fixed the responsibility ofdropping out on parents and the children. The authorities should show their will to minimizethe dropout rate by improving schools and ensuring the compulsory primary education to allchildren in the province.
关键词：Access to education; primary school dropout; causes of dropout
