Why Students Dropout and What Can Be Done to Prevent Them from Dropping Out

Even though the worldis busy prioritizing the accessibility of quality education, the global dropout rates continue to increase. While, very few children graduate from secondary school or even finish primary school in most developing nations, globally, one in every four students drop out of their higher education. No wonder, the journey of higher education is never an easy one but the walk-away from education could happen for various diverse reasons

Unaffordability due to Expensive Fees

One of the most common and primary reasons why many student’s dropout is the skyrocketing fees that they are unable to pay especially those coming from the underprivileged class.

Now that the cost of public as well as private institutes continue to rise increasingly while the financial relief don’t really match with the hike, colleges and universities must find ways to lessen the financial burden of the students.

Picking the Wrong Course

Many of the students after enrolling in a program realize that the course is not for them or the course, they thought to be effective isn’t what they expected.

This is the reason why course evaluation must be done at early stages and students must be exposed to proper counselling so that they pick courses after much thought and on their own.

Academic Inadequacy – Falling Behind in Class

Another quite common reason for dropping out is falling behind in classes and losing out a year after failing examinations. Now this inadequacy can be really demoralizing and make students lose confidence and sometime even question the point of attending a college/university.

In order to prevent dropping out in this situation, there has to be a system wherein the student have alternatives like occupational or vocational program in the same area or an equivalent dedicated special class so that the student can overcome his/her difficulty.

Imbalance Between Work and College

Many of the students work to meet their family needs while studying. When they find difficult to meet the work-study balance they generally drop out from the college/university.

In this scenario rather than letting students go, colleges and universities must find ways to support them. Some of the ways to do this includes on-campus jobs and/or providing equivalent part-time and/or online courses so that students can maintain a perfect balance between work and college.

Displeasure with the College/University

Often students dropout from their course due to their displeasure with the way the college and its curriculum functions. Although many institutions make high promises at the time of orientation, they forget to keep up the same effort during the time of placement, leading students think that they are not job ready yet. In this case, some drop out and return to their family business while others look for other alternatives for a recruitment.

It is therefore important that colleges and universities remain honest about their courses, curriculum and career prospects of their program right from the very start.

Lastly, in order to prevent students from dropping out it is quite imperative that the education system involves tailor-made learning environment that keep students’ diverse situations in mind.