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INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS

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COMPARISON OF DROP-OUT BETWEEN COMMUNITY MODEL SCHOOLS AND GOVT. GIRLS PRIMARY SCHOOL IN THE PUNJAB Dr. Zahida Habib Principal, Govt. Junior Model School, Samanabad, Lahore-Pakistan Corresponding Author Dr. Zahida Habib Principal, Govt. Junior Model School, Samanabad, Lahore-Pakistan

Abstract Comparative research may help to assess the pace of project development, and explore the impediments for adopting timely remedial measures. Community Model Schools were established in 1994 under Girls Primary Education Project (GPEP). CMS were funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB). This s research aimed to explore the role of ADB in reducing the drop out rate and increasing the enrolment rate in Community Model Schools and Govt. Girls Primary Schools in Punjab. The target population of the study comprised of all Community Model Schools and Govt. Girls Primary Schools in the Punjab, Pakistan .However, the accessible population was three fifty schools (175 Community Model Schools and 175 Govt. Girls Primary Schools) from thirty five districts of the Punjab. To see difference in drop out rate and enrolment rate a sample from each district five Community Model and five Govt. Girls Schools were randomly selected.Documentary facts were used for defining the dropout rate of Community Model Schools and Govt. Girls Primary School in Punjab. A questionnaire of headmistress was designed to investigate and collect data about dropout rate from school record. Data was analyzed by using descriptive as well as inferential statistical techniques of mean, standard deviation and t-test to compare both types of schools at 0.05 level of significance. Results indicated that Community Model Schools showed less dropout rate than Govt. Girls Primary Schools during the period 2001-2005. Key words: GPEP, CMS and GGPS, Performance, Dropout rate.

