FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR STUDENTS DROPOUT AT SECONDARY EDUCATION AMONG SLUM CHILDREN: A STUDY ON KHULNA CITY OF BANGLADESH

In Bangladesh, the significant proportion of slum children who are enrolled in class six (beginning of secondary education) cannot complete their secondary education. Dropout of slum children from their secondary education is not a new challenging issue in Bangladesh and it is interrelated to multiple factors. The objective of this paper is to investigate the factors responsible for students? dropout at secondary level among slum children in Khulna city of Bangladesh. A total of 150 slum children of Khulna city participated in the study where 75 were drop out and rest 75 were non-dropout students from secondary level of education. They were randomly selected from three slum areas of Khulna city. Data were collected through interview method with well-structured interview schedule. The research is quantitative in nature and obtained data were analyzed by using both descriptive and inferential statistics. A logistic regression model was run to find out the likelihood of being dropout and it shows that parents? illiteracy, greater dependency ratio, financial constraints, involvement in income generation activities and early marriage are increasing the probability of dropout and also worsening the dropout scenario. Among the dropout students, maximum girls got married and majority of the boys engaged in different income generating activities as per the requirement of their family. The study recommends that tuition fee of schools can be reduced to decrease their dropout decision from secondary education. The study also recommends that government should run stipend program for slum children to save them from dropping out from secondary education.