Causes of Female High School Student Dropout in Bangladesh: An Exploration of the Pabna District in Familial, Economic and Institutional Contexts

Since ancient times, women in Bengal have been poorly treated and left without most of their rights. Moreover, that continuity still exists in some areas, education being one of them. Male and female enrollment in primary and secondary schools has recently reached the expected level. However, the rate at which female students drop out of secondary school is still alarming. The goal of this study is to find out why so many female students in Bangladesh, and especially in the Pabna district, drop out of high school. In carrying out this research, qualitative and quantitative data have been used almost equally, and a mixed-method approach has been applied to reach the aims and objectives of the research. Findings show that female students drop out of Western-style secondary education mainly because of structural-level barriers. Poverty among parents or guardians is the root cause of dropout among economic issues. And all the structural-level issues are interlinked with poverty. Though child marriage is the immediate process of the dropout, it is not the leading cause. It is a process. Research shows that it is impossible to stop female students from dropping out of high school if the poverty of their parents or guardians is not alleviated and the immediate process is not stopped. It is suggested that needy and educationally disadvantaged students receive a special financial incentive. In addition to getting support from the government administration, the school management committee must play a decisive role in meeting the problems and supporting female students in all aspects.