School Dropout of Dalit Students at Basic Level in Nepal

Abstract

This paper examines the situation of school dropout students at basic level in Nepal. The term dropout refers to a person who has abandoned a course of study. The focus of the analysis has covered one of the most privileged groups of Nepalese society in a community schools of Nepal, which is known as Dalit. In this paper the dropout refers to Dalit students who dropout of school before completing a course of instruction. . For this purpose, quantitative research design was applied to collect data. Both primary and secondary data were used and questionnaire method was applied to collect primary data. Secondary data were collected from the official records of schools. The finding shows that Dalit students are facing the dropout problem before completing basic level. The finding also indicates that Dalits are considered one of the disadvantaged group of Nepalese society as well as backwards in terms of socio-economic status and education. The caste and gender discrimination has also played a significant role to increase dropout of Dalit students. The government of Nepal has declared various lows, policies and program to increase students' participation and to ensure equal access in education of Dalit students. However, the rate of dropout Dalit students are higher than other groups of people. As a result, at the basic level continues to grow, yet its high dropout rates remain a pressing and complex problem in Dalit community.