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Introduction

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After the 18th amendment in the constitution of Pakistan education is now a provincial matter and according to national educational policy 2009 we aimed to achieve 100 percent literacy rate. The major hindrance to achieve this target with specific reference to Punjab province is the dropout at primary level. The present attempt is to address the issues related to dropout and calculation of dropout rate at this level. The situation about Primary Education in Pakistan is not better regarding girls primary education especially in rural areas. The problem within the primary education sector is both qualitative and quantitative. The role of the best school is very important in the globalization of primary education in this era. There are still not appropriate facilities to accommodate all students of school going age. Drop out is defined as a student who left an educational institution for any reason except death, before completion of a programme of studies and without transferring to another school. The term was used to designate an elementary or secondary school student who has been in membership during the regular academic year (Ahmed, 2006). A factor which contributes towards a high rural dropout rate in Pakistan can be attributed to the agrarian based economy of Pakistan. Agriculture provides the main source for Pakistans export earnings. In 1990, agriculture provided the highest ever earnings towards the gross national product. Pakistans agriculture sector is densely populated, with women and girls occupying 79 percent of the labor force. During times of harvest, girls help their parents earn money for the year, thus meeting a dire need for the familys survival. As a result, during harvest seasons, grades 15 are empty in girls primary/elementary public schools, with the possibility that many girls will never return. The use of girls as agricultural labor is but one indication of the state of girls education in Pakistan. (Bari and Pal, 2000, Noshab, 2006, Latif, 2009). Farah (2007) while analyzing the Pakistan Integrated Household Survey indicates that the past decade has shown the highest dropout rates with minor fluctuations, particularly for students transitioning from elementary to middle school. Girls dropout rates are comparatively higher than those of boys in both rural and urban areas. However, it does not take socio-cultural issues, particularly those associated with women, into account. In addition, it overlooks the fact that most children in elementary schools drop out of
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school due to family pressure to work at home or find employment as cheap labor in farmlands during harvesting and ploughing seasons. Other contributing factors are the familys poverty, a lack of educational quality in the schools, and the childrens lack of interest in school. Education is the social process by which an individual learns the things necessary to fit him to the life of his society. It was pointed out by Bhaskaracharyulu (2006) that the drop out from the schools was a main hurdle in UPE. Malik (1999) said that primary education encounters great deficiency due to the drop out rate. The ratio of drop out between grades 1 and 5 is 50-60%. Measures were taken in the form of compulsory Primary Education Act for compulsory attendance, improved physical facilities, stipends/scholarships and attractive school atmosphere. Girls education was affected the most. A measure to counter the same for larger enrollment of girls could be in the form of establishing separate girls schools and recruiting female teachers for far flung areas. The drop out rate was the highest at the primary level in Pakistan. There were certain reasons which increased the drop out rate. Yes Pakistan (2004c) gave two more reasons for drop out as out-of-school and in-school factors. The out-of-school reason for leaving primary schools was financial. Pakistani studies have shown that poverty was the chief reason for forcing children out-of-school. One study of 1977 indicated that 79 % of dropouts belong to low-income families. In these families, children also play the role of a main source of income. Children must work to support their families or their families can no longer afford to send them to schools. The main contributing factor towards drop out in schools was low learning-achievement. Some children failed again and again and so stayed in the same grade year after year. Such repetition reduced the benefits of schooling with an increase in the cost of education. Corporal punishment in school was another reason for drop out. In 1989, 52 % of Pakistani teachers were found to resort to physical punishment in their classes. The students who dropped out of schools were more likely to be unemployed and find less opportunity to utilize their skills. According to the survey reports of 123 Community Model Schools in Faisalabad, Bhakkar and Khanewal districts, Quality Improvement Centre GPEP-II (1997-2002) also provided these statistics regarding the participation (admission rate) in the Nursery, classes. The admission (participation) of girls increased from 162.3 girls to 200.3 girls per school. This increase was in prep class. It was 26.6 girls per school in 1997 which increased to 52.9 girls in 2002. It was almost double; however, this increase was minor in higher classes (0.3 girls only). In Govt. Girls Schools, the number of girl students during three years out of the
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last five years increased on the average by 20.4% in each school. This increase was also in class I. The participation rate was better in class one; however, it could not touch the digit of 100%. Lakshmi (2004) stated that 20% boys dropped-out because they had to help at work; for 17% the school was too expensive 8% had to help at home while 8% thought that the education was not useful. Sing (1994) discussed the problems what is really needed is an improvement in the quality of education being imparted in the school and the curricula. To mitigate high dropout rates the use of trained teachers methods to engage children in learning and helping them to get high academic achievements can play a significant role. Reigeluth and Beatty (2003) pointed out that children were left behind in schools because: 1. They might have unfulfilled needs that boldly block or interfere with their process of learning. 2. They might have lack of motivation to make the efforts necessary for learning. 3. They might have lack of fundamental knowledge required for promoting their learning. 4. They might have lack of quality instruction to support their learning A high drop out rate is a direct indicator of a poorly run school. This may be because the school is not attractive enough for the student, or his socio economic condition does not allow him to attend school at a regular basis. The Community Model School was put into operation to cater this particular affliction of the local school system. For without countering the high drop out rate, efficient and effective educational dispensation could never be made possible. In our country Educational reforms have launched not only using indigenous resource but also seeking loans from foreign agencies. The main purpose of these reforms was to improve the teaching bearing environment especially at primary level. In our country at elementary/primary level in girls schools there are two main problems i.e. (I) high dropout rate and (ii) unable to admit 100% corresponding age group of girls. These problems are less in urban areas as compared to rural areas.

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PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

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The purpose of this study was to gather and utilize documentary data and perceptual data from the school record in order to identify difference of dropout rate between the Community Model Schools and Govt. Girls Primary School in Punjab. This study was provided suitable information about the dropout rate in Community Model Schools and Govt. Girls Primary Schools in Punjab along with the various causes of drop out rate and techniques to improve the situation in this regard. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. What is the difference between No. of Students enrolled in Class One five years before in (2001) in CMS and GGPS? 2. What is the difference between No. of Students present in Class five in (2005) in CMS and GGPS? 3. To what extent is there a difference in the dropout rate of students in CMS and GGPS? METHODOLOGY The study was a mixed qualitative and quantitative descriptive design. The data were collected through document analysis and administrating a questionnaire for the headmistress to collect the related data of CMS and GGPS. A sample of 350 schools was taken as ten from each district of Punjab. Both types of schools were taken in equal numbers, from each district. Documentary facts were used for defining the dropout rate of Community Model Schools and Govt. Girls Primary School in Punjab. A questionnaire of headmistress was designed to investigate and collect data about dropout rate from school record. Data was analyzed by using descriptive as well as inferential statistical techniques and t-test to compare both types of schools at 0.05 level of significance. The simple random technique was used to select the schools. The documentary analysis was made to answer the first research questions. The answer of the second and third research question was obtained from the responses of the headmistress questionnaires.

