The problem of school dropouts is increasingly recurrent. Students continue to leave the school bench. This phenomenon affects fundamental students much more than post-fundamental students. The poor living conditions of households is a thorn in the side of the Burundian education system. Decryption.
Despite the absence of updated data at the national level, those of certain areas are sufficient to show that the phenomenon is worrying. During the first quarter of 2022-2023, more than 5,300 cases of school dropouts were recorded in Kayanza province, according to Radio-Television Isanganiro. The provincial directorate of education (DPE) Makamba, for its part, recorded more than 4,795 cases of abandonment, including 2,215 girls during the same period. More than 4800 cas d’school dropouts were already registered at the beginning of December 2022 in the DPE Kirundo.
Figures from previous years show that this phenomenon affects fundamental students much more than post-basic students. Out of 191,281 cases of school dropouts recorded nationally for the 2020-2021 school year, 189,176 were from basic school. In the province of Bubanza, 16.289 on 18,088 (including 8,426 girls) cases of dropouts were fundamental during the 2021-2022 school year.
Poor living conditions, the root cause
According to the 2020-2021 school statistical yearbook of the ministry in charge of education, the provinces, among others Kirundo, Muyinga, Makamba, Ruyigi, Kayanza, Rutana, Ngozi, Cibitoke vienne in the lead for cases of school dropouts. They all exceed the bar of 10,000 cases of abandonment. It is in most of these provinces where socio-economic conditions are poor according to surveys by the National Institute of Statistics (formerly ISTEEBU).
The provinces of Ruyigi, Rutana, Muyinga, Kirundo and Ngozi are among those with poverty rates (monetary or non-monetary) well above the national average, both at household and individual level. The provinces most affected by non-monetary poverty with rates above the national average were respectively Rutana (73.6%), Kirundo (73.2%), Muyinga (67.1%), Ngozi (65.8%). ) and Cibitoke (53.5%) according to the report of the integrated survey on household living conditions in Burundi (2019-2020).
Despite the free school fees, parents lack the means for their children’s school materials. The health index also comes into play. The modular survey report on household living conditions in Burundi (2013-2014) reveals that Cibitoke and Kirundo provinces have the highest morbidity rates in the country, both in rural than in urban areas. In Cibitoke province, the morbidity rate was 43.4% in urban areas and 44.8% in rural areas. Fever and malaria attacks are more frequent in the provinces of Kirundo, Ruyigi, Muyinga, reaching more than 70%. Malnutrition, severe and moderate, is highest in Kayanza and Muyinga at 56.6% and 59.1% respectively.
Leaving school to earn a living
Given that these provinces border countries bordering Burundi, young students leave school and go to these countries to work in search of a better future. In the northern provinces, students abandon school for mining activities. The rural exodus and petty trade also encourage students to drop out of school.
Unwanted pregnancies also have their share. 1233 cases of unwanted pregnancies were recorded during the 2019-2020 school year. Young girls fall into the trap of men who promise them material things in exchange for sex.
Unemployment also exerts a negative influence on schooling according to David Ninganza, president of the association Solidarity of Youth for Peace and Childhood (SOJEPAE). When students find their elders unemployed following school, they decide to join working life very early because they no longer see the point of being on the school bench. Inadequate learning conditions (lack of desk benches, etc.) in some establishments push students to drop out.
What solutions?
For Jean Samandari of the Bafashebige coalition, the government must extend the program of school canteens to all establishments. We should also rethink the free provision of school materials, because children who are not in need benefit from them to the detriment of others. David Ninganza finds that an in-depth study is necessary to identify the specific causes of each region. Rigorous supervision must be in place. IParents and educators must work together to make student supervision more effective.
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