Nearly 4,000 students drop out of schools in Oromia Special Zones

Going to work in factories near them, engage in domestic works, abduction and other harmful traditional practices let 3,862 students to drop their schools in Oromia Finfine Special Zones.
The schools which are found in the surrounding areas of Addis Ababa enroll 123,000 students and have 3,700 teachers. These schools are also hit by high teachers turnovers that leave their job for a better job in other parts of the country.
From the student who left there schools 2,043 of them are boys and the rest are girls and compared to the last fiscal year the number drops by 5.7 percent. The last fiscal year dropout rates were 8.9 percent.
Ferekia Kassahun, Head of Oromia Finnfine Special Zones Education bureau told capital that much work is needed to be done to decrease the dropout rates.
“Poverty, availability, and accessibility are three big reasons why children drop out of school,” says Ferekia. “When a family is not financially secure, prioritizing a child’s education takes a backseat. Distance to school is also another reason. Parents deem it unsafe for a child, especially girls, to travel far. This validated in dropout rates as well, which rise sharply after primary class.’’
“Failure to complete a basic cycle of primary school not only limit future opportunities for children but also represents a significant drain on the limited resources that the country have for the provision of primary education.’’
He further said more had to be done in providing proper education. “However, despite the noted milestone that have been achieved by the government, we are concerned with challenges being faced by children due to the economic hardship prevailing in some families, resulting in increased number of school dropouts, leading children in some instances to being forced into early marriages,”
He added that his bureau is working with stakeholders to raise the awareness of parents to reduce the dropout of students.
Six Woredas and one city administration are under Oromia Finfine Special Zones Education Bureau but lack of water, electricity, health facilities still hampers the operation of these schools.
Currently 294 primary, 19 elementary and 6 preparatory schools are operational in Oromia Finfine Special Zones.