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DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES

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Data was collected by administering the questionnaire of headmistress. Questionnaires were administered by the researchers personally. The response rate for the questionnaire was 100% (n = 350) DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURE All of the administered surveys that had been received from respondents were examined. The data was divided into two parts. The first part was covering the answer of first two research questions. The second part showed the answer of the third research questions and all the hypotheses of the study. The answer of the first question was discussed by the document analysis and through the observations of these schools. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION The findings of the study were discussed according to the research questions. RESEARCH QUESTION 1 What is the difference between No. of Students enrolled in Class One five years before in (2001) in CMS and GGPS? The answer of the first research question was discussed through the actual observations of the both type of primary schools and documentary analysis. The difference between No. of Students enrolled in Class One five years before in (2001) in CMS and GGPS is as follows: COMPARISON OF DROPOUT RATE To compare the dropout rates of the students, the data was taken from the school record. The data consisted of number of students in class 1 in 2001 and number of students in class 5 in 2005. In order to find out the dropout rate, difference in number of students during these years was calculated. The data has been presented in the following tables.

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Table 1: Comparison of Number of Students (Class 1) in 2001 between Community Model Schools and
Govt. Girls Primary Schools in Punjab

Number of Students 1-25 26-50 51-75 76-100 >100 Total Average

Community Model Schools n 63 41 31 24 16 175 46 % 36.0 23.4 17.7 13.7 9.1 100

Govt. Girls Primary Schools N 80 53 19 17 6 175 36.44 % 45.7 30.3 10.9 9.7 3.4 100

Table 1 above compares the number of students in class one in 2001. It indicates that 45.7% Govt. Girls Primary Schools have 1-25 number of students compared with 36.01% Community Model Schools. 30.3% Govt. Girls Primary Schools have 25-50 number of students compared to with 23.4% Community Model Schools, while 17.7 % Community Model Schools have 51-75 number of students in class one as compared to 10.9% of Govt. Girls Primary Schools. Moreover 13.7% and 9.1% Community Model Schools have 76-100 and 100 and above students in class one as compared to 9.7% and 3.4 % of Govt. Girls Primary Schools.

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RESEARCH QUESTION 2

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What is the difference between No. of Students present in Class five in (2005) in CMS and GGPS?

Table 2

Comparison of Number of Students (Class 5) in 2005 between Community Model Schools and Govt. Girls Primary Schools in Punjab

Number of Students 1-25 26-50 51-75 76-100 >100 Total Average

Community Model Schools n 77 31 4 3 29 175 32.8 % 44.0 17.7 2.7 1.7 16.6 100

Govt. Girls Primary Schools n 150 19 3 2 1 175 17.95 % 85.7 10.9 1.7 1.1 0.6 100

Table 2 above compares the number of students in class 5 in 2005. It indicates that 85.7 % Govt. Girls Primary Schools have1-25 number of students as compared to 44% Community Model Schools. 17.7% of Community Model Schools have 25-50 number of students as compared to 10.9% Govt. Girls Primary Schools, while 1.7% Govt. Girls Primary Schools have 51-75 number of students in class 5th as compared to 2.7% of Community Model Schools. 1.7% Govt. Girls Primary Schools have 76-100 students in class 5th as compared to 1.7% of Community Model Schools. Whereas 16.6% Community Model Schools have above 100 students in class 5th as compared to 0.6% Govt. Girls Primary Schools in 2005. It can be viewed from the table below that the number of students are more in Govt. Girls Primary Schools for the class intervals (1-25), (26-50) and for class intervals (51- 75), (76-100) and above 100 students in Community Model Schools in class 5 are more.

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Research Question 3 To what extent is there a difference in the dropout rate of students in CMS and GGPS?

