All over the world, educators are seeing students leave school early in alarming numbers. In many of these countries, females are increasingly dropping out of school for a variety of reasons—including pregnancy, poverty, and culture—and school administrators and communities are struggling to find ways to retain these students.
In many places, females who have dropped out have the option of returning to school or entering a program where they can learn vocational skills, but for educators the priority is keeping these students from dropping out in the first place.
- A vocational academy recently launched in Uganda will offer classes on life and job skills for female dropouts. The initial group of around 300 women will be taught tailoring and design skills, and they will learn about human rights and leadership. The academy already has laptops, sewing machines, clothing material, and other necessary items ready for classes to start.
- Over the next four years, 100 scholarships will be available to female students at the secondary education level in the Isingiro District in Uganda. Poverty there has become a major factor in a rising dropout rate, and currently 80 percent of female students drop out before secondary school begins, many times due to financial reasons. An executive who recently visited the region stepped in to prevent many of these dropouts.The scholarships, provided by Walter Wang, chief executive officer at JM Eagle Pipe, will help some of the better performing students in the area continue their education. He also donated 100 computers to schools in the region.
- Recently, an effort was launched in three northern villages in India to help 20 female students return to school to finish their education, and an additional 16 are being taught how to read and write. Many female students in India drop out of school or college because of poverty, illness or death in the family, or family members' concerns about them studying far from their homes.
Although the female dropout problem remains a major issue in Uganda and India, as well as many other countries, they are making efforts to keep girls in school, get them either back in school, or offer them training that will improve their lives. Programs, such as the ones mentioned above, help females obtain the training and education they need to become successful.
