Abstract
Education has always been considered as the linchpin for a country’s
economic and social development. The dropout rate in schools especially
in third-world countries has always been a problematic issue and the
situation has further been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study
primarily aims at studying the factors affecting the school dropout rate
during pandemic. Lockdown is the first step that any country starts to
adopt for the safety of its general public. This severely affects the
masses’ financial conditions, especially for the parents of students at
risk, as the dropout rate increases with financial pressures. The slogan
“stay home stay safe” has further aggravated the fear of the parents
to send their children out and attend schools. The data for the study
was collected from twenty public and private schools of two divisions,
including seven districts of the province of Punjab, Pakistan, using
interviews of policymakers, parents of dropouts, teachers, and students.
The study is corollary to several issues already highlighted in various
other articles to transpire the details of drop-out rates in developing
countries in general and Pakistan in particular. The study revealed
financial conditions, lockdown effects, mode of learning, government
policies, fear of death, the psyche of the parents, socio-cultural
effects, the role of teachers and administrators, most affected level,
contributory factors were amongst the major factors. Finally, the study
will analyze the effects of dropout and will help suggest measures to
control the dropout rate in Pakistan in particular and third world
countries in general.