Table 3

Comparison of Dropout Rate between Community Model Schools and Govt. Girls Primary Schools in Punjab

Community Model Schools Drop Out Range 00-05 06-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 > 25 92 27 27 12 2 15 53 15 15 7 1 9 .n %

Govt. Girls Primary Schools Drop Out Range 00-05 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 > 25 10 17 20 30 40 58 6 10 11 17 23 33 N %

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Table 3 above compares the drop out rate of Community Model Schools and Govt. Girls Primary Schools. It indicates that in 53% of Community Model Schools the drop out rate is between 0-5 as compared to 6% of Govt. Girls Primary Schools with drop out rate 0-5. The drop out rate of 15% Community Model Schools is from 6-10 and 11-15 in comparison to 10% and 11% of Govt. Girls Primary Schools. In 7% of Community Model Schools as compared to 17% of Govt. Girls Primary Schools the drop out rate is from 16-20. Only one percent of Community Model Schools have drop out rate from 21-25 as compared to 23% Govt. Girls Primary Schools. Nine percent of Community Model Schools have drop out rate above 25 in comparison with 33% of Govt. Girls Primary Schools.

The above said comparison of dropout of CMS and GGPS shows that CMS have the less dropout rate as compared to GGPS. This difference is due to the number of more teachers and the post of SST headmistress in the CMS. Results indicated that Community Model Schools showed less dropout rate than Govt. Girls Primary Schools during the period 2001-2005. The research presented that the performance of Community Model Schools is better than Govt. Girls Primary School in Punjab.

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DISCUSSION

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The important indicator of school performance was the drop out rate. It was found that Govt. Girls Primary Schools have higher drop out rate as compared to Community Model Schools. The main reasons for high drop out rate are school environment, teachers attitude and parents lack of interest. As Corville-Smiths (1995) study indicates that main reason behind the drop-out is school environment (protocol, activities, and syllabus) and students attendance due to lack of attraction in these schools. According to findings of the present study Govt. Girls Primary Schools have less attraction for students due to its environment and consequently have higher drop out rate as compared to Community Model Schools. Epstein et al. (1997) states that when school design and implement activities that focus on attendance using these types of involvement, parents and others in the community can make a difference. If the students attendance and mobility is controlled, the drop out rate will decrease. This justified the present findings because the Community Model Schools have been established for the improvement of community and school partnership programmes which decreased drop out rate in Community Model Schools, whereas Govt. Girls Primary Schools fail to improve this relationship, therefore, drop out rate did not decrease here.

CONCLUSION

In the light of the above discussion, it is clear that the dropout rate of student of CMS were less than GGPS. It showed that the performance of CMS was better than GGPS in Punjab. On the basis of the findings of the study reported here, it is recommended that the GGPS should be funded. In other words, more funds may be provided to GGPS for better physical and academic facilities in these schools.

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References

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Ahmad, M. (2006). Ilmi comprehensive dictionary of education (1st ed.). Lahore: Ilmi kitab khana. Bari, F., & Malina Pal. (2000). Women in Pakistan: Country briefing paper. Islamabad, Pakistan: Bhaskaracharyulu, Y. (2006). Education and society. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House. Corville-Smith, J., B. Ryan, G. Adams, T. Gullotta, R. Weissberg, & R. Hampton (Eds). (1995). Truancy, family, and intervention. The family school connection: Theory, research and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SA. Epstein.J. L., Clark, L., & Salinas, K.C. (1997). Scaling up school family community connections in Baltimore: Effects on student attendance and achievement. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association , Chicago. Farah, Iffat. (2007). Female Education in Pakistan: A Review. In Gender and Education in Pakistan, Eds. Rashida Qureshi and Jane F. A. Rarieya, 340. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. Government of Punjab. (2003a). PC-I form of girls primary education project phase II (Jan 1998-2003). Lahore: Department of Education. Latif, Amna. (2009). The socio-cultural context of curriculum and literacy: Lessons learned through girls narratives in Pakistan. Paper delivered at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego. Lakshmi, D. V. (2004). Basic education. Delhi: Discovery Publishing House. Malik, S. R. (1999). The system of education in Pakistan. Islamabad: National Book Foundation. Noshab, Farzana. (2006). Globalization, WTO, and Pakistan.The Muslim World 96: 341 362.
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Reigeluth, C. M., & Beatty, B. J. (2003). Why children are left behind and what we can do about it. Education Technology, 9 (3), 24-30. Sing, A. K. (1994). Dropout from primary schools in tribal India: A case study. London: Institute of Education. Yes Pakistan. (2004c). Why Pakistan Primary school student drop- out? Retrieved on September 11, 2004 from http://www.yespakistan.com/prim_dropout.asp.

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