Regional analysis of factors influencing school dropout among girls in Uganda

Abstract

The study aimed to carry out a regional analysis of factors influencing girl child school dropout in Uganda while examining the influence of child factors on school dropout; examining the influence of household factors on school dropout and examining the influence of community factors on school dropout. The study used secondary data from the Uganda National Household Surveys (UNHS) carried out by Uganda Bureau of Statistics in 2016/17. The study considered girls aged 6-17years and a sample size of 5,597 girls was considered. Data was analysed at univariate, bivariate and multivariate levels. Study findings reveal that from central region girls whose mothers had primary level education had less odds to drop out of school (OR=0.1), girls aged 13–17 years had increased odds to drop out of school (OR=11.1), girls from married male headed households had less odds to drop out of school (OR=0.3) and orphan girls had increased odds to drop out of school. In eastern region, girls whose fathers had primary level education had increased odds to drop out of school (OR=4.5, girls aged 13 – 17 years had increased odds to drop out of school (OR=4.3), also girls who were other relatives and grandchildren to the household heads had increased odds to drop out of school (OR=4.3 and 4.9 respectively). In Northern region, girls from poor households had increased odds to drop out of school (OR=4.8), girls aged 13–17 years had increased odds to drop out of school (OR=6.1), girls who were other relatives to the household had increased odds to drop out of school (OR=3.1), girls who were coming from households with 4 – 6 members had less odds to drop out of school (OR=0.3) and girls who were coming from households with more than 13 members had increased odds to drop out of school (OR=13.4). In western region, girls from married male headed households had less odds to drop out of school (OR=0.6), girls from poor households had increased odds to drop out of school (OR=3.6), girls aged 13–17 years had increased odds to drop out of school (OR=10.5), girls who were other relatives to the household had increased odds to drop out of school (OR=2.5). In conclusion, there is also need for the Government through the Ministry of Education to put in place programs such as full or half bursary scholarships to ensure that such vulnerable children from very poor families stay in school hence improving their learning outcomes.